Arrival

There are 2 types of people in this world: people who like ABBA and boring people

Arrival, a 1976 album by the Swedish band ABBA is the music of the day for me. And what a great day. I used to be judgmental about ABBA for some reason. I was very dismissive and they seemed like terrible bubblegum international pop for a long time in my brain. I can't believe anyone would listen to this garbage! This has changed. At some point I learned to let go and be willing to let the context and circumstances sweep me away and bring me joy. At some point, ABBA became a lovely band and I'm now filled with joy from listening to them. Just let go and let the music take you.

Absolute fucking classic man. Fernando is a whole vibe. Add in Dancing queen, and I mean When i kissed the teacher is kinda weird, but it's good. Plus money, money, money. Solid stuff.

You show me someone that won't allow themselves to enjoy ABBA and I'll show you a joyless, pretentious ass-hat. Rating: 4/5 Playlist track: Dancing Queen Date listened: 03/08/23

oh oh oh im too excited for this!!! never have i ever clicked the spotify link and hit play this fast!

The songwriting and production are so underrated with ABBA. They deserve praise for their masterful and intelligent pop songwriting. It’s a pop masterpiece, with songs that will live forever.

I cannot fucking believe that every single song on this record has a Wikipedia article. Key Tracks: Dancing Queen, Tiger

Gonna start this off by saying that I dislike ABBA in general. Ever since I heard Dancing Queen the first time years ago, I did NOT like that song. Just ABBA itself I just.. It just does not click with me. We'll see how this goes. // When I Kissed The Teacher - Yep. Sounds like ABBA. Booo. // Dancing Queen - >:( . God damnit I hate this fucking song (Still listened anyways, gotta give it the benefit of the doubt). 3:02~ This song does not end plz god kill me. // My Love, My Life - yawn. // Dum Dum Diddle - these all sound exactly the same. idk if it's the fact that their voices annoy me, or that the melody literally just follows the vocals (which is an awfully boring way to make a song) but this is physically painful for me to listen to. // Knowing Me, Knowing You - I have nothing to say. // Money, Money, Money - oh wow the bass follows exactly with the vocals what a change up from the melody doing it! WOW! SO INNOVATIVE!! // That's Me - Y'know, I think I can see what I hate about this album so much. It's flat. There is no depth sonically. Each song sounds like it's mixed in the exact same way as the other. Not only does it feel uninspired, unimpressive, and honestly, boring, but even given the time period this album came out, there were so many other albums released even during the same year that did have a sonic depth to them, or maybe used more than 5 instruments. I mean, every single Beatles album came out (the most recent being an entire 6 years) before this did, and why are those fun to listen to? More noise. The songs feel like they have a strong sonic substance behind them. That's the simplest way I can put it. I'm a sucker for big sound with lots of moving parts, and this is NOT it. // Why Did It Have To Be Me? - Yeah that's what I'm sayin chief. The only reason I even remotely enjoyed this track is because it sounds like The Wanderer by Dion. // Tiger - You can't go from singing about boo hoo Why Me and then the next song is about being a Tiger. Pick a theme now come the fuck on. Funny enough though, the way this song is built and its chord progression has made it my favorite of the album so far (But I promise that is NOT saying much). // Arrival - 0:02 ~Ok the albums lead track, please be not absolute pond water. 0:44 ~ okayyy a bit of depth, nice. come on little buddy, you can do it! 1:48 ~ mhmm, mhmm, yeah. 3:00 ~ Two things. One: Why is this here? What purpose. Two: Thank you ABBA for a semi-pleasant break from the stand-still traffic monotony that this album has been so far. // Fernando - Ok I actually kind of like this one, but only a little bit. GG // Happy Hawaii - I liked this song until they started singing. 2:06 ~ See, the background vocals, it makes the song better doesn't it. Almost like.. almost like adding more interesting things and D E P T H to the song makes it more enjoyable to listen to. Huh. 3:33 ~ Now thats wtf I'm talking about! More harmonies in the guitars yes yes yes. . Wow this song had so many ups and down! /> Final Thoughts: This album had virtually nothing for me. Tbh maybe I'm just not the target demographic and I get that, but at the same time, I don't know how anyone could be. A flat album, 90% sounds exactly the same. Not fun except for extremely infrequent places where 'Oh look, the did something different this time'. I did stick through it though. In the nature of what this website is trying to do, I did stick with it one single full time through. I owe the album at least that much. I will definitely not be coming back to this album on my own, and if I'm a lucky man, will never hear a single song from it ever again. fuck you dancing queen fuck you.

