Arrival

by

ABBA

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With the arrival of Arrival, their fourth album, ABBA, the Swedish group were definitely on a roll, singles from their previous album having dented the Australian charts, and yielding another British #1. This album would yield two more, including one that was so big, it was easier to list the places where it didn't get to #1. Suffice it to say that Arrival is my favourite album because the songs and sounds, catchy rhythmic devices and great melodic arrangements keep getting better. Plus, along with their eponymous album, I first got a very full taste of these guys.

All I'm saying is that I hope the unnamed protagonist in the engaging "When I Kissed The Teacher" is not named Lolita, as it's a song about a student with a crush on the teacher who stuns the class when she performs the title act, much to the surprise of the teacher.

It was clear that the group was making inroads into disco, which was sweeping the US during this time, and "Dancing Queen," which scarcely requires elaboration, whose disco-like synths, highlighted by the piano work from Benny.

"My Love, My Life" is probably the best ballad I've heard from Agnetha, a lovely song even if it's a breakup song. Which means, yes, there are string arrangements

I've never heard a song about someone's violin practicing paying off and wishing for the same kind of attention to that point that the girl wished she was the fiddle so she'd be noticeable. That about sums it up for "Dum Dum Diddle." The synths hear somewhat mimic the fiddle, but not that much.

Frida sings two songs here and they are back to back. The first is the mid-paced and downbeat "Knowing Me, Knowing You", another breakup song, only this time, it seems marital divorce and permanent: "Walking through an empty house, tears in my eyes/here is where the story ends, this is goodbye." I wonder if this and "My Love, My Life" karmically backfired on them, as both couples divorced two albums later. And next...

An excerpt from the promo clip from "Money Money Money" was the first where I heard an ABBA song, and that was when I decided I had to have more of their stuff. The wishing and hoping of a hard-working down-on-her luck woman for a rich man, who'd probably never notice her. The catchy blend of guitars, keyboards, and harmony vocals is captured best here.

The quasi-feminist "That's Me," with its independent but sensitive protagonist features a synth that rapidly descends in register like a waterfall, also has another double rhyme in one line: "I'm Carrie not-the-kind-of-girl-you'd-marry."

The country-tinged "Why Did It Have To Be Me" is sung by Bjorn here, portraying a man who got burned by a woman who only wanted a quick affair, with Agnetha singing from the woman's POV. The sax here is buried beneath the usual instrumentation but can be picked up. However, the B-side of "Knowing Me, Knowing You," the wanting-to-have-a-great-fun-vacation of "Happy Hawaii," sung by Agnetha, was an earlier version of that song, as it has the same melody.

The guitars and drumming of "Tiger" is like that of "Mamma Mia," but this is a more hard-driving song, with a somewhat darker subject, the predatory dangers of the urban landscape, described as a jungle, nightmare, and prison, with the yellow eyes likened to the city's neon lights. The way they make the song tight and punchy with lines, "And if I meet you, what if I eat you, I am the tiger."

The title track is a wistful Celtic-like instrumental where Benny played any keyboards he could lay his hands on, per the liner notes, and Agnetha and Frida vocalizing like a choir towards the end. I can imagine a sunset listening to this.

When this CD was issued in the 1990's, "Fernando" was left off, so I had no idea it was part of this album. Fortunately, that fault has been rectified, and their other #1 UK single is thus included. Wavering between a mellow strings and flute ballad comparable to the love song or theme of some 70's movie and the usual engaging ABBA sound, this spent 14 weeks at the top in Australia.

Arrival demonstrates the band at their peak, with no sign of letup, yet from the faces on the album cover, I wonder if ABBAmania was taking its toll on the quartet.

The 24-bit remastering of the ABBA CD's is a HUGE letdown. The older CD's (the one's that came out originally) have a much brighter sound, but plenty full. They remind me of the original album sound. But the new discs sound too muddy or dark and the high end (which includes things like acoustic guitars and cymbals) are rather flat or dead sounding. Like my fellow reviewer from San Diego said, "save your money". Keep your old discs. They simply sound better in a side by side comparison. The box set sound quality is better than these 24-bit remastered discs.