Abba Arrival

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 Spector-ian grandeur, McCartney-esque melody, and the indescribable vocals of Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The rest of ABBA's fourth album is strikingly consistent and accomplished, from the sly, bouncy "When I Kissed the Teacher" to the atmospheric title track, making room in 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.

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 Spector-ian grandeur, McCartney-esque melody, and the indescribable vocals of Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The rest of ABBA's fourth album is strikingly consistent and accomplished, from the sly, bouncy "When I Kissed the Teacher" to the atmospheric title track, making room in 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.

Abba - Arrival
FLAC | Artwork | 24Bit 96kHz: 756 MB | 16Bit 44.1kHz: 271 MB
Cat#: Disco Mate DSP-5102 | Country/Year: Japan 1977
Genre: Pop | Hoster: Filesonic/Uploaded

ABBA's fourth album appeared after the group had arrived as major stars shows the quartet at the absolute top of their game. In addition to "Dancing Queen," which is probably their best-known hit (a number one single on both sides of the Atlantic), the record was filled with brilliant material, including the spirited "When I Kissed the Teacher"; the dramatic, achingly beautiful "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (yet a further hit); the pounding "Money, Money, Money" (still another hit off the album); and the playful "That's Me."

The 2008 nine-disc box Albums is neither the first ABBA multi-disc set nor the first time the pop group's albums have been collected and housed in a box set, but it is the first time a set of their complete recordings has been widely disseminated (such are the perks of being a companion to an international blockbuster) and it's the best of the lot, containing all eight of the group's albums (for the record: Ring Ring, Waterloo, ABBA, Arrival, The Album, Voulez-Vous, Super Trouper, The Visitors), plus a 17-track rarities disc that rounds up non-LP singles (including "Fernando" and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"), songs sung in Swedish, and plain oddities like a medley of the American folk songs "Pick a Bale of Cotton," "On Top of Old Smokey," and "Midnight Special."

ABBA - Arrival (1976) {2006, Remastered, Deluxe Edition, CD+DVD, Polar, 985836-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 442 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 133 Mb
DVD9 -> 5.19 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 4:3 | English (Dolby AC3, 2 ch) | ~ 97 m | ISO Image
Subs: English, Deutsch, Portugues, Japanese, Svenska, Espanol, Francais
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 191 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2006 Polar Music / Universal | 985836-2
Pop / Euro-Pop

ABBA Arrival (2006 issue Deluxe Edition 2-disc [CD/DVD] set comprising a 16-track CD album features the classic hits Dancing Queen, Knowing Me Knowing You & Money Money Money alongside 5 Bonus Recordings including Fernando and 3 Spanish Versions; plus Bonus DVD containing a collection of some of the rarest interviews and most sought-after vintage television performances [previously unreleased on DVD] including the legendary 1976 special ABBA-dabba-dooo!! a cartoon version of Happy Hawaii footage from the Dancing Queen recording session and much more.

October 1976 was a watershed for ABBA. It was the month that saw the release of their 'Arrival' album - the record that took their song writing and studio achievements to new levels. What was more, it was the first album by the band to gather critical plaudits as the beautifully-crafted songs revealed genuine depth - ABBA were obviously far more than Eurovision one-hit wonders.

ABBA‘s fourth studio album, 1976’s Arrival, is 40 this year, and so Polar Music (via Universal) are issuing a 45 RPM half-speed mastered double vinyl edition to celebrate, along with some other goodies: a seven-inch box set and some picture discs! It may not be their best album (that’s The Visitors) but Arrival boasts both the iconic ‘helicopter’ cover and some of ABBA’s biggest and best-known hits, Dancing Queen, Knowing Me, Knowing You, and Money, Money, Money.

The initial Polydor Abba CDs released in 1982 were only available in territories where PolyGram had the Abba licence but this was to change in 1983 as Polar entered the CD market. In reality, Polar’s entry into the CD market masked a simple case of outsourcing as PolyGram were simply asked to press up copies of their Abba titles with Polar catalogue numbers and packaging. While PolyGram would continue to supply their local markets with red coated Polydor CDs, Abba’s other European licencees would be sent the ‘Polar’ CDs.

They may have been released later than the first European Abba CDs but the group’s earliest Japanese CD releases are much rarer and more sought after than even the coveted West German redface Polydor CDs. The six titles released by Abba’s then Japanese licencee, Discomate, in early 1984 [The Visitors and Super Trouper have 1983 copyright dates] remained in circulation for a relatively brief period of time before being supplanted by Polydor’s P33P series three years later. By this time, Discomate had either lost its Abba licence or gone bust, depending on what version of events you believe. In any case, the CDs seem to have sold relatively poorly and are rarely seen for sale within the collector’s market – when they do, they generally fetch astronomical amounts by the standards of Abba CDs.