Abba
Ring Ring 1973
Waterloo 1974
Abba 1975
Arrival 1976
The Album 1978
Voulez Vous 1979
Super Trouper 1980
The Visitors 1981
Polydor/Universal

Abba was great at making hit singles but what about albums? Most would probably dismiss them as nothing but one hit plus filler pieces. Yeah, there might be a few songs on a couple of albums that may be throwaways, but for the most part Abba's albums per se aren't that bad and some are better than good. Each of the eight albums (which seems like a lot by a pop group by today's standards) carry the unique Abba formula of brilliant pop writing by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, the mulltilayered vocals of divas Agnetha Falkstag and Anni-Frid, hooks galore, and innocuous (sometimes bizarre) lyrics. Abba's music is Europop glory and now has been repackaged with bonus tracks, restored artwork, and new liner notes.

Abba's debut Ring Ring did not garner much fan fare but it contained the aforementioned elements that would become the group's calling card. It's a little bit on the folkie side but contains some catchy tunes in the title track and People Need Love. Waterloo was sort of a breakthrough (it won them the Eurovision Song Contest) thanks to the classy Phil Spector-esque title track. It also showcased Benny and Bjorn's knack for adapting other musical idioms (the tropical "Sitting in the Palm Tree," and the rocking "King Kong Song").

Abba showed a gradual improvement in the music making process and foreshadowed the hit making tidal wave: "Mam,a Mia", "SOS," and the brassy wedding anthem "I Do I Do I Do I Do." Arrival lived up to its name (arguably the best album) and pretty much sums up what Abba was all about. It contains a bunch of great songs "Dancing Queen," "Knowing Me Knowing You," and the Latin lilt of "Fernando" (tacked here as a bonus track). The gorgeous and distinctive singing by Agnetha and Anni Frid never sounded so better.

From there it was all gravy. Abba's Album captured the group at its mania sort what A Hard Days; Night was for the Beatles and it contained another round of hit songs in "The Name of the Game" and the bubblegum "Take a Chance on Me." "Thank You for the Music," a sort of a group signature song, is part of a suite that foreshadowed Benny and Bjorn's foray into the musical a decade later.

Voulez-Vous is Abba's Eurodisco record with added emphasis on the rhythm without compromising the melody (the group must have been influenced by the Bee Gees at the time, which by the way the title track was recorded in the Miami studio where the Bee Gees hits were made). Voulez-Vous is a great dance record with the title track and Does Your Mother Know, and the corny but loveable disco of "Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)."

Super Trouper somewhat continued in its predecessor's direction but some of the songs documented the relationships between group members unraveling ("The Winner Takes it All," "Our Last Summer," the dance pummel of "Lay All Your Love On Me"). Whatever may had went down, they maintained its cheery harmonious image (the title track). The lack of noticeable hits on the New Wave influenced-The Visitors made it the appropriate swan songs though there were a couple of should have beens like "One of Us," "When All is Said and Done," and "Under Attack." It marked the end of a decade long reign of hits and an era. But Abba's place in pop music history had already been assured.

Granted Abba's catalog is not of the same calibur of the Beatles' or Zeppelin's, so owning all eight studio albums could be to the casual listener overkill. Gold and The Definitive Collection pretty much runs the gamut of summarizing Abba's career. But if you feel adventurous and a lover of heavily-orchestrated pop music, these albums won't exactly leave you in the red. If life was an Abba song, the world would be a better place to live in.