Swedish singer Matilda Lindell has released “Money, Money, Money”

Swedish singer Matilda Lindell has released “Money, Money, Money.” It’s a cover of the 1976 ABBA tune, and Lindell’s efforts make bank. You probably already know the words, and if you don’t, there should be no trouble being instantly drawn to Lindell’s coveted tribute. She’s also paired a music video for the song, giving the listener even more reasons to dance along to the sounds of one of music’s most successful groups of all time.

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/matildalindellofficial/

Lindell, who notes on her social media pages that she enjoys traveling, is a vocal coach and is lead in the stage show ‘ABBA The Concert’. It’s no wonder after years of singing such hits as “Dancing Queen”, “Waterloo” and “Mama Mia!” she would include “Money, Money, Money” in her arsenal. The biggest difference between Lindell’s tribute is that she uses voices (acapella group) instead of bass guitar, drums and piano for a music bed. It works seamlessly and Lindell’s natural mid tenor is just as smooth. She has slight throatiness in her delivery and it acts as an extra buoyancy. Furthermore, when the backing vocalists create added sound, the Lindell rendition slows down the arrangement ever-so slightly. Within seconds I was loving it. I’ll admit there’s a small part of me that thinks some of the music bed in the original borders on being a little corny (that’s also what makes it a cult classic). Lindell sure takes care of that in one swoop. She communicates the song’s meaning in a way that keeps the listener in the moment and even lets them wander around in their own financial strains.

Taking away that electric bass shifts some of the funk and rhythm to the backing singers. They bring their best voices forward and rise to the occasion. Lindell’s voice never slags or slacks. Something in me thinks she could really belt out and surprise audiences with her range. She harnesses the charm of ABBA alchemy, and she’s been given the rare gift of sounding nearly identical to original singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Her backing singers come close to matching the joy of original members Agnetha Fältsko, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, too.

Visually, Lindell and team mimic the song’s waitress theme and a woman longing to find a rich man. In this particular music video, it’s inferred that the man isn’t necessarily the man of her dreams, but he’s rich. He’s a bit of a slobby eater in the restaurant setting and a little goofy. As she caters to his food needs, Lindell sings and ponders all the things I could do, if I had a little money, it’s a rich man’s world, it’s a rich man’s world, she and her cohorts dance away. At the song and video’s end, they are all dancing with each other. Does she end up with the gentleman? We’ll never know.

What I know is that this song never gets old to me, and Lindell’s rebranding is just what the music world needs. I’m anxiously awaiting her next ABBA fix. “Money, Money, Money” is three times the fun and three times the abba-fabulous.

Michael Rand