Customer Reviews

Arrival

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

With the arrival of Arrival, their fourth album, ABBA, the Swedish group were definitely on a roll, singles from their previous album having dented the Australian charts, and yielding another British #1. This album would yield two more, including one that was so big, it was easier to list the places where it didn't get to #1. Suffice it to say that Arrival is my favourite album because the songs and sounds, catchy rhythmic devices and great melodic arrangements keep getting better. Plus, along with their eponymous album, I first got a very full taste of these guys.

All I'm saying is that I hope the unnamed protagonist in the engaging "When I Kissed The Teacher" is not named Lolita, as it's a song about a student with a crush on the teacher who stuns the class when she performs the title act, much to the surprise of the teacher.

It was clear that the group was making inroads into disco, which was sweeping the US during this time, and "Dancing Queen," which scarcely requires elaboration, whose disco-like synths, highlighted by the piano work from Benny.

"My Love, My Life" is probably the best ballad I've heard from Agnetha, a lovely song even if it's a breakup song. Which means, yes, there are string arrangements

I've never heard a song about someone's violin practicing paying off and wishing for the same kind of attention to that point that the girl wished she was the fiddle so she'd be noticeable. That about sums it up for "Dum Dum Diddle." The synths hear somewhat mimic the fiddle, but not that much.

Frida sings two songs here and they are back to back. The first is the mid-paced and downbeat "Knowing Me, Knowing You", another breakup song, only this time, it seems marital divorce and permanent: "Walking through an empty house, tears in my eyes/here is where the story ends, this is goodbye." I wonder if this and "My Love, My Life" karmically backfired on them, as both couples divorced two albums later. And next...

An excerpt from the promo clip from "Money Money Money" was the first where I heard an ABBA song, and that was when I decided I had to have more of their stuff. The wishing and hoping of a hard-working down-on-her luck woman for a rich man, who'd probably never notice her. The catchy blend of guitars, keyboards, and harmony vocals is captured best here.

The quasi-feminist "That's Me," with its independent but sensitive protagonist features a synth that rapidly descends in register like a waterfall, also has another double rhyme in one line: "I'm Carrie not-the-kind-of-girl-you'd-marry."

The country-tinged "Why Did It Have To Be Me" is sung by Bjorn here, portraying a man who got burned by a woman who only wanted a quick affair, with Agnetha singing from the woman's POV. The sax here is buried beneath the usual instrumentation but can be picked up. However, the B-side of "Knowing Me, Knowing You," the wanting-to-have-a-great-fun-vacation of "Happy Hawaii," sung by Agnetha, was an earlier version of that song, as it has the same melody.

The guitars and drumming of "Tiger" is like that of "Mamma Mia," but this is a more hard-driving song, with a somewhat darker subject, the predatory dangers of the urban landscape, described as a jungle, nightmare, and prison, with the yellow eyes likened to the city's neon lights. The way they make the song tight and punchy with lines, "And if I meet you, what if I eat you, I am the tiger."

The title track is a wistful Celtic-like instrumental where Benny played any keyboards he could lay his hands on, per the liner notes, and Agnetha and Frida vocalizing like a choir towards the end. I can imagine a sunset listening to this.

When this CD was issued in the 1990's, "Fernando" was left off, so I had no idea it was part of this album. Fortunately, that fault has been rectified, and their other #1 UK single is thus included. Wavering between a mellow strings and flute ballad comparable to the love song or theme of some 70's movie and the usual engaging ABBA sound, this spent 14 weeks at the top in Australia.

Arrival demonstrates the band at their peak, with no sign of letup, yet from the faces on the album cover, I wonder if ABBAmania was taking its toll on the quartet.

I truely think that this CD is ABBA's best CD. They must have worked incredibly hard because it shows that they really are talented musicians.
Ratings on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the best.

