Abba - The Album:Deluxe Edition

Sweeden's Sgt Pepper

Originally released in 1978 as a companion to their big screen debut, Abba’s fifth album marked a watershed in their career. They’d long since shaken off the Eurovision stigma, and even conquered the American charts with 1976’s Dancing Queen, but this was their most ambitious work to date.

Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus emerged as classy musicologists, eager to challenge the accepted notions of mainstream “pop”. The Album wasn’t exactly a concept piece, but its explorations of melody, harmony and lyricism (written in their second language, lest we forget) marked its makers out as thought-provoking, intelligent craftsmen. The Name Of The Game remains arguably their greatest achievement, a complex study of adult relationships underpinned by an elaborate arrangement that visited several musical styles. Beyond the shamelessly commercial Take A Chance On Me, Abba even dabbled in the fractured cabaret of Kurt Weill on the slightly bizarre I’m A Marionette.

The DVD collects together period TV appearances, including a quaint Blue Peter report. The record itself stands alone as an example of the extraordinary growth of one of the world’s most challenging and mature pop groups. By all means wallow in camp singalongs and Abba’s durability as West End showstoppers, but also doff your cap to their genius.

Polar/Universal | 060251731763

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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