Ring Ring

by

ABBA

Edit

Nobody could claim that this is the best Abba album, but it is much better than some would have you believe. Indeed I prefer it to a couple of their later albums.

The title track was a hit in several European countries but not the UK, so this album never got a British release on vinyl. That is a pity, because the songs here are of a remarkably high quality. Five of them appeared on the first Greatest hits album - Ring ring, Another town another train, People need love, Nina pretty ballerina and He is your brother - every one of them superb. It might all have been different if Ring ring had been Sweden's entry in the 1973 Eurovision song contest. It came third in the qualifying contest. The Swedish public thought it should have been their entry. Voting rules were changed and Abba won for Sweden a year later with Waterloo.

Benny and Bjorn both started in Swedish folk groups, while Agnetha and Frida were Swedish pop stars, although Frida was actually born in Norway. At the time of its original release in Sweden, the name Abba had not been invented. This album provides a fascinating insight into the early development of the band. She's my kind of girl just features Benny and Bjorn. People need love features Benny and Bjorn with Svenska Flicka, but Svenska Flicka are actually Agnetha and Frida, so this (it would seem) was the first recording featuring all the Abba members, before the name existed.

This is a great album for Abba fans to have, but anybody not already familiar with their music should try some of their later albums first - I particularly recommend Arrival, The Album and Super trouper - before worrying about this.