1."When I Kissed The Teacher" is a really cute song about a student kissing a teacher. Agnetha dreamily croons, "One of these days i'm gonna tell him i dream of him every night. One of these days, gonna show him i care, gonna teach him a lesson alright." It's an adorable song and has really cool lyrics. It's one of those songs that makes you want to get up and dance. (10)
2."Dancing Queen" is as most people describe it, a 'classic'. It was probably ABBA's biggest hit and is very memorable. It's a completely awesome song ad has a wonderful beat to it. I absolutely adore it. (9)
3. "My Love, My Life" is such a beautiful, romantic song. It's definitely the best ballad performed by Agnetha. Agnetha is given the chance to show off her breathtaking voice and Bjorn and Benny get to show off the fact that they can write slow love songs as well as upbeat rock 'n roll songs. It's a sad song, butit has a beautiful meaning behind it. Simply lovely. (10)
4. "Dum Dum Diddle" indeed is about a different topic than most songs, but is nonetheless creative and made me smile because i lay the violin and sound bad sometimes, as does the person in the song. (9)
5. "Knwoing Me, Knowing You" is an awesome song and has meaningful lyrics as well. It's chorus has very powerful words and gets its meaning across very well. Great song. (10)
6. "Money, Money, Money" shows that Frida as well has a lovely, flowing voice. The song is about wishing you were rich and had more money. It's a disco song, but really makes you wanna dance. I LOVE this! Probably ABBA's best upbeat song. (10)
7. "That's Me" is a charming song about a girl who's not exactly what most guys want, but she doesn't care. She's probably beautiful (like Agnetha and Frida) but is shrewd and independent as the girls sing, "I can't help my ways, I'm just not the girl to hide my face." In other parts they say, "I'm not a man's toy, i'll never be." It's lyrics excelerate as does the music alone. (10)
8. "Why Did It Have To Be Me" shows that Bjorn is good at singing as well as composing music. The song is overall completely magnificent. (10)
9. "Tiger" is a good song and really has spooky lyrics. It sounds like it should be in the play "Cats". Nonetheless, i love it. (8)
10. "Arrival" is a beautiful instrumental. It sounds Celtic and is very relaxing. (10)
11. The bonus track "Fernando" is a very nice song. Very heroic and very fun. No wonder it was a big hit. (10)
12. "Happy Hawaii" has the same music to "Why Did It Have To Be Me", but was not used. "Why Did It Have To Be Me" is better but "Happy Hawaii" is good as well. (9)
My further comments are to buy this CD now!!!!

I originally bought this on LP, replaced it with a CD, and then replaced that CD when a re-mastered version was released with Fernando added as a bonus track, as well as much-improved sound quality. I decided not to bother with this, the most recent version, a digipack featuring Fernando and an additional bonus track, Happy Hawaii. I have not heard that song, but it uses the tune of When I kissed the teacher and first appeared as the B-side of Knowing me knowing you. It seems that Benny and Bjorn tried two completely different sets of lyrics, but When I kissed the teacher is a great opening song that demonstrates the high standard of the album.

The most famous song here is Dancing queen, which provided Abba with their only number one hit in America. It was also number one in Britain and many other countries. Fernando and Knowing me knowing me were also British number ones, while Money money money peaked at number three in December 1976.

Fernando was never released on any original Abba album, although it was included in many Abba compilations. It was released as a single in the spring of 1976 and its wonderful images and brilliant melody ensured that it was a huge hit in many countries, though it did not provide Abba with their American breakthrough. I wonder what might have happened if it had been released in America after Dancing queen.

Among the less well known tracks, Bjorn sings some lines on Why did it have to be me, while Tiger was tipped by some critics as a possible single. My love my life is a lovely reflective song. Arrival, the title track, is essentially an instrumental with the ladies singing la la la - but it works superbly, with a nice Celtic flavor.

Abba was - and still is - my favorite pop group. This was my favorite album of theirs even without Fernando, which I always thought should have been part of the album anyway.

Despite a string of huge hit singles in Europe and Australia, and a few minor hits in the USA, with the release of 'Arrival' ABBA finally fully realized the potential of the band. 'Arrival' was ABBA's fourth album, and all of the tinkering with singers and sounds on the previous three albums paid off big time with this blockbuster album.

While there is little agreement among ABBA fans as to what their best release actually was, almost all agree this was among their best. It is possibly one of the best pop music albums ever created! The CD starts off with the fun, acoustic guitar driven 'When I Kissed the Teacher' and doesn't let up through the great keyboard driven title song to finish off the CD. The CD does misfire once, on the song 'Dumb, Dumb, Diddle', but even that number has a killer hook in the chorus that most bands would love to have come up with.

Both of the big US singles on this CD are simply killer songs. 'Dancing Queen' was ABBA's biggest and most enduring hit in the USA, and possibly the world over. It features great piano licks all through the song and all the keyboard work is a testiment to Benny Andersson's taste and compositional genius. 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' showed the other side of ABBA. Where 'Dancing Queen' is a fun party song, 'Knowing Me...' dealt with relational breakups in a sensitive and well written way that displayed the emotional depth ABBA would delve into even deeper on subsequint releases.

Musically, ABBA has always mixed genres and styles together and always made them sound like their own. 'Arrival' blends disco (Dancing Queen), early 60's rock (Why Did It Have To Be Me), 70's rock (Tiger), ballads (My Love, My Life), instrumentals (Arrival), Broadway (Money, Money, Money) and pure pop (That's Me) into one cohesive CD of sheer pop genius. Both of the girls are in fine form vocally, with Agnetha's 'My Love, My Life' and Frida's 'Money, Money, Money' as standout vocal tracks.

