ABBA

Arrival

How About This- An ABBA Album With No Filler!

Review Score:

(10/10)
The ABBA album was such a huge success that it was possible to think that ABBA would never have been able to top its quality, since it is often believed (at least by the cynical) that artists who have a big commerical success on the level of ABBA's eponymous album sell out and gradually fade away from the public view with future work. But that observation offers on respect to ABBA?s eponymous album, since it saw the group finding its core sound and flourishing with it. With ARRIVAL, their fourth album, ABBA thankfully expanded with that core sound, turning out what is arguably the best album the group ever made. The fact is, composers Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson show themselves here as great songwriters in their own right; not a single track is weak or filler-worthy, even if some of the tracks aren?t as strong as others.

Of course, like in any other ABBA record, it was the big singles that stood out, and one of them, ?Dancing Queen,? stood out far more any anybody could have ever imagined. Decidedly the group?s best record, it is a timeless masterpiece; with indelible harmony parts from Agnetha Faltskog and Frida Lyngstad, and a beautiful backing instrumental track containing hooks from start to finish, it is a soaring celebration of having the time of your life while swinging, jiving, digging, or whatever your style. ?Money, Money, Money? is a fascinating piece of cabaret-pop, and ?Knowing Me, Knowing You? is a somber, straight-faced ballad which becomes more poignant with each listen. The rest of the tracks weren?t bad themselves, such as the gorgeous ?My Love, My Life,? the silly ?Dum Dum Diddle? and ?When I Kissed the Teacher? (both of which would later be disparaged by the group, but are still solid songs nonetheless), the sweet ?That?s Me,? the snarling ?Tiger,? and the lush title track, the best instrumental Benny ever composed. The fact is, ARRIVAL is one of the exceptions in Europop- in a genre best known for its singles, not its frequently uneven albums, ARRIVAL is the rare Europop album that is strong from start to finish, never containing a dull moment. It all adds up to not just what is ABBA?s finest record, but also one of the best pop albums of its time.

[In 2001, ABBA?s eight albums were given a much-needed remastering, released in digipaks complete with liner notes from Carl Magnus Palm, pictures of the band around the time of the album, song lyrics, and in the case of ARRIVAL, two bonus tracks: the exceptionally beautiful ?Fernando,? which was first released on a now out-of-print greatest hits collection, and the pleasant B-side ?Happy Hawaii.?]

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