The cover band is a strange thing. It's not like a real band. They're up there singing and sometimes playing instruments, but they have no creative process. They have no signature. They're just a clone, playing tribute to music that they can't write.

That's why it was rather strange when the A*Teens emerged. Marie, Sara, Dahni, and Amit, four teens from Sweden, released their debut disc, The ABBA Generation in 1999, when bubble gum pop was at its peak. Britney was soaring at the top of the charts, and her clones weren't far behind. That's when someone got the bright idea that this generation could use the ultimate in bubble gum: ABBA. Who better than four fresh-faced teenagers from their home country to churn them out? Don't be fooled in thinking this band was the dream child of four huge, attractive, teenage ABBA fans. It was the dream child of some money hungry producers. Really, the A*Teens aren't even a real cover band.

No one knows what they are.

Anyway, so, they release The ABBA Generation, an 11 track collection of covers of some of ABBA's most successful songs.

The CD starts off with Mamma Mia!, an instantly recognizable song. There's no doubt that ABBA's songs are great, so the base material here is great. But the Teens don't really add anything to the song. They're singing is nearly soul-less, with an inane boredom to it. The production only brings the tempo up slightly, hardly breathing life into this old number.

They do a bit better on Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), one of ABBA's more innovative songs. This is a great song anyway, with a somewhat dark-techno feel to it. The Teens version scores on faster production, making this song seem much more exciting. They're vocals still seem emotionless, but the real kicker in this one is how the background music sounds like some kind of MIDI file. The fact that this song is sped-up to awesomeness overcomes that. It would have been cool if they had done more with the production of this, as the original was always a bit subdued and they could have taken this chance to make this a clubber's dream. But this one is decent, as is.

If you don't like a song originally, it's pretty much inevitable that you won't like a remake. Behold me and Super Trouper. I've never been a big fan of the original song, but this remake is a bit better, with a more club-dance feel. But like on the previous track, there isn't enough change here. There is huge room for a big dance beat that could have succeeded hugely on this, but it just seems kind of bland and lifeless.

One Of Us has always been one of my favorite ABBA songs - very sincere, subdued, and honest. Let me be frank: this version just sucks. They do their slight speed-up on a song that doesn't need it at all, and their bored vocals only detract from the song. This almost sounds like it's trying to be reggae. The production sounds cheap and over the top, and they really fall flat on their faces with this one.

They do better on Voulez-Vous. This song would probably be good anyway you slice it, being a dark, moody, techno number. The slight speed-up works really well on this one. If you can overlook how horrible the girls sound, it turns out pretty well. But it seems like a trend to fall short on this disc - if only they would have sped it up a little bit more, added a little bit more dance flavors into the mix, this song would be a lot better.

When the Teens get their act together and do the speed-up correctly, the results are pretty good. On S.O.S., they turn it into a much more modern song, with a thudding produced beat backing up their (still) lifeless vocals. The verses lead to a pretty high energy chorus, which will eternally be a great melody, no matter who sings it.

The A*Teens had a minor hit with Dancing Queen, though I can't figure out why. This is probably ABBA's biggest song, which is probably why it was released by the Teens. The vocals in this song are pretty god awful. The whole song sounds like someone dropped the old record under water, salvaged it years later, and now brought it onto this CD. The tinkling piano and disco beat are only good because they are lifted right out of the original, but otherwise, there is nothing added to this song whatsoever.

Okay, now, when I was talking about the speed-up and how being more sped-up on some other songs would be good... I did not mean speed it up an insane porportion and make an old, great song utter crap. Case in point: Take A Chance On Me. It is not humanly possible to sing the guy's back-up vocals (trust me, I tried.) and it just sounds busy and over the top. No need to tell you how bored and lifeless the girls sound, you've probably gotten it by now. This is one of the worst remakes I've ever heard.

Another great ABBA song was Lay All Your Love On Me, which like some of their other works, has a dark feel to it. This version tries to be techno, and it would be pretty decent if someone had turned the bass down a bit. It overpowers the moody feel and the (lifeless, hollow, etc.) vocals that makes it just sound like a dance act's B-Side.

The Name Of The Game is one of the more different songs on this disc, and I'm surprised it was chosen. It's a good ABBA song, but not one of my favorites. Yet again, though, the production of this just messes up the whole thing. The instruments are more overpowering than the vocals. (Perhaps they were trying to hide how bad they are.) This one is absolutely average. I'm not a huge fan of the original, so this remake is fine with me.

As many bad points as I've illustrated on this CD, it does go out on a sweet note, which is Our Last Summer. This is such a good song that it would be hard to screw it up, and the Teens don't. Their vocals don't sound top-notch, but you're used to that if you make it all the way to the end of the CD. This is such a sweet, nostalgic song, with fantastic lyrics, and the Teens actually sound somewhat emotional on this one, which is not only a surprise, but a very pleasant one.

Overall, this CD has a few good aspects, but mostly bad ones, as they never quite push the envelope enough to establish why this release was even necessary. Throughout listening, it's obvious that it's just a cash-in on old ABBA songs, even if a few of them are decent. Stick with the originals, and stay away from this not-quite cover band.

Recommended: No