The remastering of the CD adds to an already strong release and really brings out the layers that Benny played in the keyboards all over the CD, and the great bass guitar parts too. To top it off on the new CD release they added the killer single 'Fernando', which features some of Frida's best vocals, and the song 'Happy Hawaii' that later had the melody from the verse lifted for the 'Arrival' song 'Why Did It Have To Be Me'.

'Arrival' is ABBA at the top of the pop music charts, and clearly displays the lyrical and musical depth that continues to seperate ABBA from so much of the rest of the pop music world before and after. Buy the CD, turn up the stereo, and sing and dance along!

An internationally massive release this highly enjoyable album is a fan favourite and with good reason. The album spawned 3 big singles and even the filler songs included are melodic & vibrant.

The first song on the album is the charming "When I Kissed The Teacher". The song soars with melody and outstanding harmonies. It is followed by "Dancing Queen" an enduring classic that has reached almost mythic proportions. Anyone who has not heard of this song must be living a very sheltered life. The single was released in 1976 and reached #1 in almost every territory- the US included. One of the countries where it did NOT top the charts was in Canada where the single stayed in the # 2 spot for 5 weeks. Agnetha takes the lead in "My Love My Life", a beautiful ballad and one of ABBA's most under-rated songs. Agnetha really knows how to convey emotion in her voice which is probably why she was always given the lead in most of ABBA's tearjerker ballads- "SOS", "I've Been Waiting For You", "The Winner Take's It All", "One of Us", "Chiquitita". That combined with her extraordinary voice makes "My Love My Life" one of the album highlights. "Dum Dum Diddle" is the song that follows and is in sharp contrast. No sorrowful vocals here. Instead we are treated to a 2 and half minute ditty with a gorgeous tune. Many have complained about the lyrics but what is the big deal? I can name SEVERAL songs written by many respected artist's with lyrics that make no sense. Appreciate the song for what it is and boring it is not. Proceeding is one of ABBA's masterpeice's "Knowing Me Knowing you" (a-haaaa) which was another world wide smash reaching #1 in the UK, #2 in Canada and #14 in the US followed by the much loved "Money Money Money" a UK top 3 hit and a minor US hit (#56). The song's that follow are also worth mentioning, "That's Me" (one of Agnetha's favourites) offers yet again, a soaring melody and great harmonies, "Why Did It Have to be Me" has Bjorn sharing the vocals with the girls, "Tiger" is a heavy duty "almost" rock track and the lyric-less "Arrival" is a haunting celtic flavoured track.

Bonus tracks include the UK chart-topper "Fernando", which was ABBA's biggest selling single here in Canada where it reached #2, the single also reached #13 in the US singles charts and #1 on the Billboard AC charts and an earlier version of "Why Did it have to be Me" titled "Happy Hawaii" finishes off the CD.

"Arrival" was ABBA's first record to break into the US Top 40 of the Billboard Album charts. It peaked at # 20 and earned them a gold disc. The album was MASSIVE in Canada where it reached the Top 10 and in the UK where it topped the album charts for several weeks. Although "Arrival" is one of ABBA's finest albums, it is not my favourite, that crown goes to "Super Trouper" and "The Visitor's", however this is definately high on the list because the music is melodious and the girls voices are first rate.

When first released in 1976, many critics tore this album apart, especially in the US. Reading today's reviews from today's critics and it's a whole other story. It's about time music critics admitted the obvious- ABBA's music is enduring and (as one critic geniusly pointed out) very difficult to dislike. Not many pop/rock bands can match the sheer brilliance of ABBA's perfect pop.

So for the non-fans out there, get past the platforms, the feathered hair, the blue eye-shadow and form fitting polyester suits, it's about the music and the music is majestic.

Enjoy!

"Arrival" was the LP that broke ABBA in the USA with the #1 single "Dancing Queen" which was one of the biggest Top 40 singles of 1976-7. ABBA's earlier LP's were full of Bubblegummy Pop, and this album does has some silly songs like "Dum Dum Diddle" and "Tiger" - despite silly lyrics the melodies grab the listeners eardrums and dont let go. The group also starts dabbling in disco with the B-side of "Dancing Queen" - "Thats Me" which is one of ABBA's most overlooked dance tracks and rocks out convincingly with a 1950's styled number called "Why Did It Have To Be Me?". "When I Kissed The Teacher" is a great opening track and deserved to be a USA single way back then (though it appeared on 45 in other countries).

But this was also the album where ABBA starts maturing and growing up - ABBA first great ballad "Knowing Me Knowing You" is here too. "Arrival" was truely a landmark album for the group and all die-hard and new ABBA fans need to get a copy of this album.