Saw ABBA and just laughed to myself. Then I listened to the album. This is good quality fun stuff. Much better sounding than I remember as a kid. I'm serious. How can you not like Dancing Queen, Fernando and Knowing me, Knowing you? I would guarantee if you put this on in the background of a get together, you would catch people grooving along.... Also enjoyed Money, Money, Money and Why did it have to be me. Not sure you could put out a song like I kissed the teacher these days. And what's wrong with Carrie, that you wouldn't want to marry? Good fun album. I enjoyed listening. I'll give a solid 3. Maybe would have gone a little higher, but can't score ABBA above Steve Earle. 3 for me

I love the way Abba have gone from brilliant in the 70s, to cheesy in the 90s, and back up to brilliant now. Every song is perfectly written and flawlessly executed.

Dancing Queen is one of my favorite songs, so I enjoyed that one. Found Dum Dum Diddle peppy and Tiger sort of catchy. Otherwise, enjoyed listening but not enough to buy the album.

Always just ignored Abba. But this forced to me to listen to them properly, and it was very enjoyable. "Dancing Queen", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "Money, Money, Money" and "Fernando" were the standout songs on the album.

Dum Dum Diddle.... need I say more..... Ah well. It has several number one all time super hits that are hard to ignore. Even when you don't like the 70th dance music style of Abba you have to admit that Benny and Björn have been geniuses over a long time. Name any party that doesn't get better when they play Dancing Queen? It's as classy as IKEA.

it's abba. nuff said. excellent uplifting beats, some big hitting classics on here, mixed in with a good dose of melacholy-ish but not too much to bring the overall mood down. a party album - will come back to it again and again!

Such perfect 70s pop - the rhythms, harmonies, and just plain and simple fun.

Made me want to dance

12th April 2022 Listened in the morning getting ready to go to brunch on Huntington Beach, wander around the pier then head to Guy and Jana’s for drinks and games in the evening. ABBA bring me such unbridled joy and they should never be mocked or disrespected for giving that to people in such ASM unapologetic way.

Undeniably catchy pop. Not my thing, but I can see it has to deserve 5 stars. Not sure 'when I kissed the teacher' could be played in public these days...great tune though. 4 massive international hits, but a purely singles band. Who has ever heard an album track of theirs (unless they actually bought the album, obviously)? 'Dum dum diddle' - really? Practising for the next Eurovision Song Contest, obviously. 'Tiger' could easily have been a single, too.

Wonderful! Improves with age

Who doesn't like ABBA?

Love the singles, “Arrival” and at least half of “Happy Hawaii”. Had I the time, I’d talk to Simon’s excellent comment re inverse snobbery and ABBA, which made me felt looked at. To be clear, I think they are a good few tiers above Ace of Bass, but I hear the europop awkwardness outside the singles. I think they built their own world.

July 15, 2021 All the light is topaz. Someone came to look at the house next door and I stopped it so they wouldn't hear me playing ABBA with the window open at 9:30am. Sorry ABBA for doing you like that. Cheesy, but I love it. There are a few classics on here. Also, somewhat surprisingly learning I'm kind of into ABBA's album cover aesthetic?

