Arrival: Abba Really Arrive (Arrival - ABBA)

Member Name: keeperofthematri

Product:	Arrival - ABBA
Date:	19/05/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Generally high standard of songs

Disadvantages: Arrival (the track) is a bit of a letdown

"Arrival" was recorded in 1976 & originally featured 10 tracks by the group.

01) When I Kissed The Teacher
A strong opening track with a solo vocal by Agnetha. Stands up very well on its own.

02) Dancing Queen
What can one say about Abba's most successful single? A great track, released just before disco became the dominant sound of the late 70s. Guaranteed to get people on the dancefloor in any nightclub.

03) My Love, My Life
A gentle ballad with a solo vocal from Agnetha. It's pleasant enough but for some reason have never really made that much of an impression on me.

04) Dum Dum Diddle
Engaging piece of fluff about a girl who likes a guy that's more interested in his violin! It's not the most lyrically advanced song that Abba ever did but I've always had rather a soft spot for it & prefer it to the likes of My Love, My Life, Why Did It Have To Be Me & Arrival.

05) Knowing Me, Knowing You
Abba's fifth UK number one features a solo vocal by Frida & is, for my money, the best track on the album. It deals with the break-up of a relationship &, from that standpoint is, I suppose, a forerunner of The Winner Takes It All.

06) Money, Money, Money
Another lead vocal from Frida in what is perhaps the most theatrical track on the album. It was a UK number 3 hit in 1976 but is perhaps not quite a strong a track as Dancing Queen & Knowing Me, Knowing You.

07) That's Me
"Are You Sure You Wanna Hear More?" are the opening words for most of the verses of this track which details a girl (Carrie ~ not the kind of girl you'd marry) telling a guy why she can't marry him. Of course we wanna hear more:- it's a top tune. The final verse "There's a special love...." is the best.

08) Why Did It Have To Be Me
Bjorn takes lead vocal on this rather below par slice of rhythm & blues. It's rather overshadowed by That's Me & Tiger which are, frankly, both better songs.

09) Tiger
Originally mentioned as a potential future single by the critics when the album was first released, this tracks sees Abba featuring a slightly "harder" sound than on other tracks. Just listen to the drum pounding away! On the whole it's a good song but the slightly slowed down section ("yellow lights....") slightly decreases the overall impact of the song.

10) Arrival
I've nothing against instrumentals (love Classical Gas, The Good The Bad & The Ugly & a number of Shadows hits) but the title track of the album has never really worked for me. It comes across as a bit dirge-like & is definitely one to skip over in my opinion.


The 1997 remastered version of the album saw the group's third UK number one, Fernando, added to the playlist whilst later issues saw the addition of Happy Hawaii (originally the b-side to UK number one single Knowing Me Knowing You) as well as a number of non-English versions of Abba's singles.


11) Fernando
The group's third UK number one, started life as a song on Frida's solo Swedish album Ensam but the decision was then taken to re-record it as an official Abba single. Listen to the drum at the beginning of the track that evokes the military element of the song's storyline. This track is a definite improvement on previous Number One singles Waterloo & Mamma Mia.

12) Happy Hawaii
It seems rather odd hearing this track because it uses the same tune as Why Did It Have To Be Me, although with a slightly different arrangement. Agnetha & Frida take the vocals this time around but even so it's not Abba's finest hour.

Most people will be familiar with the three UK number ones hits:- Fernando & Dancing Queen (both 1976) & Knowing Me, Knowing You (1977) as well as 1976 number three hit Money Money Money, but the standard of the non singles is higher than on Abba's previous studio albums with When I Kissed The Teacher, That's Me & Tiger being particular highlights. Abba, as a group capable of turning out decent albums, had arrived.

Summary: Better album than Ring Ring, Waterloo or Abba