I Stand Alone

Overview

In 1978, Fältskog met Cetera in the UNICEF charity show, performing as part of their groups ABBA and Chicago. Cetera desired to collaborate with Fältskog in the future and had kept in touch. Cetera regularly sent songs that he thought were suitable for Fältskog. Slowly, but surely, the album took shape.

Recorded mainly in Los Angeles and Malibu, California, I Stand Alone was produced by Peter Cetera, the former singer and bass guitar player with American rock band Chicago. He duetted with Fältskog on the track "I Wasn't the One (Who Said Goodbye)", written by Mark Mueller and Aaron Zigman, which was a Top 20 Adult Contemporary Hit on the Billboard chart in the US. The co-producer of the album was Bruce Gaitsch, with whom Fältskog was in a relationship at the time. It was the first time after ABBA broke up that Fältskog worked under strict production management. Fältskog felt that I Stand Alone, despite the lack of her own songs, was her most personal album.

Fältskog made a very rare trip on an airplane to Los Angeles to record the album. After it was completed, she did not fly again for years due to her much-publicised fear of flying. She did, however, admit that the flight was worth it. The resulting musical style of the album was very different from the European sounds of Faltskog's previous two albums, and reflected the West Coast American influences of the producers. Fältskog had also refused to tour, disappointing the record company. The singer instead wanted to promote the album through shortcuts including videos and open-ended interviews, where presenters could record their own questions. Fältskog stated that she could afford to disagree with the record company, since she had largely financed the record herself.

The track "Love in a World Gone Mad" was a cover version of a song by British pop group Bucks Fizz, from their 1986 album Writing on the Wall.

Fältskog also made several promo videos for singles from the album, including "The Last Time" and "Let It Shine". When the third single, "I Wasn't the One (Who Said Goodbye)", appeared on the US Billboard Hot 100 in April 1988, Warner Music asked her to make another video immediately. Although it was a duet with Peter Cetera, he did not appear in the video.

On the cover of the album and in promotional interviews, Fältskog appeared with a "new" spiky blonde hair look. The album cover picture was taken by Alberto Tolot, who had transformed Fältskog's hair.

Estoy sola

The album was released as Estoy sola for the Latin American market on LP and cassette in 1987. All of the song titles were translated into Spanish, but only two were actually re-recorded with new Spanish vocals by Fältskog and Cetera: "Yo no fui quién dijo adiós" ("I Wasn't the One (Who Said Goodbye)") and "La última vez" ("The Last Time"). The Spanish versions of these tracks were written by Cruz Baca Sembello.

Reception

Upon its release, Music & Media picked I Stand Alone as their "Album of the Week". The magazine described the album as a "goldmine of hit singles" and noted its "crystalline production" and "stunningly good songwriting in 'Adult Contemporary' vein". Cash Box noted: "Faltskog shines on this Peter Cetera-produced project."

The album became Sweden's best-selling LP of 1988, where it remained at No. 1 for eight weeks. It also reached the Top 20 in Norway and the Netherlands, but fared less well on charts elsewhere, only reaching No. 47 in West Germany, No. 72 in the United Kingdom, No. 93 in Japan and No. 96 in Australia. "I Wasn't the One (Who Said Goodbye)" became Fältskog's second entry on the Billboard Hot 100 reaching No. 93. It also reached No. 19 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the US.

The album was picked as a "Lost Treasure" by the Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan. "She's one of my favourite singers of all time", he explained. "It's rare that a singer can hit super-high up the register and sound really good. When I look at the pop world today, I wish we had an ABBA. They had that right combination of fun, beauty, not taking it too seriously, but being deadly in the studio. Everyone's so goddamn serious these days."

Track listing

Estoy sola (Argentinian release)

For this release, all track titles were translated into Spanish. However, only "Yo no fui quién dijo adiós" and "La última vez" were re-recorded in Spanish by Fältskog and Cetera. The Spanish versions of these tracks were written by Cruz Baca Sembello.

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.

Musicians

Agnetha Fältskog – lead vocals, backing vocals

Peter Cetera – co-lead vocals (3), backing vocals

Kenny Cetera; Darlene Koldenhoven; Linda Harmon – backing vocals

Bruce Gaitsch – guitars

John Robinson – drums

Randy Waldman – piano, synthesizers

Robbie Buchanan – synthesizers, bells, whistles

Paulinho da Costa – percussion

Neil Stubenhaus – bass guitar

David Boruff – saxophone

Tommy Morgan – harmonica

Production

Peter Cetera – producer

Bruce Gaitsch – co-producer, synthesizer programming

Rick Holbrook – engineer, mixing (at Lion Share Recording Studios)

Britt Bacon – assistant engineer (at Skyline Recording, Topanga, California)

Karen Siegel – mixing assistant

Wally Traugott – mastering (at Capitol Mastering, Hollywood, California)