1976 ABBA-Arrival

"In these old familiar rooms, children
would play now there is only emptiness ,nothing to say"

ABBA-ARRIVAL 1976 Available worldwide on CD

Was ABBA at it's peak here? Quite possibly! This is a very strong pop album. There are few studio albums in pop music that are so filled with catchy listenable hooks . On a technical level, It's a nearly flawless production. ARRIVAL's major flaw is that most of the songs lack emotional or intellectual depth. Even pop songs require a little heart and soul, and many early ABBA records lack that. Most of ABBA's major pop rock contempories, (especially American artists) were at least able to fake emotional or intellectual depth. Bjorn and Stig were still largely writing weak lyrics that often lacked any real meaning.

This was the first of the ABBA studio albums to sell in large quantities in a every English speaking territory.

The prior studio albums sold exceedingly well in Scandinavia, Australia, Germany, and The Low Countries,but ARRIVAL was the first of the ABBA studio albums to sell in large quantities in a every English speaking territory. Indeed ARRIVAL was probably ABBA's most widely successful album, though their next three studio albums also did very well.

ARRIVAL did hit Number one in many territories,and the total worldwide sales of this album are thought to be in the ten million unit range , probably more than any of the other ABBA seven ABBA studio albums. ABBA first Greatest Hits album is also thought to have sold over 10 million copies worldwide and of course ABBA Gold has sold well over 20 million copies. .. Still, Unlike some other big acts of the 1970's and 1980's (Fleetwood Mac, Peter Frampton, Carole King , the Bee Gees, Bruce Springsteen ) there isn't really one ABBA album studio album that substantially out performed the others, internationally speaking. ABBA was success was a constant .Of course, ABBA peaked differently in each market. ABBA was like The Beatles, Billy Joel,or Garth Brooks-they had a long string of consistently successful albums,

ARRIVAL was released in most territories in the late 1976 to a world hungry for new ABBA product. It was probably the most anticipated ABBA album.The early 1976 to early 1978 period saw the release of a string of seven singles that resulted in six British #1's & and one #2 chart placing. Three of the songs were songs from ARRIVAL-"Dancing Queen' ,"Knowing Me, Knowing You" , and "Money,Money, Money",

ARRIVAL was the first album to feature ABBA's famous backwards "B" trademark. The trademark was designed by Rune Soderqvist, ABBA's album designer.

Musician credits sourced from original CD/album liner notes or from THE COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS by Carl Magnus Palm.

TRACK BY TRACK

1. When I Kissed The Teacher (Andersson-Ulvaeus) 3.02 Recorded June 1976

Lead & Backing Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog, Vocals-Frida Lyngstad
12 String Guitar & Backing Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus
Keyboards-Benny Andersson
Lead Guitar-Janne Schaffer
Bass Guitar-Rutger Gunnarsson
Drums-Ola Brunkert
Percussion -Malando Gassama

The album opens with "When I Kissed The Teacher" an amazing example of B&B's and their bands ability to come up with original arrangements-12 string guitars, basses,keyboards all come at you from surprising places. Of course, the lyrics are shite. The song was actually made into one of ABBA's few story like filmclips for a TV special... This is one of those songs where you wonder-hey did Bjorn think up that guitar opening-is he actually that good...

2. Dancing Queen (Andersson-Anderson-Ulvaeus) 3.50 Recorded August 1975

Lead & Backing Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog,Frida Lyngstad
Guitar & Backing Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus
Keyboards-Benny Andersson
Electric Guitar- Janne Schaffer
Bass Guitar-Rutger Gunnarsson
Drums-Roger Palm, String Arrangements-S.O. Walldorf

This album featured three big hits."Dancing Queen' , ABBA's first nod
toward the then emerging Disco scene, was probably ABBA 's biggest hit ever worldwide -it hit # 1 in the most countries . "DQ' is one of ABBA's most flawless records-there is nothing that could done to improve the recording. This elegant single was ABBA's only #1 hit in America. "Dancing Queen' was even sung to Sweden's queen in a Royal Command Performance.

