ABBA‘s deluxe edition reissue series continues with a CD+DVD 40th Anniversary Edition of 1974’s Waterloo. The format will be very familiar to fans who have bought previous deluxe editions. The eight bonus tracks on the CD include the usual foreign language versions of singles and this Waterloo deluxe adds a few single remixes. The DVD looks reasonably good with 13 TV appearances, most of them previously unreleased. As you would expect the Eurovision Song Contest performance of Waterloo is included and there is also an interview. The rather dull ‘International Sleeve Gallery’ contains to be a feature all of the ABBA deluxe editions. The booklet will contain an essay on the making of the album, with new insights from Björn and Benny.
ABBA's second (and U.S. debut) album contains the American Top Ten title track, as well as "Honey, Honey," a minor U.S. hit that deserved better. This album is rather unusual in the group's output, however, for the fact that the guys are still featured fairly prominently in some of the vocals, and for the variety of sounds - including reggae, folk-rock, and hard rock - embraced by its songs. The reggae number "Sitting in the Palmtree" is quite remarkable to hear, with its perfect Caribbean beat and those radiant female voices carrying the chorus behind the beat. "King Kong Song" is a good example of hard rock by rote, going through the motions of screaming vocals and over-amplified guitar (courtesy of Janne Schaffer), although even here, when the women's voices jump in on the choruses, it's hard not to listen attentively; the quartet knew what a powerful weapon they had, but not quite how to use it…
ABBA's second (and U.S. debut) album contains the American Top Ten title track, as well as "Honey, Honey," a minor U.S. hit that deserved better. This album is rather unusual in the group's output, however, for the fact that the guys are still featured fairly prominently in some of the vocals, and for the variety of sounds - including reggae, folk-rock, and hard rock - embraced by its songs. The reggae number "Sitting in the Palmtree" is quite remarkable to hear, with its perfect Caribbean beat and those radiant female voices carrying the chorus behind the beat. "King Kong Song" is a good example of hard rock by rote, going through the motions of screaming vocals and over-amplified guitar (courtesy of Janne Schaffer), although even here, when the women's voices jump in on the choruses, it's hard not to listen attentively; the quartet knew what a powerful weapon they had, but not quite how to use it…