My Colouring Book is the eleventh studio album by Swedish singer and songwriter Agnetha Fältskog, released on 19 April 2004 by Warner Music Sweden. It was her fourth English-language album and her first release in seventeen years, following 1987's I Stand Alone.[1] The album features covers of Fältskog's favourite songs, mainly from her youth in the 1960s.[1][2] It was well received by both ABBA fans and the general music press.
After releasing I Stand Alone in 1987, Fältskog went into an unofficial retirement, withdrawing from the public eye and ceasing the creation of new music.[4] For the next ten years, she refused to sing or play music, stating, "I was tired… I didn’t feel there were any challenges in music for me."[2] In 1996, she published her autobiography As I Am, accompanied by the compilation album My Love, My Life.[4] Three years later, Mamma Mia!, the musical based on ABBA songs, premiered.[4] Its enduring success and popularity ultimately helped draw Fältskog out of retirement to record My Colouring Book.[4]
The new album featured the participation of a full orchestra and was co-produced by Fältskog with Swedish musicians Anders Neglin and Dan Strömkvist.[5] According to The Observer, she spent four years gathering a vast collection of rare records and reissues to aid in its creation.[6]
On 16 April 2004, Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian gave My Colouring Book four stars, stating that Fältskog had a "a vulnerability that gets under the skin of a song," and that her "soaring sentimentality" evoked Cillia Shaw and Sandie Shaw in their "mini-skirted pomp."[8] Sullivan concluded that, as a mix of standard and obscure songs, the album proved that ABBA's "sense of melodrama" was not only the work of "the bearded one."[8] That same day, however, Andy Gill of The Independent described the album as "lacklustre and uninspired", claimed that its "best" tracks were "characterless," while the worst bordered on the "emetic," and found that it "reeked" of "lazy opportunism."[9]
Two days later, Kitty Empire of The Observer remarked that time had not diminished Fältskog's "perfect voice," noting that the singer could still infuse certain lines with "unutterable pathos."[10] Although she acknowledged that the album was not flawless, as it could not "escape a pall of cheesiness," she concluded that not even "the over-egged productions" could "blight" her charms."[10] That same day, Mark Edwards of The Times expressed disappointment at his prediction that My Colouring Book would be a "low-key" release, as Fältskog voice was still an "impressive pop instrument," and the album had "some great songs."[11]
On April 20, Michael Osborn of BBC News observed that the album's lack of new material helped Fältskog retain her "mysterious, elusive air after years of seclusion."[12] He described the album's lead single, "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind", as a "delicately-wrought" song that reflected the album's "old-fashioned sense of song recording," but ultimately called Fältskog's "heavily masked return" a "missed opportunity" to "recapture ... hearts."[12] Five days later, Liz Hoggard wrote a separate review in The Observer, noting that the "1960s mask" allowed "the reclusive Fältskog to tackle some fairly dark stuff."[6] She portrayed the singer as a "misunderstood princess in the tower" and concluded that with the "anthemic" "What Now My Love?" "she might finally have the strength to leave the castle after all."[6]
In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Bruce Eder said that Faltskog's voice retained the "simple purity of tone and expression" that she had brought to ABBA, even when the production did not "parallel" anything the group had done.[13] He also praised the sound as"excellent" and the playing as "impeccable."[13] On the album's 15th anniversary, Mark Elliott wrote on uDiscoverMusic that My Colouring Book revealed a "softer, more fragile timbre" in Faltskog’s voice, which bathed the album in "a warm, nostalgic haze."[2] He highlighted how, at first listen, it seemed like a more "personal" album than anyone would expect.[2]
Commercial performance
It was announced that around 500,000 copies of the album were sold worldwide.[14] During 2004, the album went silver in the UK for sales of over 60,000,[15] while in Fältskog's home country of Sweden, during its first week of release, a high 64,000 copies were sold. My Colouring Book also reached #6 in Germany in May 2004.