There's a weird inverse snobbery around ABBA - if you don't think they are unbridled geniuses then you must hate pop music and be a really boring human, a joyless cipher. I find them a bit basic and awkward in the classic Europop fashion - fun and tuneful but no different fundamentally from Ace of Base or Eiffel 65. This album cover was everywhere when I was a kid, and the mysteries contained therein were revealed today as: a bit basic and awkward, if fun and tuneful. Didn't hold my attention long despite fond memories of "Dancing Queen" signaling lights-up horror at The Dome in Tufnell Park, and amusing thoughts of Zapata and Villa chilling over a margarita to "Fernando". Aha..

This is going to be tough. Historically, I haven't liked ABBA at all. Let's see what happens... When I Kissed the Teacher - Didn't like it. Dancing Queen - Obviously I've heard it before. I was ok with it this time. Dum Dum Diddle - I hate this... Literally "hate." Knowing Me, Knowing You - I don't hate this. There's something decent happening here. Money, Money, Money - The minor key helps. It's not a good rock song, but I feel like it could be part of a European opera. Don't hate it. That's Me - nah Why Did it Have to be Me? - Nothing particularly in either direction here. Tiger - oof no Arrival - No vocals definitely helps Fernando - Not terrible. I'd rather to hear someone else play it with a talented Spanish acoustic guitarist. Happy Hawaii - I'd rather hear this in a Hawaiian style recorded by Don Ho. Or anyone else. Fuck, AC/DC would have made a better version of this. I feel like this album (and all of Abba) is part of the Eurotrash origin story. I forced myself to listen to the whole thing. I won't be listening to it again. Goddamnit, I hate Abba.

Utter. Garbage. Disco is the worst thing to ever happen to music. So much hate.

We had this one on 8-track when I was a kid. I don't know precisely who in my family "owned" it --- it seemed to just belong to all of us, which was unusual. My mom (now 82) didn't ever listen to a lot of popular music but she can still name Dancing Queen from the opening glissando. I loved listening to this today. ABBA sounds distinctly superb and these are some top-notch pop songs.

This is one of my favorite ABBA albums, so I was excited to see it here! The album has a little of everything that ABBA is great at: dance, rock, ballad, folk music, boogie boogie. All the songs are great, and I'm glad the bonus track version includes Fernando! Perfect Swedish vocals, lovely arrangements, excellent production.

Bangers on bangers

Banger after banger

Yay, ABBA! This is their 4th collection of catchy tunes and memorable melodies. Among others, we find classics as Dancing Queen, Knowing Me, Knowing You, Money, Money Money, Arrival and Fernando. Of course, not all tracks are equally good, but there hardly is any filler material here. Onle My Love, My Life and Dum Dum Diddle do nothing for me, but everything considered, this is a great album. 4.5/5

Fantastic album by ABBA!! Don't think there was one song that I disliked. Their harmonies are distinct and so beautifully done. From catchy party tunes like Dancing Queen and Money, Money Money. To the more captivating verses of My Love, My Life and Why Did It Have To Be Me. Overall stunning! Probably my fav album they've produced.

If it’s good enough for Alan Partridge, it’s good enough for me.

First off, there's no denying Dancing Queen is an all time banger. Just a great pop song through and through. The rest of the album is quite solid. A well constructed, well crafted pop album. Not every song hits but most of them do. Deserves to be on this list.

It's ABBA. If you want to get down with some well-crafted pop songs, this is your jam.

4.5 ESTE ALBÚM ES MI VIDA, LO MEJOR DE MI VIDA. ME SÉ TODAS LAS CACNIONES Y DE CORAZÓN. CÓMO LO AMO. ABBA VINO A SALVARME DE TODO LO MALO. Aunque debo admitir que había alguna canciones que no conocía. Creo que esas tendría que escucharlas de nuevo. Excepto "That's me".

Pop. Varios megahits. No me apasiona tanto como a ti :-P Un 4.

Fun disco album that tells us how Abba dominated pop in the 70s. With catchy lyrics and melody, each track stands on its own. "Dancing Queen" is one of the best disco tracks of all time. I just wanted to point out how stupid "Dum Dum Diddle" is and how I feel they were trying to make a point the lyrics don't have to make sense. "Why Did It Have To Be?" was a nice surprise, incorporating jazz, blues, and rockabilly yet still making it catchy pop. The closing title track almost feels like the end of mass. The 1997 bonus track "Fernando" is another favorite of mine, capturing a unique perspective of the Mexican Dirty War. Overall not my favorite Abba album, but with solid production and creativity, it certainly tops the pop scene of the era.

