Waterloo: A review of Abba's second studio album (Waterloo - ABBA)

Member Name: keeperofthematri

Product:	Waterloo - ABBA
Date:	20/05/09 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hearing what sounds Abba were experimenting with prior to Eurovision

Disadvantages: A number of ropey songs

Abba's second album was named after their Eurovision winning track & originally featured 12 tracks by the group.

01) Waterloo.
Triumped at Eurovision in 1974 & went to number one in the UK & a number of other countries. This is without doubt the best track on the album, but better singles were to come from the group.

02) Sitting In The Palmtree
An odd little track which sees Bjorn take on lead vocals. It's inoffensive enough but not something you'll probably be wanting to hear over & over again.

03) King Kong Song
Another oddity that sees Bjorn takes lead vocals for some of the time. Apparently he saw a movie on the TV last night & just had ton write a song about it. After listening to this you could be forgiven for wishing that the TV had been broken!

04) Hasta Manana
At one point this was under consideration as the song for Abba to use for their Eurovision bid. The only reason it wasn't used is that it's primarily sung by Agnetha rather than by both girls. It's a pleasant enough song & a definite improvement on Sitting In The Palmtree and King Kong Song.

05) My Mama Said
Better than Sitting In The Palmtree & King Kong Song but less good that Waterloo & Hasta Manana. The interesting thing (from a lyrical point of view) is that the second & fourth lines in each chorus of the song are different whilst the first & third (which are "My Mama Said") remain the same.

06) Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)
I rather like this. In terms of the first six tracks Waterloo is easily the best but then it's arguable whether this or Hasta Manana would come second. Bjorn gets to sing some of the lyric.

07) Honey Honey.
This was a UK hit single for a group called Sweet Dreams. Not lyrically the best song that Abba have done (Waterloo, Hasta Manana & Dance While The Music Still Goes On) are all better but it does have a rather nice middle eight.

08) Watch Out.
Oh dear it all falls apart again here with another lead vocal from Bjorn. One to skip over if you ask me.

09) What About Livingstone
A rather basic song that points out that mankind wouldn't advance without people like Livingstone who pushed themselves to discover new things. It doesn't flow very well as a track which is why you might tire of listening to it after a while.

10) Gonna Sing You My Lovesong
The starts off quite well with a rather nice verse. Unfortunately the chorus crashes into things too loudly & rather ruins the song.

11) Suzy Hang Around
And another lead vocal for Bjorn! Not quite as bad as Sitting In The Palmtree & King Kong Song but nowhwere as good as anything on Arrival for example.

12) Ring Ring
The song which Abba entered into the Swedish Eurovision heats in 1973 & which failed to get selected. The English lyrics were written by Neil Sedaka & Phil Cody. In terms of this album it's an ok song. Not as good as Waterloo but on a par with Hasta Manana & Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)

Later versions of the album also included:-

13) Waterloo (Swedish version)
The Eurovision winning song sung in Swedish.

14) Honey Honey
Another version of track seven.


Waterloo is probably the only track familar to most people, although Ring Ring was a hit in a number of countries (number 33 in the UK). The album is very uneven & can be viewed as an attempt by Abba at trying out a number of musical styles before deciding which direction they would go in. Anyone expecting a host of hidden early gems will be very disappointed. One for the dedicated fan who wants to see what sort of sound Abba were producing in the run up to the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.

Summary: One for the person interested in Abba's early days