Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 07/11/05
Label: Polydor

Abba were one of the greatest, most insistently catchy, most sonically original pop bands of all time. This is a fact. If there isn't one of their songs which makes you want to jab chopsticks into your ears and grind, grind, grind then you are probably not a human being. This is also a fact.

So, here we have the entire collected studio works (remixes and alternate languages included) of Abba in one gigantic, nine CD strong, lavishly packaged collection, obviously targeted at four key markets. 1. Teenage Madonna fans who have never before heard the hideous/genius "Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)" before she sampled it. 2. Abba fans so obsessive they endured "Chess" more than once 3. Gay men so gay they swoon while passing Ikea and 4. Masochists.

There is actually no conceivable reason why anyone mentally stable would want to own this much Abba. "Waterloo" remains a stomping, glorious pop song and listening to it in a Swedish version cannot diminish that. Nor even a French version. But a German version is pushing it. As for "Gracias Por La Musica" - no exotic language can redeem that song's schmaltz.

But it's the hits by which Abba will be remembered. "Dancing Queen" is without doubt pop genius, but now so overfamiliar it doesn't just breed contempt but actively begs for it. And "Take A Chance On Me" is and always has been vile kitsch. As for "Fernando", only the mother of a Fernando could love it. And yet, on the other hand, there's the searing, soulful "Lay All Your Love On Me", the soaring "Money Money Money" and the dazzling disco glitz of "Voulez Vous".

And of course, there are the masterpieces, the moments where a pop band who almost belligerently didn't aspire to high art suddenly found themselves creating it. The melodic loveliness of "The Winner Takes It All" is only made more fascinating by the emotional cruelty behind it (two divorced husbands make their ex wives sing to the world about how badly they treated them). And "Knowing Me, Knowing You" is still one of the most agonising, most obviously depressed songs to have been wrapped up in a shiny, unforgettable pop tune.

And yes, there are joys here to be found which you won't find on a shabby greatest hits collection at your local late-night garage. Most notably, "The Day Before You Came", one of the best pop b-sides of all time. So if you have a lot of money, buy this collection, get ready to use that skip button and you probably won't regret it. But if you don't, then that garage greatest hits will give you most of what you need.

    by Jaime Gill