ABBA

Arrival

Tracks: 15, total time: 55:06, year: 1976, genre: Pop

The Complete Studio Recordings - Disc 04 of 11 : Arrival
2005 Polar Music International
Complete Studio Recordings Box Released November 7, 2005

Originally Released January 1977
Remastered Edition Released March 16, 1999
DigiPack Edition With Bonus Tracks Released October 16, 2001

24-bit digital remaster with new liner notes, complete lyrics and two bonus tracks: 'Fernando' (US Remix 1974) and 'Happy Hawaii' (Swedish Version).

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: ABBA's fourth album of new material appeared after the group had "arrived" as major stars. It featured "Dancing Queen, " a tame disco number that went No. 1 in both the US and UK, as well as "Knowing Me, Knowing You (another UK No. 1 that hit the Top 40 in the US) and a third single, "Money Money Money." The 1999 remastered edition (part of Polydor's "The ABBA Remasters" series) in 24-bit digital audio is a significant improvement over earlier CD or LP editions, bringing out not only stunning richness and radiance in the vocals by Faltskog and Lyngstadt, but also Rutger Gunnarsson's especially muscular bass playing throughout the album, and the rich texture of Bjorn Ulvaeus's acoustic guitar on "When I Kissed The Teacher, " Lasse Wellander's acoustic rhythm guitar on "Dum Dum Diddle, " and the rippling electric guitar and keyboard textures of "Knowing Me, Knowing You"--Wellander's power chords over the chorus of the latter song is one of those dramatic musical effects that this group played for maximum effect, andgave their music a raw power that their detractors usually overlooked. Some of this clarity is wasted on disco numbers that now seem to have relatively little point, though they are catchy and have relentless beat, but that's what the group was about at this point in their history--and the sheer presence of the bass drums behind the choruses on "Tiger" will be pretty impressive to any noise freaks. -- William Ruhlmann/Bruce Eder

Amazon.com essential recording Editorial Reviews
At the height of their success, ABBA were second only to Volvo as Sweden's biggest export earners. Arrival (1977) sees the quartet just finding their stride, after a year of relative obscurity which followed the success of "Waterloo," their 1973 Eurovision Song Contest winner. Like their '70s peers ELO, ABBA knew the value of tunes, tunes, tunes. Arrival's hits include the glistening, full-on sheen of "Knowing Me, Knowing You," the irrepressible, piano-led disco stomp of "Dancing Queen," and the almost Cabaret-esque sarcasm of "Money, Money, Money"--all three cowritten by manager and mentor Stig Anderson. The album ends, meanwhile, on an almost Celtic theme with the soaring, wordless title track. Arrival is superconfident and superpolished, and wasan unstoppably chartbound record of its moment. --Everett True

Amazon.com
In its original vinyl form, the first side of this 1976 album was a smorgasbord of everything this undervalued but subsequently deified Swedish pop quartet had to offer. "When I Kissed the Teacher" shows off the intricate vocal arrangements and massive productions they brought to bear on absolute fluff, lending it dignity and a certain magnificence. "Dancing Queen" transcends its period disco trappings with the same undercurrent of sadness behind the painted smiles that informs another disco classic, Chic's "Good Times." "My Love My Life" is the "mature" ABBA, basically an MOR ballad that sidesteps excessive slushiness thanks to heartfelt vocals and a rational sensibility replacing the melodrama of the average MOR ballad. Then it's right back to bubblegum with "Dum Dum Diddle," a piece of pseudo-classical nonsense salvaged by a brilliant tune. And the side closes with possibly their greatest song, "Knowing Me, Knowing You," whose majestic vocal tapestry and colossal production renders a breakup the stuff of epochal tragedy.

Bookended by the overly clever, gimmicky Euro-cabaret of "Money Money Money" (ABBA's "Material Girl") and the propheticbut throwaway Celtic schlock of the title instrumental, the second side unfortunately can't come close to matching its predecessor. But Arrival's first five tracks are a rival for anything else in their glorious catalog. --Ken Barnes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

CD Now Review
Scorned by hipsters, though loved by millions, Abba was a worldwide phenomenon from the mid-1970s through the early '80s. This aptly titled release marked the Swedish group's arrival at the top of the U.S. singles charts with the infectious, musical equivalent to the leisure suit, "Dancing Queen," as much a hallmark of the disco era as the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
The rest of the album is really a microcosm of the band's career. Songs like "Money Money Money" and "Tiger" ("And if I meet you/What if I eat you/I am the tiger") are emblematic of the unabashed pop that brought the band early success, while the haunting "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and thelesser-known "That's Me" hint at the moodier tunes and lush arrangements that marked Abba's later works.

Buy this re-mastered CD, get yourself a white jumpsuit from an online auction house, and you've arrived. -- Evan Davies
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CD Connection Review
Widely considered the Swedish foursome's first classic album--and historically important as the first to use the now-famous mirror-B logo--1976's ARRIVAL contains three huge hit singles, the dramatic "Money Money Money," the downcast "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and quite possibly the band's finest four minutes, the absolutely perfect pop classic "Dancing Queen," a combination of Spectorian grandeur, McCartneyesque melody and the indescribable vocals of Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The rest of ABBA's fourth album is strikingly consistent and accomplished, opening with the sly, bouncy "When I Kissed the Teacher" and closing with the atmospheric title track, making roomin between for the three excellent singles and five other substantial pop tunes. Although three LPs and a greatest-hits compilation preceded it, ARRIVAL is aptly titled, as this album announces the band's move beyond bubblegum. YEAR: 1976

1.	3:05	When I kissed the teacher
2.	3:55	Dancing queen
3.	3:56	My love, my life
4.	2:58	Dum dum diddle
5.	4:05	Knowing me, knowing you
6.	3:10	Money, money, money
7.	3:19	That´s me
8.	3:23	Why did it have to be me
9.	2:59	Tiger
10.	3:08	Arrival
11.	4:16	Fernando
12.	4:28	Happy Hawaii
13.	4:06	La reina del baile
14.	4:06	Conociéndome, conociéndote
15.	4:15	Fernando (Spanish Version)

Category: rock - Discid: d20ce80f

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