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Cadillac Madness or Benny's Road To ABBA? There has been some confusion about my two recently published books, Cadillac Madness - den otroliga berättelsen om The Hep Stars ("Cadillac Madness - The Incredible Story Of The Hep Stars") and Benny's Road To ABBA. Many people are wondering if they are in fact one or the same book: the first simply in Swedish and the other one in English. Others have had the impression that they are two completely different books. Well, the truth lies somewhere in between. In an attempt to clear up some of the confusion, here follows a detailed comparison between the two titles - what you get in one, but not in the other. CADILLAC MADNESS THE STORY The language in this book is Swedish. It tells the complete story of The Hep Stars and its individual members, from their childhood days up until the break-up of the group in 1969. There is also an additional couple of pages that briefly describes what the members and some of the main players in the story have been doing since then. WHAT YOU DON'T GET IN THIS BOOK: The details about Benny's career between 1969 and 1972, when the first ABBA song, People Need Love, was recorded. THE ILLUSTRATIONS The book is a colourful and lavishly illustrated volume, aiming to create a "Sixties teen idol" feel. There are plenty of pictures of the group and its individual members, magazine covers, bubblegum cards, posters, and so on. WHAT YOU DON'T GET IN THIS BOOK: More and different pictures of Benny - even some of the Hep Stars pictures are different in Benny's Road To ABBA. THE DISCOGRAPHY The discography gives all the track listings and shows all the different sleeve variations on every single and album that The Hep Stars released - in Sweden and abroad - between 1964 and 1972. The discography ends a few years after Svenne, Lotta and Benny left the group, when the then current version of The Hep Stars finally called it a day. WHAT YOU DON'T GET IN THIS BOOK: A detailed track-by-track description of each and every song The Hep Stars recorded between 1964 and 1969, with background stories and additional information. THE BONUS CD The book comes with a bonus CD, featuring four previously unreleased Hep Stars recordings made in 1966 and 1967. This CD is not available with Benny's Road To ABBA. BENNY'S ROAD TO ABBA THE STORY This English-language book tells the same basic story as Cadillac Madness. The bulk of the book is, essentially, the story of The Hep Stars. The main difference is that the story is extended to cover Benny's activities up until ABBA recorded their first single, People Need Love. WHAT YOU DON'T GET IN THIS BOOK: Personal details and background stories that relate to the other five members of the band: Svenne, Lotta, Lelle, Chrille and Janne. For instance, the details about the romance between Svenne and Lotta - which caused such headlines in Sweden in the 1960s - is mentioned in the book, but it is not described in the same detail as in Cadillac Madness. THE ILLUSTRATIONS Benny's Road To ABBA is less lavishly illustrated than Cadillac Madness, although with an estimated 150 pictures - excluding the single and album sleeves in the discography - no one is likely to be very disappointed. WHAT YOU DON'T GET IN THIS BOOK: More and different pictures of Benny, with and without The Hep Stars. A slightly more colourful design. THE DISCOGRAPHY The discography in Benny's Road To ABBA is focused on the actual music. It gives all the details about each track: composers, original titles, who originally had a hit with the song in question, background stories about the writing and recording of original material, chart positions in Sweden as well as other countries - and much more. The discography is illustrated with the sleeve of the actual single, album or CD discussed. Notably, this discography includes information about the many Hep Stars tracks featuring the line-up with Benny, that were only released long after the group's split in 1969. There is also a less detailed overview of the Björn & Benny records issued between 1970 and 1972. WHAT YOU DON'T GET IN THIS BOOK: Illustrations and catalogue numbers for each and every Hep Stars record released all over the world between 1964 and 1971, including sleeve variations. BONUS CD This book has no bonus CD. The four previously unreleased Hep Stars recordings are only available with the Cadillac Madness book. |