As I write, "Dancing Queen," the single from this album, is shing-a-ling-ing its way up the charts, and Abba seems on the verge of completing the conquest of their last great frontier: America. At last, the Homogenizers will rule the land of the Heterogeneous. England, Europe and Australia have been collectively nuts for Abba for about five years. In this country, though the Swedish foursome has had a steady run of successful singles since "Waterloo" in 1974, they haven't provoked the clamor of a phenomenon. Arrival could do just that, since it's the smoothest, purest and, in this sense, most radical Abba album yet.

Even more than their three previous American releases, Arrival is Muzak mesmerizing in its modality. By reducing their already vapid lyrics to utter irrelevance, lead singers Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog are liberated to natter on in their shrill voices without regard to emotion or expression, and the language barrier is broken. Songwriters Benny Andersson and Bjöln Ulvaeus are indeed apt students of the American white pop hook to envelop the entire song into a single narcotic hug -- as on Arrival's "Dancing Queen," "Dum Dum Diddle" and "Money, Money, Money" -- is perhaps the most infuriating thing about this group.

Since they are so cheery and determinedly inoffensive, however, one cannot really hate them. The strongest emotion a dissenter can muster is resentment that these charming twerps will attract enough attention to help obscure the achievements of adventurous artists.

- Ken Tucker, Rolling Stone, 4/7/77.

Bonus Reviews!

ABBA is the consummate singles band and the new ABBA LP is chock full of new songs that will be welcome on the radio. The band's vocals are as good as anybody's and here they receive as good an instrumental background as ever they've had. While the band hasn't completely broken away from bubblegum, the album does show signs of artistic growth. Best cuts: "Dancing Queen," "My Love, My Life," "Dum Dum Diddle," "Money, Money, Money," "Arrival."

- Billboard, 1977.

Since this is already the best-selling group in the universe, I finally have an answer when people ask me to name the Next Big Thing. What I wonder is how we can head them off at the airport. Plan A: Offer Bjorn and Benny the leads in "Beatlemania" (how could they resist the honor?) and replace them with John Phillips and Denny Doherty. Plan B: Appoint Bjorn head of the U.N. and Benny his pilot (or vice versa) and replace them with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Plan C: Overexpose them in singing commercials. Plan D: Institute democratic socialism in their native land, so that their money lust will meet with the scorn of their fellow citizens. C

- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.

Arrival contains "Dancing Queen," the hit single that broke the band in America prefacing their massively successful 1977 world tour. The equally familiar hit "Knowing Me, Knowing You" is heard hear in a rather fussy album mix lacking some of the propulsive beat of the single. Despite the hooks, overall the album still comes across as being simply hit singles interspersed with weaker songs disguised, almost successfully, by high production values.

Recorded before Abba settled into their own custom studio, the sound from this CD, taken from tapes mastered in the mid-seventies at Metronome Studios in Sweden, is bright and glittery. Regular Abba engineer Michael B. Tretrow guarantees a clarity and impeccable balance between the musical forces. However the multi-tracking and heavy reverberation used on the girls'-voices, on synthesizers and steel-strung acoustic guitars, are now heard without the treble limitation of the LP. This produces a sound that is a little too vivid, brittle almost which may sound overpoweringly bright on the average CD replay system.

(Sound quality comments relate to the Polygram mastered and pressed import CD on Polar.)

- David Prakel, Rock 'n' Roll on Compact Disc, 1987.

ABBA's appropriately titled fourth album of new material appeared after the group had "arrived" as major stars. It featured "Dancing Queen," a tame disco number that went to #1 in both the U.S. and U.K., as well as "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (another U.K. #1 that hit the Top 40 in the U.S.) and a third single, "Money, Money, Money." * * * *

- William Ruhlmann, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.

Although ABBA's Gold is a glittering array of highlights and party sure-things, for those who wonder what an original ABBA album is like, Arrival finds the band at its peak. Timed to concur with ABBA's first international tour, Arrival features the hits "Dancing Queen" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You." * * *

- Roger Catlin, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.

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