Unpopular opinion : everybody is peer pressured or family pressured, and pretends to like ABBA. And since show up in your life so often, that you connect ABBA to fun-ish moments, until the brainwashing is complete.

Tough one, on the one hand you got some monster hits and production genius, on the other there are some really dumb songs on here. And a few questionable choruses. Think I prefer their breaking up album more

You ever eat something really sweet and decadent and you know it's going to make you want to puke but you just keep hammering down fork fulls into your fat face? This is the audio version.

3 stars only for dancing queen

3/1001. You probably had to be there, yet I wasn’t there. Weird album to critique, some songs (Dancing Queen) are absolutely iconic as they’re larger than music, but I can’t get the deeper cuts to stay with me. The vocalist is infectious but it gets to the point of becoming grating at times. I’m sure I would have loved this in the 70s. Right now it’s not plainly bad, but it’s not interesting to me either. I’ll go 4/10.

I'm sorry but Abba does nothing for me as a whole. Thier music is so comically Eurovision down the line to me... Best song on the album for me was "Knowing Me Knowing You" the only other songs I actually liked were the bonus tracks (in fact I liked both of them better than "KMKY") (5.7) ★★½

Dancing queen and Fernando are good, the rest sounds too much like show tunes.

Non merci

ABBA schmabba

Here we have a concept disco album by the Swedish band Abba. We follow a tale of a promiscuous high school girl who gets kicked out of school for sexually assaulting her math teacher. She becomes a stripper and is fairly popular with the guys, she tries to have a romantic relationship, but just ends up getting her heart broken, realizing that no one wants a stripper girlfriend. Devastated she quits dancing, but now she is struggling with her bills, alone and broke she spirals into a pit of depression. One night as she's being followed home by a stalker in a tiger outfit (probably a furry), she realizes she's had enough, so she packs her bags and moves to Hawaii, where she meets a man named Fernando, and they live happily ever after. Musically this album is annoying as hell, the repetitive saccharine melodies are particularly painful. The lyrics are stupid. The story is stupid. I hate everything about this. This needs to remain in 70's Sweden. You know those people who use phrases like "someone's got a case of the Mondays"? They're the only ones who listen to this. And only in the presence of others. Because they want to torture you. Abba is shitty torture music. Stay away unless you have masochistic tendencies.

Despised them back then and still cannot listen to them…they were the Monkees of the 70’s..terribly irritating…so much better music in that era

I respect them and remembered some of the songs from when I was a kid. But so far this has been the most difficult to wade through in its entirety.

Garbage One star because I can’t give it zero!

Unhörbar

What a classic

It's good to see that many people recognise Abba as the GOAT pop band with hit after hit even just on this one album. Solid gold 1001% classic

Overall Score: 9.1/10 Favorite Track: Tiger Least Favorite Track: Arrival Every song is enjoyable, and this is an overall amazing album. Would definitely listen again.

Amazing

Holy fuck… Incredible

ABBA BUENARDO

What an absolute classic by such a legendary group. It may not be music I listen to on my own but I will never be upset if ABBA comes on. It has the power to make almost anyone wanna get up and groove. I'm confident this album had significant influence on all the pop music that came after it. The songs are so big yet the melodies are so catchy and easy to sing along to.

Tel le rince bouche universel de la joie et du bien être, Abba vient me sauver de cette semaine très mid avec un incroyable album de qualité turbo discodrôme

Awesome

FERNANDO

The songs have silly lyrics that talk about love and relationships, about dancing, about beautiful, young and sweet girls who are only 17 dancing, about kissing the geometry teacher and constant questions from someone who really wants to know if Fernando is listening to the drums... But all of this in an atmosphere that manages to be danceable, magical and cozy at the same time! I loved it! 5 stars!

easy 5/5, this rules.

