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It is said that this album was something of a departure for the group. That this was not the ABBA people had come to know and love. No "Waterloo". Not a trace of a "Dancing Queen". However, it should be pointed out that this album is not exactly "ABBA does Death Metal".

The opener and title track is perhaps the closest they came to emulating the New Wave/Synth Pop explosion of the time. Parts of it are reminiscent of "Summer Night City" (minus the disco) and "Eagle" (without the majesty) but it manages to create an interesting and unsettling sonic landscape all of its own which suggests an encounter of the third kind may very well be waiting behind the locked door (and they must surely score points for creating a pop song about Russian dissidents).

Next up is "Head Over Heals" which treats us to its fairground synths, jaunty chorus and tale of `goodtime girl gets herself into trouble'. This one is a bit like Agnetha's very own "Money Money Money" and lyrically is possibly a case of Bj'rn, a la Fleetwood Mac, cheekily having his ex sing a song about herself that isn't altogether flattering. Possibly.

"When All is Said and Done" is a standout in the style of "The Winner Takes it All", although it is surprisingly upbeat for a break-up song (and sort of Christmassy) with a positively defiant lead vocal from Frida. A song of shaking hands and walking away, head held high. Bittersweet rather than just plain bitter. It would have made a good, upbeat album closer, and had serendipity played its part properly, the perfect send off for the group: "Thanks for all your generous love and thanks for all the fun ..."

"Soldiers" is, for me, the forgotten gem on this album. Starting sparsely with a vaguely military drum and some admirably restrained guitar to dirty it up a little, it then segues effortlessly from a moody, understated first verse and Agnetha's plaintive lead vocal into the most sublime, unashamedly anthemic chorus, where Frida and Bj'rn join her in some quite beautiful harmonies. As for the enigmatic lyrics: "Soldiers write the songs that soldiers sing, the songs that you and I don't sing ..." What's that all about then? About the need to have the courage of your convictions be it in love or war? Answers on a postcard please. It works for me anyway.

Frida takes centre-stage once more for "I Let the Music Speak" aka "The One That Sounds Like It Belongs On The Soundtrack To Les Miserables Or Similar" (round about the point where some peasant woman stands up in her rags and sings heartrendingly about not having enough parsnips to make soup for her son who's just returned from The War). The lyrics though tell a different story. One of night-time hauntings and astral projection (ABBA staples then). This is no "I Wonder (Departure)". Dark, fanciful and slightly macabre on the verses, the choruses return us to more familiar ABBA territory with Frida displaying her quite formidable vocal prowess throughout.

After that we get "One of Us" and what can I say? It's just gorgeous. Greek tragedy laced with Swedish cool. A happy little drumbeat bouncing playfully along behind Agnetha's wrist-slashing and soaring vocals. A kitchen sink tearjerker in the great tradition of "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (a-ha!) and "The Winner Takes it All" and quite rightly an all-time favourite.

With "Two For the Price of One" the question is always going to be: "Is it as bad as everyone says?". Well, in short, yes. By and large it bears the rare distinction of being an unintentionally funny intentionally funny song. Wait until you hear the "quite exciting" husky voice that answers the mock-telephone (unless there's another layer to this fable which I'm completely missing). The one semi-redeeming feature is the chorus. Some interesting stuff where everyone joins in with some low-key harmonies and thankfully you can no longer tell what they're singing about. Then, just when all the verses are out of the way and you're sure it's safe to tap your foot till the finish, in blunders the Salvation Army and marches the song off to a merciful end.

Luckily, Agnetha is on hand to lead us back to sanity (and wave her child off to school) in the shape of "Slipping Through my Fingers". Saved from mawkishness and total schmaltz by one of those sublime, harmony-heavy choruses and Agnetha's crystal clear voice and heartfelt delivery.

"Like an Angel Passing Through My Room" closes the album proper. It has to be said that, on this album at least, most of the vocal kudos must go to Frida, and she plays a blinder in this last one. Stripped as it is of all sonic clutter - as well as harmonies - when the song begins you'll think, quite astonishingly, that she's singing from the corner of your room. A clock ticks away on the mantelpiece. A music box plays quietly in the background and Frida sings of lying down one last time and welcoming the Angel of Death. Amen.

Of the bonus tracks (all top-notch, especially "Under Attack" which features a good old-fashioned harmonic tussle between Abercrombie & Fitch in the chorus) "The Day Before You Came" is the classic - swirling, rain-drenched synths, a sense of impending doom and tantalisingly (the closing masterstroke) we never find out who - or what - `you' is. Pop Noir par excellence.

All of the trademarks which made the group so popular are still in place throughout - strong vocals, clever song-structures, barmy lyrics and a healthy smattering of Scandinavian navel-gazing and marital strife. All of it delivered with an icily immaculate production sheen - some of which sounds dated though much of it, due to the solid songwriting, simply timeless. In short, anyone with even the most limited musical palate will find something to enjoy in this album.

As Abba's last studio record, the band sent out a message to the world that they were no longer four, eternally smiling people who wanted to clobber us with bubbling, infectious pop music; rather now, they were telling us they meant business.

The interesting thing with the Abba catalogue is that you can hear their progression from one outting to the next. The Visitors is no exception--- it is infact, the most mature and progressive product they had ever done.

From the gloomy and lonely cover photo (gone are the bombastic outfits) which portrays them as four individual middle aged people looking off into a future without each other (indeed, by this point, the two couples were officially divorced)to the mood of the record's sombre notes, this is not your father's ABBA. The quality of the production, arrangements and performances helps this record, in my opinion, become a model for perfect pop productions. Arguably, a couple of the tracks crossed a line and moved past a traditional pop format (namely I Let the Music Speak and Like an Angel...) but with rich melodies and unparalleled vocal performances, they remain captivating.

