Waterloo - ABBA***

Waterloo (Swedish)/Sitting In The Palmtree/King Kong Song/Hasta Manana/My Mama Said/Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)/Honey Honey/Watch Out/What About Livingstone/Gonna Sing You My Love Song/Suzy Hang Around/Waterloo (English)

Swedish pop group Abba came to the attention of British audiences with their barnstorming victory in the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo, which subsequently became a UK No.1 hit. (US:145 UK:28)

“A very uneven album, some of the tracks are perfect, simple delightful pop songs that are capable of bringing you instant happiness. Then there are some rather unremarkable ones. Overall, Abba are a very energetic band on this album, not very original but their pop enthusiasm is addictive.”

“Abba were well on their way to becoming the greatest group in the history of catchy and accessible pop. While their debut had a couple of great songs, Waterloo is clearly a stronger LP overall. Kicking off with a Swedish lyric version of their all-time classic title track, the album is an enjoyable listen with some exceptions to their now familiar sound; Sitting In The Palmtree is quirky little oddity, and we also get Abba's take on hard rock in Watch Out, a rather unusual track in their discography.”

“It's clear that by their second album, Abba had latched on to the magical formula that makes their music so special. While Waterloo isn't their best, it has enough classics to compare favourably to their later releases, and is a definite improvement over their debut. Of course, there's the title track, which is one of the group’s signature songs and one of the greatest pop songs ever recorded. But there's also the lovely Hasta Mañana, which features the glorious, bittersweet melancholy that they would become known for on later songs Honey Honey is a very catchy tune as well, while Watch Out is a brilliant rock song.”

“The songs on Waterloo already improve on those from the debut, perhaps because they are now definitely a group rather than a pair of couples having a good time just singing songs. Abba at this point had not yet found their feet; hence an album full of conflicting styles and genres. There is no real uniting factor, with all four members taking lead vocal duties on at least one song.”

“The band are terrific, but this is marred by inconsistency (the guys sing way too many songs) and some forgettable tunes. It sounds too imitative of other influences. They would have to wait until the next album for the pieces to come together.”