Continuing with bands that have inspired me over the years, I want to share about ABBA. I first got into ABBA when I was 10 years old, still before I started playing cello or had any formal music training. Their songs were really catchy, and they stuck in my head. The first album I ever heard by them was Super Trouper. It was on an LP (a vinyl record). Back then, we didn’t have streaming apps or playlists. LPs and cassette tapes were not easy to skip around on, so I ended up listening to the entire album, start to finish. That happened a lot with LPs. I think that’s what the artists wanted us to do anyway—hear the whole story of an album, not just one song at a time.
When I was 10, or even when I was a teen, I didn’t fully understand what ABBA or any other artists were singing about. I just knew the melodies were fun, and I liked how their music made me feel. When I listened to ABBA again in my 20s and 30s, I finally understood the lyrics. I could relate to almost everything they were saying. That’s a different kind of experience. It reminds me of rewatching old cartoons as an adult and noticing all the jokes and puns that went over my head as a kid. A lot of ABBA songs are about relationships. Since ABBA was made up of two couples, I often wonder how many of their songs are about their own lives. For example, “The Winner Takes It All” is clearly about Björn and Agnetha’s breakup.
It’s hard to choose my favorite ABBA album, but I would say my top three are Voulez-Vous, The Album, and The Visitors. My absolute favorite song is “As Good As New” from Voulez-Vous. It reminds me of Elton John and Kiki Dee’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” Other strong songs from that album are the title track “Voulez-Vous,” which has a similar energy to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and “Does Your Mother Know” and “Summer Night City.” I sometimes wonder if the word “smile” in “Does Your Mother Know” came in at the wrong time on the recording—it sounds like Björn blurts it out late by accident.
When I was a teenager, I thought that the opening music from ABBA: The Movie was the opening riff of “Hole in Your Soul.” But I later found out that “Hole in Your Soul” didn’t exist yet when the movie was made. The song “Get on the Carousel” was actually the early version of “Hole in Your Soul,” and it shows up a lot in the movie. ABBA reworked it into “Hole in Your Soul” before releasing it on The Album. I only figured out that connection a couple of years ago. To me, The Album is ABBA’s best-organized record. The songs flow smoothly from one to the next. It also opens with a serious, medium-tempo song called “Eagle,” which is unusual for ABBA. Most of their albums start with more upbeat tracks.
Overall, The Album is pretty introspective. Songs like “The Name of the Game” and “I Wonder” show a thoughtful side of the band. “Take a Chance on Me” is a funny, charming song about a girl who just wants to be noticed. She’s dependable and overlooked. This song is the opposite of “That’s Me” from Arrival, which is about an independent woman who says she’s not “the kind of girl you’d marry.” Another song from The Album that I like is “Move On.” It has a nice Spanish-style rhythm.
The Visitors, ABBA’s final studio album, is another favorite of mine. The songs on it are serious and emotional. The title track sounds like the theme from Ghostbusters—and it came out three years before that movie. “Head Over Heels” is a quirky, upbeat song. My favorite on this album is probably “Soldiers,” but there are also some heavy, heart-wrenching songs like the reggae-inspired “One of Us,” the very 1980s-sounding “All Is Said and Done,” and the bittersweet “The Day Before You Came.”
Of course, I enjoy other ABBA songs outside of these albums. The funky song “My Mama Said” from Waterloo is really underrated. By the way, have you ever thought about the meaning of “Waterloo?” It’s worth pondering. “Man in the Middle” from ABBA’s self-titled album has a relaxed, Stevie Wonder-like groove. From Arrival, “Dancing Queen” and “Knowing Me, Knowing You” are classics. I also like “Tiger,” which has a driving, energetic beat.