Just to think, this was released a year after their "Greatest Hits" album. So much gold on this album. Sure there are a few droney cheesy ballads, but the production quality is always sky high, it's a class act!

Bright and buoyant, the songs dance effortlessly. There’s a sparkle that reminds me of Fleetwood Mac, but more unashamedly upbeat. Each track feels like a celebration. It’s music to lose yourself in, easy and inviting.

Banger after banger after banger.

Very enjoyable, made me dance. Like I saw in another review, it’s definitely a perfect album to listen to when you have company :)

I hate disco/dance music but Abba kills it

Exceptional

4.5 - It's not the strongest five star album, obviously, but this has a lot of perfect songs on it. My issue with it is that the few songs that don't land are pretty mid and keep the album from being as strong as it could be. But, besides those, it's some great Europop. Definitely my favourite of their albums and probably the strongest they have.

A classic album by ABBA with so many of their most popular songs. My favorite from this album is Money Money Money.

Very good!I like the vibeeeee!

Oh heck ya I love Abba; the random band that is so different from my usual taste. Yeah it's an easy 5 star no question

Love ABBA - nothing more to say.

I loved this album!

1st time standout tracks: kiss the teacher dancing queen money money money why did it have to be me tiger fernando

- ABBA sind einfach so ein krankes Phänomen!! Jedes mal wenn ich ABBA höre, denke ich mir, ich müsste öfter ABBA hören! Wie kann man nur so viele so gute Songs haben?! - Björn und Benny gehören mMn ganz eindeutig zu einer Handvoll der größten Songwriter neben Leuten wie Paul McCartney und John Lennon. - Die Eingängigkeit eines jeden einzelnen ABBA Songs finde ich absolut faszinierend. So auch auf diesem Album. Auch neben den Welt-Hits, kann ich hier nichts finden, was großartig abfällt. - Mein Lieblingsalbum bleibt Voulez-Vous, weil da doch die meisten meiner Favs drauf sind. - Trotzdem ein eftrem tolles Album! Rating: 4,75/5

It's ABBA. Everyone loves ABBA. Perhaps not every song on the album is a banger, but there are quite a few. And it has my favorite ABBA song (Fernando). And to reiterate, everyone loves ABBA.

Arrival was the first LP I bought with my pocket money. As a young teenager, I was a fan of ABBA and completely enchanted by the LP. This then cooled off as I became a teenager and changed peer groups after moving to another city. I didn't want to know anything more about ABBA and I was embarrassed by my former fondness. It was a long time before I rediscovered ABBA. Yes, the music is sweet to the tooth. It is pop. Everyone could be carried away by this music. But it is also really well made. Björn and Benny were/are good and multi-talented musicians. They have a good feel for popular music. And the girls looked so good and could also sing so well. ABBA is not in my daily feed and never will be. But sometimes it's nice to hear their music again. So "Thank you for the music ..." It's the same with this album. I particularly liked "Dancing Queen", "Money, Money, Money" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You" because they were also charged with early memories as a teenager. I particularly liked "Fernando" again. 5/5

Dancing Queen is the reason I decided to explore this project. It was October 26, 2018 ... a gorgeous fall evening in Connecticut just hours after Keith and Carlyle got married in their backyard. Keith, recently diagnosed with the rare cancer that would kill him just 3.5 years later, said the hardest thing to reconcile is "when will be the last." He said, "Like when is the last time I'll hear Dancing Queen." He loved that song like no other. His joy from Abba made me so giddy with delight. Nothing more fun than our drunken deep dives into Abba videos and recreating the Knowing Me, Knowing You video. It always surprised me that he wanted to play the role of Anni rather than Agnetha. Abba has become more than a great nostalgic band for me since Keith's death. It's my touchstone to him now. Nothing makes me feel closer. I refrained from listening to Abba for a long time after his death and then when they popped up on a playlist, I realized it was all going to be OK. So this album carries a lot for me. And for me, that's the point of music...to stir the emotions with groove and comfort. I can look pass When I Kissed the Teacher and My Love, My Life because the great songs are just so transcendent. I listened closely to the sleepers---Tiger, Arrival---and really enjoyed those tunes as well. Something about the keys on this album envelopes me in that 70s nostalgia when we could all come together and dance and sing no matter our culture or age. Though I never thought that we could lose There's no regret If I had to do the same again I would, my friend Yes, if I had to do the same again I would, my friend

