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.
The Vintage Caravan are a mystery. »Arrival«, the third full-length from this Icelandic trio implies a maturity worthy of any band that has been on the road for some decades and enjoyed their share of smoked-filled seedy backstage rooms reeking of stale beer. A relaxed rocker like ‘Winter Queen’, with its perfectly-timed build-up and meticulous solos speaks of a long-experienced songwriter worth his salt. The blues-soaked ‘Monolith’ is as cleverly assembled as the percussion-driven heavyweight ‘Last Day Of Light’ or the shapeshifting semi-ballad, half-groove monster ‘Eclipsed’, or the whirling psychedelic trip offered by ‘Babylon’. The hand of a masterful composer can clearly be seen at work in each and every of the diverse songs featured on »Arrival« combined with a rare musicality on the instrumental and vocal side that can easily match those rock giants of the 70's. Yet that hand belongs to a kid or rather kids barely out of their teens.
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."