This is the first ABBA vinyl album I have ever held in my hands, borrowed from my auncle and he bought it in Belgium. First of all, I was impressed by the exceptionally high quality photos, and by their music, of course. I used to play it again and again for some years, untill I found it unfear and returned back this vinyl to my auncle. The very sad end of this vinyl was that uncle's children put the hot tea-pot on it!!!!
But anyway now I am grown up and own all ABBA original albums in CD and some cimpilation CD. This is the best group ever, I guess, and the song Dancing Queen is a masterpiece.

ABBA, all four of them, were geniuses and you need to know that. This was their fourth offering, and not only did it contain the brilliant and perennial 'Dancing Queen' - - a joyous take on the dancefloor as nothing more or less than just that - - it also boasts the devastating empty-house ballad, 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' (as in, 'there's nothing we can do to save this relationship'). Sure, it has the archetypically sloggy 'My Love, My Life' but that particularly maudlin track is offset by the infectious Boots Randolph-inspired hilarity of 'Why Did It Have To Be Me' (a.k.a. 'Happy Hawaii') and the urban-drenched `Tiger'. Sure, Chrome could proclaim 'I Am The Jaw' with all the dark industrial menace they could muster in 1979, but ABBA beat them to it by two years, chirping 'And if I meet you, What if I eat you - - -I am the tiger!!' with voracious delight. As for the instrumental title track, it's a beautiful bit of Celtic-tinged progressive rock that sounds like something Mike Oldfield wished he could write, tee hee. And the extra track, 'Fernando', hey - - you've heard it and already know it's awesome. If ABBA doesn't astound and delight you, check your pulse . . . speaking personally, I hope you don't have one.

Abba never fully conquered the US which is really bizarre for not only is their music superb but levels above most music from their recording period - the 70s. I think part of it was their singles. Most of their singles were huge dance tracks. Awesome music but not songs to necessarily make a listener want to get an album. And it is on their albums with all their tracks that you see how truly talented they were. ARRIVAL was ther first album of theirs to be a big hit in the US and the singles DANCING QUEEN and KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU were a big part of the reason. But this set is almost pure perfection and is magic from beginning to end. It is one of the best albums by Abba but also a representation of just superb pop rock.

The album opens with WHEN I KISSED THE TEACHER, a great pop rock track, and then we get the super pleasure of DANCING QUEEN. This group can do anything musically and they prove that here. MY LOVE MY LIFE, KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU, THAT'S ME and TIGER shoow all different sides of the group in a magical way. Even a song with a title like DUM DUM DIDDLE is amazing. Here we get the original 1977 album digitally remastered for superb sound quality. It is as if listening to it for the first time. We also get great liner notes and bonus tracks FERNANDO and HAPPY HAWAII. These bonus tracks are in no way filler and make this cd release a 5 star experience. Don't fall under the assumption that Abba was only a dance music group. They did that great but were so much more and this cd is a great representation of that. I put it in my cd player and just hit repeat over and over. Pure music heaven. Enjoy.

Released in December 1976 following the hugely successful Greatest Hits album, "Arrival" took things to the next level for ABBA.

Leading off with the catchy "When I Kissed The Teacher" (why this wasn't a single is beyond me... I think it could've been a second US #1 had it been released right after "Dancing Queen"), Arrival ups the ante even though Waterloo and ABBA were already great albums.

The track that follows... "Dancing Queen", is not only the greatest recording of ABBA's entire catalog, but frankly, one of the greatest songs in history. It is just one of those songs that everything about it is right. The melody is beautiful to the point of tears, the song is so unbelievably catchy, the production is immaculate and the song really took ABBA from "hitmakers" to "superstars" and to this day is a classic.

Two more singles were released from the album. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was the followup to Dancing Queen in the US. In the UK, it was another #1 hit, but unfortunately it didn't get higher than #14 in America, which is a shame because it is definately in my top three ABBA tracks. The song in many ways is a precursor to the divorce ballads on Super Trouper and The Visitors.

"Money Money Money" was the followup to Dancing Queen in the UK, but wasn't released in the US until late 1977, when they were getting ready to release "The Album". The song is a great, almost sinister ode to money, I bet they played this song a lot in Vegas.

Non-singles are great too! "My Love My Life" is beautiful. "That's Me" is another track that could've (and should've) been a single, this song had smash all over it. ABBA did record a video for the song but it wound up the b-side to Dancing Queen in both the US and UK. "Tiger" is a rock side to ABBA. "Arrival" is an instrumental. "Dum Dum Diddle" and "Why Did It Have To Be Me?" are probably the two weak links on the album, but both songs are both good.

From here until their disbandment in 1982... ABBA ruled! Move on to "The Album" and all that follows after this. Forget "Abba Gold", the seperate albums are just as good. Overall, I'd rank this album fourth (but a very strong fourth) behind "Super Trouper", "The Visitors", and "The Album".