"Dancing Queen" is probably ABBA's most famous song-but as well done as it is-it's certainly not a very important song-or a very meaningful song. That is certainly a weakness of ABBA-, ABBA simply does not compare well to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, U2, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen. or other pop/rock acts that have managed to have recorded bodies of work that included a lot of vital and meaningful music.

3. My Love, My Life (Andersson-Anderson-Ulvaeus) 3.52 Recorded August 1976

Lead & Backing Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog, Vocals-Frida Lyngstad
Guitar & Backing Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus
Keyboards-Benny Andersson
Lead Guitar-Janne Schaffer
Bass Guitar, String arrangments-Rutger Gunnarsson
Drums-Ola Brunkert

" My Love, My Life" was one of ABBA's sweetest ballads and best melodies.The lyrics are pretty good. Agnetha sings it well. Benny, was not totally happy with the overly busy production on this track-perhaps a recognition on his part, that sometimes he was not quite sure how to take his beautiful melodies and turn them into great records...

4. Dum Dum Diddle (Andersson-Ulvaeus) 2.53 Recorded July 1976

Lead & Backing Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog,Frida Lyngstad
Guitar & Backing Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus
Keyboards, Accordion-Benny Andersson
Guitar-Lasse Wellander
Bass Guitar-Rutger Gunnarsson
Drums-Ola Brunkert
"Dum Dum Diddle" has quite a dumb lyric but also is incredibly hooky, one of the catchier songs on album on a filled with catchy songs. And yes there is an accordion in there....

5.Knowing Me, Knowing You (Andersson- Anderson-Ulvaeus) 4.02 Recorded March 1976

Lead & Backing Vocals-,Frida Lyngstad,Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog
Guitar & Backing Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus
Backing Vocals, Keyboards-Benny Andersson
Guitar-LasseWellander , Janne Schaffer
Bass Guitar-Rutger Gunnarsson
Drums-Ola Brunkert
Percussion -Malando Gassama
ABBA's first single (with the possible exception of "Fernando' ) that had lyrics that actually made any sense. The troubled relationship theme was one that would prove to be important theme for later ABBA songs.
The vocals of KMKY seemed derivative of the 1960's American group,
the Mamas and The Papas ,but the guitar in KWKY was playing a melody that could only have been dreamn't up by Europeans.Oh and did I mention the bass guitar...well I could go on and on ...KMKY is just a great record ! Perhaps even better than "Dancing Queen".

The video for KMKY was one of Lasse Hallestrom's homages to Swedish director -Ingmar Bergman. (Lots of side profile angles!). Lasse Hallstrom, directed most of ABBA's videos (as well as ABBA-The Movie) ,he would later go onto direct films in Hollywood. This song is famous for being used as the title and theme of British TV show with the same name..

This song like so many other ABBA songs features the use of the vocal device -"a ha" which for some reason ABBA just loved to do. In this case-it's done by Bjorn and what is probably one his most effective ABBA background vocals...

6. Money, Money, Money (Andersson-Ulvaeus) 3.05 Recorded May 1976

Lead & Backing Vocals-,Frida Lyngstad,Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog
Guitar & Backing Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus
Backing Vocals-Keyboards-Benny Andersson
Lead Guitar-Anders Glenmark
Bass Guitar-Rutger Gunnarsson
Drums-Ola Brunkert

ARRIVAL's third single was "Money,Money, Money". It is not the kind of great single that "Fernando", "Dancing Queen" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You" are. Björn admits that Money X3 uses a lyrical theme that had already been done one too many times, but Frida's jazzy cabaret singing brings it off with verve. And , this song has had some impact-I often hear Money X3 used on American news programs when a musical theme for money is required. That's strange because here in America the song didn't even make the all important Top 40, "Money ,Money,Money" broke ABBA's American string of 8 top 40 hits . Yes, folks ABBA actually did get played on American radio. And, yes, the song too has the "A-ha" device.

7. That's Me (Andersson-Anderson-Ulvaeus) 3.15 Recorded March 1976

Lead & Backing Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog,Frida Lyngstad
Banjo, Guitar & Backing Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus
Synth, Keyboards-Benny Andersson
Lead Guitar-Janne Schaffer
Bass Guitar-Rutger Gunnarsson
Drums-Ola Brunkert
Percussion -Malando Gassama

"That's Me" (also on the b-side to "Dancing Queen" ) is a great showcase for cool, smooth A&A harmonies. Released as an A-side in Japan. The arrangement on this track is slick....

