Track Listing

1. Waterloo
2. Sitting In The Palmtree
3. King Kong Song
4. Hasta Manana
5. My Mama Said
6. Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)
7. Honey, Honey
8. Watch Out
9. What About Livingstone
10. Gonna Sing You My Love Song
11. Suzy-Hang-Around
12. Ring, Ring
13. Waterloo
14. Honey Honey

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15357 in Music
• Released on: 2002-03-22
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording remastered, Extra tracks
• Dimensions: .24 pounds
• Running time: 44 minutes

CD Description
ABBA's second album, titled after their breakthrough single, which won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, shows how the Swedish foursome was already starting to outgrow the confines of the chirpy bubblegum with which they originally made their name. Super-catchy songs like "Waterloo" and "Honey Honey" abound, but composers Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson seem to be taking cues from greats like Lennon and McCartney and Brian Wilson, slipping febrile, inventive tunes like "What About Livingstone" and "Suzy Hang Around" in amongst silly but entertaining trifles like "Sitting in the Palmtree" and "King Kong Song".
Meanwhile, "Hasta Manana" shows the first glimpse of the fascination with Latin music that wouldlead to songs like "Fernando" and, much later, the Oro and Mas Oro compilations. Overall, WATERLOO shows that ABBA was well on their way to the brilliance of their later career asthe decade's foremost purveyors of commercial pop.

Customer Reviews

ABBA`S best album. Yes, really!!
I`ve been meaning to write this review for sometime to set the record straight regarding ABBA`s greatest album debate.

It`s natural for a band to spend more and more time in the studio the longer they`ve been together and ABBA were no exception. But it`s often the early work recorded in less time that sounds fresher, more exciting and spontaneous. On `WATERLOO` you get to hear ABBA before they bought their super-douper new studio and made too many songs sound awash with keyboards and synthesizers. Listen to the guitar on `WATCH OUT` or the excellent bass on `MY MAMA SAID`. This is a band new and fresh and bursting with ideas.

There are so many great songs on this album and it all seems like good fun. Both couples are still together and happy. Later on it all got a bit too serious for me.

`DANCE WHILE THE MUSIC...`, `HASTA MANANA` and `HONEY, HONEY` are three of ABBA`s greatest tunes. No question. Even better is the superb ballad `GONNA SING YOU MY LOVESONG`. Still one of my favourite songs of all time.
But what about `SITTING IN THE PALMTREE` and `KING KONG SONG` I hear you cry! Well, o.k. I`ll admit they`re not in the same league as the other songs but they do lend the album variety and `quirkiness` which, for me adds to the albums charm.

So yes, I believe it`s their best. Better even than `ARRIVAL`. `WATERLOO` may contain `KING KONG SONG` but don`t forget on `ARRIVAL` you`ve got `DUM DUM DIDDLE`!. `ARRIVAL` is of course a great album but I feel side one (despite `DUM DUM DIDDLE`)is far superior to side two. `WATERLOO` is more consistent over the two sides of the album. That`s for those of you who remember vinyl! Talking of which, if you really want to hear this album at it`s best then it never sounded better than on good old vinyl. This format suits the sound of their earlier work whereas CD perhaps suits the latter albums better.

One more thing I`d like to mention about `WATERLOO`. Like the two albums which came out either side of it, `WATERLOO` has more lead vocals performed by Bjorn than on later albums. I thinks this helps to add variety to the proceedings. FLEETWOOD MAC and THE EAGLES are just two bands who have benefitted from using three or more lead vocalists. And yes, I`m well aware how good the two girls are. But don`t underestimate Bjorn. Just listen to him growl on `WATCH OUT`. Great stuff! GREAT ALBUM!

A great introduction to ABBA
Unlike those of you in Europe, we here in the USA did not have the Eurovision Song Contest to give us our first exposure to ABBA. I first heard the song on Y100 (WHYI) in the summer of 1974, and it was probably the most requested song on the station. It blasted me away the first time I heard it, and I was hooked. This album also gives us the Swedish version, the studio version of how it was presented in Brighton in 1974. This remastered version brings out more of the detail in the sound. Awesome! The only thing that would make this, and the other reissued albums, better would to reissue them as hybrid SACD's with 5.1 surround sound. ABBA's music would be a natural for this type of treatment. Should this be done, I can only ask UMG to please do it right this time, not as was done with the Moody Blues reissues.

The Beginning of a fantastic ABBA history!!!!!!!
'Waterloo' is a fantastic ABBA album. All of its songs are simply amazing. My favourites are 'Dance (While The Music Still Goes on)' and 'Gonna Sing You My lovesong.' Allthe others are simply superb as well. ABBA were heading for better success in the future, but still, a fantastically put-together ABBA album. 'Waterloo' is another brilliant masterpiece thats beginning to catch the true meaning of the world of the best pop group of all time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!