This is a record where every member is in top form. Benny's melodies combined with his studio wiserdry, Bjorn's masterful English lyrics (showing a progression beyond anything he had ever written) and Agnetha's cool yet convincing story teller vocals shine beyond many of their earlier performances. But the true star here is Frida who brings a level of emotion and sophistication to her performances that we had never seen before. She manages to find her way through many different production and musical styles and stays believable and true through every note she sings. Listen to her on the bonus track "Should I Laugh or Cry"--- this is a woman who is frustrated and sad--- even if I never hear a lyric, the sound of her rich vibrato tells the whole story.

You don't have to be an ABBA fan to get the meaning of this record--- if you like perfect pop, listen to this... you won't be disappointed.

King Crimson, Queen, Genesis... ABBA? I never would have guessed it, but they all fit. I'm a prog rock fan at heart (you know... weird songs with lots of different movements, classical overtones and challenging chord structures), and I'm not sure how this CD came into my possession, but I love it! It's very intelligently done. Song arrangements are majestic, full and orchestral unlike the standard 80s pop. And of course they effortlessly slide back into simpler arrangements when necessary.

The title track is sung in a harmonic minor "Eastern" scale that at once reminds me of Led Zeppelin & the Beatles. Don't deprive yourself of this great track. The song "Soldiers" has a rather unconventional, brooding drumbeat in 3/4 which may be recognized as a precursor to the 90s alternative genre. But to me, the standout tune is "I Let the Music Speak", a powerful operatic piece not unlike Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" but with a darker, haunting melody. The last 2 songs "Slipping Through My Fingers" and "Like an Angel Passing" wrap up the album beautifully like the end of an exhausting adventure.

It becomes tragically apparent to me that ABBA was on the verge of a great musical evolution had they continued in this vein. Unfortunately this would be their last, and you'll be hard pressed to find another 80s album as progressive as this. "The Visitors" is to the 80s what "Sgt. Pepper" was to the 60s--a fleeting glimpse of something deeper than the norm.

This album is as dark as anything by Leonard Cohen. There is nothing to prepare you for what you are about to hear. Sure, there was a hint of this on 'Super Trouper' ('Happy New Year', 'Our Last Summer'), but the melodrama has been dropped for something far more introspective and mature. These songs are autobiographical and you suddenly realise that with the exception of 'The Winner Takes It All', they had not expressed themselves in this way before. The opening song, 'The Visitors' is so powerful, from the menacing intro into the forbidding claustrophobic vocals from Frida to the slabs of dominating synths at the end of the chorus. It is a sinister foretelling which perfectly conjures fearful pictures of the Soviet Union in '81. It took a while for me to realise that this is the only ABBA song ever written which does not rhyme at all. The ominous lyrics depicting thwarted hope ("These walls have witnessed all the anguish of humiliation and seen the hope of freedom glow in shining faces. And now they've come to take me. Come to break me. And yet it isn't unexpected"). This is not a song you'd care to listen to in the dark. 'When All Is Said And Done', as has been described, is a song about Frida and Benny's divorce but it also demonstrates a still vulnerable Frida lifting her head and moving on.......yet despite the forcefulness of the delivery, you can sense it masquerades real doubt. One of the most fascinating songs is also one of the most overlooked: 'Head Over Heels'. Not faring too well as a single, it is apparent this is supposed to be a bouncy, happy Abba song, but it fails in its remit. Agnetha gives it her best shot but fails. Their hearts are just not in it. Instead what you hear is melancholy all the way through. Like somebody who is grieving trying to laugh. Somehow, this makes it a far more interesting proposition. 'I Let The Music Speak' is otherworldly ("I'm hearing images, I'm seeing songs no poet has ever painted"). It's true that it feels as though it belongs in 'Les Miserables' but it is such a beautiful song that showcases Frida's voice perfectly. The original closer, 'Like An Angel Passing Through My Room', is sublime: a ticking clock and Frida lamenting her lost loves. This is inspired. The original recording ended with that ticking clock.... and you are left transfixed. Would they be back? That this was the last song of the last studio album is fitting: the perfect, yet unpredictable, finale. Of the additional tracks, 'The Day Before You Came' and 'Should I Laugh Or Cry' are the best. TDBYC is probably their finest recording. Agnetha is actually role-playing in this song: she is the bored, lonely woman.....and deliberately sings like one (hence the reason why her voice quivers so much in it). There is absolutely no hint of what comes after this typically dull day and, as such, she knows only by habit the sequence of the day's events. Frida's aria in between the verses is both haunting and heart-breaking. 'Should I Laugh Or Cry' features a restrained vocal performance by Frida with an interesting lyric where she is exasperated by everything that her partner says and does, her patience paper-thin (a far cry from 'Honey, Honey'!). This is not to overlook the beautiful 'Cassandra', yet another stand-out performance by Frida. There is a subtle warning, i guess, of the music contained inside by the beautifully contemplative album cover. Each of them pre-occupied with their own thoughts. The first time the four of them are not together and not looking at you. They started off as 'Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid' before fusing their names into ABBA. With this album, these four personalities burst out of the straitjacket of that acronym. With hindsight, it is evident listening to this, that they would not be back. A perfect swansong.

Sorry to see that thier last album was showing so much progression. One of the first groups to record in digital, and it shows with awsome sound quality. They were a group that had the rare ability to follow the music scene and change and grow with it while still makeing great music. Get this one!!

I'm a big ABBA fan, but was initially disappointed in this CD. I, however, learned to really like it because it was pretty strange.