8. Why Did It Have To Be Me (Andersson-Ulvaeus) 3.20 Recorded August 1976

Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog,Frida Lyngstad
Guitar & Lead Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus
Backing Vocals. Keyboards-Benny Andersson
Lead Guitar-Janne Schaffer
Bass Guitar-Rutger Gunnarsson
Drums-Ola Brunkert

Sax-LArs Carlsson
"Why Did To Have to Be Me", is amongst the most enjoyable of ABBA's songs with Björn in the lead. It is almost 1950's style rocker, that had originally been recorded as "Happy Hawaii". In concert, the song featured Frida doing some of the lead vocals, bringing out the humour in the song.

9. Tiger (Andersson-Ulvaeus) 2.55 Recorded July 1976

Lead & Backing Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog,Frida Lyngstad
Guitar & Backing Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus
Keyboards-Benny Andersson
Lead Guitar-Lasse Wellander
Bass Guitar-Rutger Gunnarsson
Drums-Ola Brunkert

Tiger" is a good rock number elevated by it lovely soft bridge. It's the kind of a song that you would almost think would make a good single, but on reflection you , say to yourself no probably not....Cool rock numbers would become scarcer in the ABBA repertoire from this point forward...The lyric is kind of stupid....so once again it was not a serious candidate from American radio...

10. Arrival (Andersson-Ulvaeus) 3.00 Recorded Augsut 1976

Backing Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus Backing Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog,Frida Lyngstad
Synthesizers,Accordion,Keyboards-Benny Andersson String arrangments-Ruger Gunnarsson
Strings-Martin Bylund, Anders Dahl, Gunna Michols, Bernt Nylund, Bo Soderstrom Harry Teike, Lars Avinder, Alm Ersson

ARRIVAL's title track was also it's closing track , it's an instrumental though it does have backing vocals. It's very effective, even if to some it seemed out of place. British musician Mike Oldfield recorded a cover version,of "Arrival" and he even had a photograph of him in a helicopter taken for his record. "Arrival" is similiar to some of the Swedish accordion/ violin folk music on Benny's solo albums.

BONUS tracks:

11. Fernando (Andersson-Anderson-Ulvaeus) 4.05 Recorded August 1975

Lead & Backing Vocals-,Frida Lyngstad,Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog
Guitar & Backing Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus
Backing Vocals, Keyboards-Benny Andersson
Lead Guitar-Lasse Wellander
Bass Guitar-Rutger Gunnarsson
Drums-Ola Brunkert
Percussion -Malando Gassama
Flute -Jan Kling Strings arranged by S.O. walldorf.

The 1976 single "Fernando' was included as a bonus track on the original Australian version of ARRIVAL and on some of the recent remastered editions" Fernando" was ABBA's first successful ballad hit. IT was ABBA's biggest hit in Australia as well as one of the biggest selling hits ever in Australia. "Fernando" had been originally written in Swedish for the FRIDA ENSAM album, but a English language version with both Frida & Agnetha singing was prepared for release by ABBA on the first Greatest Hits album. The song seems both over exposed and fresh at the same time. The intro and flute still can bring chills to the spine.

The special intro helped made this first ABBA song to exceed four minutes in length. During the songwriting process, "Fernando "had emerged as a Swedish tango ,but had soon developed a ersatz Mexican feel. It almost sounds like a Spanish act recorded it-and reminds a one a little of the Spanish song-"Eres Tu.' The chorus to the song is probably the ABBA hit that is easiest to sing along to.

