Ring Ring [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

ABBA

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 16, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1973
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B00000768B
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #533,439 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
ABBA was originally called Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida--the name with which the title track of this, their 1973 debut album, was entered into the Swedish heat of the Eurovision Song Contest. The tune didn't get picked, but the resultant public outcry was such that ABBA's future was assured. Both Bjorn and Benny had already been Swedish rock icons in the '60s--Benny, most notably, in the Hep Stars, better known as "the Swedish Beatles," while Bjorn sang in a folk-rock combo. Anni-Frid, meanwhile, had won several national talent contests and Agnetha had topped the Swedish singles chart by the age of 18. Ring Ring, although lightweight, does contain some poignant rumblings of albums to come. Mostly, though, it is along the lines of the winsome "She's My Kind of Girl" and fun-time "Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother"--music that reflected the group's past, not its future. --Everett True

Product Description
24 bit digitally remastered reissue of the Swed- ish group's 1973 debut. 12 tracks: 'Ring Ring', 'Another Town, Another Train', 'Disillusion', 'People Need Love', 'I Saw It In The Mirror', 'Nina, Pretty Ballerina', 'Love Isn'tEasy', 'Me And Bobby And Bobby's Brother', 'He Is Your Brother', 'She's My Kind Of Girl', 'I Am Just A Girl' and 'Rock 'N' Roll Band'. NOTE: Jon Astley, who did the recent remastered reissues for the bulk of The Who's back catalog, did these as well.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars SO-SO, January 28, 2000

By	"fattyboy18" (western australia) - See all my reviews

To put it bluntly the worst songs ever made by ABBA are in this album but since this album has 12 songs to choose from there are still hints of future success of the group. At the time known as Agnetha Bjorn Benny And Frida the group messed around with different techniques to find the perfect sound for the group. Although not found in this album there are a few songs such as :RING RING , ANOTHER TOWN ANOTHER TRAIN AND NINA PRETTY BALLERINA show that this rookie group could go far if they worked more on their melody. This is a reasonable beginning but not too flash. Definately not a very good ABBA album but still they were only just starting out and the albums after that pretty much showed how well they could be. Die hard fans will love it but the rest of us stick to greatest hits albums to get the better of the songs on this album.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Humble Beginnings, January 30, 2000

By	Windsor Bear "-=WB=-" (Isle of Wight, VA USA) - See all my reviews

When ABBA arrived in the US via Atlantic Records in the early/mid 70's; the earliest work you could get of them was the "Waterloo" album. Although some tracks from "Ring Ring" did show up on their "Greatest Hits" LP in '76, most of us had never heard the rest of the tracks from this, their first album. I am delighted to finally be able to add this first album to my ABBA collection. Although some people find the tracks on this album to be inferior to their later releases, I find this album to reflect their "roots" if you will. Most of the tracks reflect a happy upbeat time in the groups career; a far cry from some of their later releases which reflected sadder times in the members personal lives. The best tracks on the disc include "Ring Ring," "Another Town, Another Train," "He Is Your Brother," and "Rock 'N Roll Band." And yes, while it is easy to tell that this album was the beginning of what would become a phenominal sensation all over the world, the mood of this album is more true to life of what the group was all about. If you're a fan of the group as a whole, you will want this album. If you're only a fan of their biggest hits, you might want to skip it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Underrated; you can already hear movement towards greatness., January 10, 2001

By	darragh o'donoghue (dublin, ireland) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

While hardly a masterpiece in the league of the great, late albums, 'Ring Ring' is a vast improvement on patchy albums like 'Waterloo'. The grotesque prog-rock indulgences that marred that work are largely absent; the one exception, 'I Saw it in the mirror' is redeemed by sad lyrics and moving backing vocals.

By this tage of their career, Abba had yet to find their true voice, so 'Ring Ring' largely comprises some excellent pastiches (eg the Carole King of 'Disillusion'; the Animals of 'She's My Kind of Girl').

Full of exhiliratingly tuneful dance pop, the Abba aesthetic can be glimpsed in the frothy stomp/melancholic subject matter of the title song; the haunting 'Another town, another train' reminiscent of the astonishing late ballads; and 'Nina, pretty ballerina', an early stab at what would become their euphoric masterpiece, 'Dancing Queen'.