More about: ABBA

Undeniably one of the most successful pop groups in history, ABBA shot straight into the international limelight after winning the 1974 edition of Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Waterloo’. Captivating the entire world with their catchy songs, stunningly skilful vocal harmonies, memorable piano hooks and glamorous glittering outfits, the group topped charts across the world during the 70s and early 80s with classics such as ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘The Winner Takes It All’. 

However, it was the 1992 compilation ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, released over 10 years after the four members of the group had gone their separate ways, that really cemented the group’s name in the modern music history books. The compilation is not only ABBA’s best-selling album but is one of the biggest selling albums of all time.

With countless articles, bookshelves of literature, a musical, two films and a museum dedicated to ABBA and their songs, one could ask if there is anything left to say that hasn’t already been said. Well, with much of the attention given to the great hits on ABBA Gold, we took the opportunity to dive into their eight studio album deep catalogue and picked out 11 underrated songs that we think deserve their own time in the spotlight:

'As Good as New'

‘As Good As New’, the opening track of ABBA’s 1979 album Voulez-Vous, is probably one of the group’s most eclectic songs, complete with a classical baroque sounding string intro, a 70s disco-influenced bassline and a big finale key change in the last chorus. Now on paper that shouldn’t work, but somehow, bound so nicely together by one of the most ABBA-esque vocal melodies and the layers of Agnetha Fältsog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad’s distinctive harmonies, it really does.

'She’s My Kind of Girl'

Originally released by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson in 1970 under the artist name Björn and Benny, the song ‘She’s My Kind of Girl’ was later re-leased by ABBA as the B-side of ‘Ring Ring’, the title track of their 1973 debut album. The song stands out as one of the few entirely sung by the group’s men when looking at ABBA’s catalogue as a whole, but also serves as a brilliant example of the catalogue’s diversity.

'Head Over Heels'

Released at a time when the group’s popularity had peaked and was on the decline, the second single from The Visitors, ABBA’s eighth and final studio album, only made it to number 25 on the UK singles chart. Regardless of its lukewarm reception, ‘Head Over Heels’ remains, along with much of the rest of LP, one of Björn and Benny’s most sonically sophisticated creations under the ABBA moniker. With underlining tango references throughout the song, it may not come as a surprise that ‘Head Over Heels’ was initially given the working title ‘Tango’.

'My Love, My Life'

‘My Love, My Life’ is on the one hand a true example of Agnetha’s stellar voice and on the other a pure textbook example of a beauty of a ballad. Taken from ABBA’s most successful studio album, 1976’s Arrival, it is endlessly surprising that ‘My Love, My Life’ doesn’t get more attention than it does. With heartfelt lyrics about those final heart-breaking moments before parting, the song is honest, bare, genuine and very much speaks for itself.

'Watch Out'

It’s hard to argue against the fact that ‘Waterloo’ is one of ABBA’s most successful songs, and it’s equally as hard to argue against it being a song that very much defined their sound. Ironically ‘Watch Out’, the B-side of the English language version of the smash hit single, doesn’t sound anything like the ABBA we know and love at all. Being a four-minute (almost) diversion into the world of rock, the song naturally takes its place on any compilation of underrated gems with its guitar layered sound and Rolling Stones-esque chorus.

'If It Wasn’t For The Nights'

The second shoutout given to a lesser loved song from ABBA’s disco tinted album Voulez-Vous goes, without hesitation, to the song ‘If It Wasn’t For The Nights’. The lyrics, touching on the struggles and loneliness experienced by Björn whilst going through his divorce with Agnetha, would make the track neatly fall into the classic heartbreak pop song bracket if they weren’t painted like sharp contrast against upbeat and ridiculously catchy melodies. With a sound that heavily flirts with that of ‘Dancing Queen’, the track was originally meant to be released as the lead single of the album, and although we will never know what would have happened if it was it is certain that ‘It Wasn’t For The Nights’ is a great song. 

'My Mama Said'

Probably one of the few ABBA songs that you could describe as “funky” thanks to its prominent baseline, ‘My Mama Said’ also possesses some kind of mysterious strangeness that makes it one of the catalogue’s most interesting. The almost monotone dual vocals by Agnetha and Anni-Frid plays call and response with the bass guitar throughout the song, whilst telling the story of a girl wanting to live her own life free of her mother’s rule and rules.

'Under Attack'

The last single released by ABBA before they indefinitely parted ways, ‘Under Attack’ was first introduced to the world on the 1982 compilation album The Singles: The First Ten Years. The song was originally recorded with the intention of being included on their ninth studio album, but that album, as we know, never saw the light of day. ‘Under Attack’ is another song that, upon an initial glance of how it was received at the time of release, could be easily misplaced and overlooked, but deserves to be seen and heard as the great pop song it actually is.  

'Elaine'

With an intro that has the potential to get stuck in your head for days, ‘Elaine’ almost deserves its place on this list for the intro alone. Having been released as the B-side to one of ABBA’s most critically acclaimed songs ‘The Winner Takes It All’, it has spent far too long disappearing in the shadows of its A-side. ‘Elaine’, with its catchy upbeat melodies married with dark lyrical themes, is in a way everything you would expect from an ABBA track and you are as a listener carried through from start to finish in a well-balanced weave of what can only be described as classic ABBA sounding melodies and harmonies. 

'I Wonder (Departure)'

‘I Wonder (Departure)’ does in many ways sound more like a song taken out of a musical than an album track by one of the biggest pop groups in history, and it may not come as a surprise to listeners that the song, released on the 1977 album ABBA: The Album, was part of a mini-musical entitled ‘The Girl with the Golden Hair’ that the group performed during their tours that same year. Complete with a string orchestra accompanying the keys and Anni-Frid’s theatrical yet pure vocals, the track is not just another great song but also another great example of the diversity of the musical styles incorporated into the songs found in ABBA’s catalogue. 

'The Visitors'

The title track of ABBA’s final studio album is perhaps in many ways as far away as you can get from the glitter and glamour that is the essence of the group’s most successful songs, and whilst ‘The Visitors’ won’t get people up on the dancefloor like a ‘Dancing Queen’ would, it’s arguably one of the best ABBA songs for a whole set of different reasons. The song sees ABBA move into a new direction, both sonically with its eerie introductory verses and lyrically with its seemingly political commentary. Skilfully combined with a signature ABBA chorus that is as catchy as any of the group’s greatest hits and culminating in a big and almost triumphant instrumental post-chorus, the elements of new musical experimentation feel mature, sophisticated and interesting, and in conjunction they simply make a brilliant song.

More about: ABBA