12. Happy Hawaii (Andersson-Anderson-Ulvaeus) Recorded April 1976

Lead & Backing Vocals-Agnetha Faltskog,Frida Lyngstad
Guitar & Backing Vocals-Bjorn Ulvaeus
Keyboards-Benny Andersson
Lead Guitar-Janne Schaffer . Lasse Wellander Steel Guitar-Janne Lindgren
Bass Guitar-Rutger Gunnarsson
Drums-Ola Brunkert
Percussion -Malando Gassama

Released as the b-side to "Knowing Me, Knowing You", this was the early version of "Why Did It Have To Be Me". It has the girls singing,and sounds quite Hawaiian. "Why did it have to be Me"is probably better.... "Happy Hawaii" was actually made into a cartoon video in Australia before it was actually released as a b-side. Sadly ,the original video was destroyed,but a copy was released for the deluxe version of the ARRIVAL album. This is good choice for a b-side, it was not bad enough to be left unreleased ,but it would have been out of place on the Arrival album.. This was first original ABBA song in four years to be relegated soley to be a b-side. .

"Happy Hawaii" did not make it onto a album till the late 1980's.

Other tracks recorded or released

An early version of "My Love, My Life" called "Monsieur Monsieur" was also recorded but not released . It is an "Our Last Summer" themed song with an Agnetha lead vocal. "Monsieur" was done in a much higher key with different lyrics than,"My Love, My Life" the song that it would later become. It might have been interesting to record "Monsieur Monsieur" in French,

B&B also wrote a disco song that ABBA considered but apparently didn't record called "Funky Feet". "Funky Feet" ended up being given to Polar label mates Svenne And Lotta. ABBA rejected because it sounded too much like a second rate version of "Dancing Queen" .

The B-side "Crazy World" released around this time was actually mostly recorded in the fall of 1974. Thus it was included on ABBA's 1975 self-titled album as a bonus track in recent remasterings.

Spanish vocal overdubs were recorded for "Fernando, "Dancing Queen" and Knowing Me, Knowing You" in 1980.

OTHER VIEWS- excerpts from published reviews of the ARRIVAL album.

-"The texts. They are almost exclusively miserable/deplorable, empty in both
feelings and ideas... can't ABBA offer of themselves? Have they no feelings
of their own? No opinions or views about what they experience?"
Mats Olsson, writing in Sweden's Expressen newspaper.

--"Gushing with enthusiastic naivete, here come those sibiliant Swedes again, blanketing the globe with affecionate harmonies of polar sirens!..."Dancing Queen' has already evolved into a disco cliche, but the elaborate use of strings on this record forces one to ignore the trendy rythems, and there are least five more smasheroos destined for the dj's turntables spread all over this record." Robot A. Hull writing in America's Cream.

--- "Even more than previous albums, ARRIVAL is Muzak mesmerizing in its modality . By reducing their already vapid lyrics to utter illelevance, Anna & Frida are liberated to natter on in their shrill voices without regard to emotion or expression, and the language barrier is broken... B&B's expansions of the popsong hook* envelope the entire song into a single narcotic hug as on "Dancing Queen", "Dum Dum Diddle"and "Money Money Money" This is perhaps the most infuriating thing about the group... since they are so cheery and determinedly inoffensive, one cannot really hate them."- Ken Tucker in America's Rolling Stone April 7, 1977 issue.

* (note: The "Hook" is the catchy part of a song-ABBA were the absolute masters of the pop hook.

ABBA-ARRIVAL (Remastered version) 2001 CD and Digipak limited edition.

The latest remastering includes liner notes by Carl Magnus Palm, rare photos and 2 bonus tracks- "Fernando"and "Happy Hawaii" ."Happy Hawaii "had not been on any previous additions of this album.

1. When I Kissed The Teacher; 2. Dancing Queen; 3. My Love, My Life; 4. Dum Dum Diddle; 5.Knowing Me, Knowing You. 6. Money, Money, Money; 7. That's Me; 8. Why Did It Have To Be Me; 9. Tiger; 10. Arrival;

extra tracks: 11. Fernando; 12. Happy Hawaii

*Swedish release October 76 #1

* UK release November 76 #1

* US release January 1977 #20

* Recorded at Metronome, Glen, KMH studios,Stockholm

* Recorded August 1975-Sept 76

* Picture sessions for the Arrival album were taken at the Barkarby flygfält airfield in Barkarby north-west of Stockholm City.

*Songs written and Produced by Andersson-Ulvaeus

SINGLES released FROM ARRIVAL

Dancing Queen/That's Me

Money Money Money/Crazy World (non Lp)

Knowing Me, Knowing You/Happy Hawaii(non- LP)