Loved this, it was fun from start to finish. Think my favorite is Money, Money, Money.

A true pop masterpiece. Just what the doctor ordered for a Monday morning.

Fantastic album. Just on the break between their rock/pop era towards the disco. Happy music that set the tone of the day! 5/5

Dancing Queen is a microcosm of ABBA as a whole, it has the disco punch and emotional story. Then this album is the ABBA universe, excellent songs full of fun and jubilee. Solid song and solid song, and plenty of show stoppers. Exquisite listen from start to finish!

When I'm not listening to this album I remember it as a 3 or a 4. How many marks could an ABBA album really deserve? When it is playing I couldn't allow it anything less than full marks.

A timeless album indeed.

Perfection. Absolute joy. God bless ABBA!! 5

Really good album didn’t expect to know most of the songs already

Absolutely fantastic album. This one was a nice surprise for today. The 'ah-ha' after knowing me knowing you is sung is one of my earliest musical memories. I was about 6 or 7 and at the mercy of what came on the radio and this group always stood out. This is the first time I've listened to an ABBA album in my adult life and I enjoyed every minute of it.

This is the first time I've listened to a full ABBA album. They write such great melodies! Everybody knows Dancing Queen but so glad I have these new ABBA favorites: My Love My Life, Knowing Me Knowing You, MoneyMoneyMoney, That's Me, Why Did it Have to be Me?, Tiger. Great album! (I've been to Hawaii. it IS a happy place!)

What's not to love about Abba? This is just feel good music that makes me smile. Obviously Dancing Queen and Fernando are iconic, and Happy Hawaii was my favorite surprise on the album. When I Kissed the Teacher lyrics were cringe, but whatevs, it was the 70s and she had a crush on her teacher, and the song is super fun.

ABBA-solutely relentless pop banger after pop banger! I mean, why not just release a best of as a studio album. Very efficient way to produce records! I feel like if you don’t love this album you need to go and sit in some sunshine for a bit. Maybe meet some new people. Broaden your horizons. Try to find some happiness somewhere. 4.5

New this one before and loved it again

mid 5

Classic album

Like most other ABBA, it’s super fun whether you want to admit it or not!! Knew a couple songs but many were new to me. 4.5/5

Perfect album

I know... I know... but it's a guilty pleasure. Their most popular album with hits galore. Unless you just came out from under a rock, you will recognize these hits.

awesome

ABBA is the Beatles of the queer community. There is not a gay person alive today who isn’t a massive ABBA fan, myself included. But more importantly, ABBA has clearly stood the test of time and have arguably made a larger impact on modern sounds and styles than any rock band ever did, including/especially the Beatles. While Arrival is maybe my least favorite ABBA album, it’s still one of the best pop albums ever made. From the harmonies on “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” the musical theater rhythm of “Money, Money, Money,” the subtle bass groove on “When I Kissed The Teacher,” the guitar lick on “Tiger” – it’s all so strong. What pushes Arrival over the edge, though, is the phenomenal instrumental title track and, of course, “Dancing Queen,” which is, as they say, a ✨cultural reset✨ that still hits you like a ton of bricks at the club 5 decades later. I’d personally say Voulez-Vous and Super Trooper are both stronger albums and better entry points into ABBA, but that’s just splitting hairs and picking a favorite child. Because again, I’d switch out 7 Beatles records with 5 ABBA albums in a heartbeat. Arrival is amazing, one of the greatest pop albums ever made, and 1,000% deserves to be on this list.