How did ABBA take the world by storm with Waterloo?
"Waterloo" is the title of ABBA's second studio album, as well as their world-famous hit that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974! After the competition, the song became a major hit not only in Europe, but all over the world! This was the first time in history that a foreign Eurovision entry had entered the charts and performed well in different countries. After the release, the record became the record holder of the Swedish charts: the Waterloo album was recognized as one of the best-selling in the band's homeland in history ...
The album was warmly received by the critics, who called "Waterloo" "great work" and predicted a great future for the band! And, in fact, they turned out to be right: today they talk about the ABBA group as legendary, and their hit “Waterloo” continues to caress the ears of listeners after so many decades ... Today we will talk about how the famous self-titled album was recorded, which made the whole world fall in love with ABBA !
Background, recording...
Recording for the album began in September 1973 with the track "Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)". It is worth emphasizing that this composition has a characteristic and even surprising feature: this is the only song of the group in which the keyboards are played not by Benny Andersson, but by guest pianist John Bandrick (although his name is not indicated on the cover ...) A few weeks later, the songs appeared "Suzy-Hang-Around" and "My Mama Said": The first of these songs marks the only time Andersson performed the lead of the track. A few more tracks - "What About Livingstone" and "Honey Honey" - were recorded towards the end of October. Curiously, when in November the band recorded "King Kong Song", the strong representatives of the band considered the song very weak... But it was on that day that it became known that ABBA would appear at the Eurovision-1974 competitive selection!
Of course, the band had to speed up the recording of the album. When the work was fully completed, the question arose: with which song, in fact, should you represent the country? The Swedish quartet considered two strong tracks: "Waterloo" and "Hasta Mañana". Feeling that the second track was the "safer option", ABBA chose "Waterloo" instead...
Success in the competition!
At the mercy of the song that launched their worldwide success, ABBA laid a time capsule, giving the whole world the ageless hit "Waterloo" ... And today it's no secret that the single's boundless fame is based on the legendary glam pop performance at Eurovision in the British seaside city Brighton! The finest hour for ABBA came on Saturday, April 6, 1974. Recall that at first ABBA were not sure about the choice of the track for the competition... However, the impressive sales of this song and the album of the same name convinced the quartet that their approach was the right one!
https://youtu.be/vpKs_dt9KEM
The track "Hasta Mañana", which started life as "Who's Gonna Love You", is a mid-tempo, conservative ballad that looked like a safe bet for a contest! But… the band lacked something more modern, more relevant… As for “Waterloo”, it's a great pop track! It sounds sharper than some of ABBA's songs to date, and this has given it an undeniable advantage...
Looking back, it becomes clear that this was the right choice for the band. As a result, ABBA's "Waterloo" won and became a worldwide hit, peaking at number one in the UK and even reaching the top ten in the US, a market traditionally resisting the allure of Eurovision...
Album success, tracks...
Released on March 4, 1974, Waterloo was a huge success! It was released a month before the competition: the album boasted of containing an amazing sense of different styles: "King Kong Song" could easily have been recorded by Suzi Quatro, while "Gonna Sing You My Love Song" could pass for a Carole King song. … It can rightly be said that “Waterloo” captured the sound of a band that finally found its own unique style, while uniting the different moods of the eras… The Swedish foursome fought for the attention of the whole world, and now, they have achieved it… Enjoy the tracks…
"Waterloo."
"Sitting in the Palm Tree"
Tropical reggae-tinged "Sitting In The Palmtree" is one of the most obvious ABBA tracks overlooked on a single release...
"King Kong Song"
Hasta Manana
"My Mama Said"
"Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)"
"Honey, Honey"
Light but catchy, "Honey, Honey" was released as a single almost everywhere (except, inexplicably, the UK...)
"Watch Out"
The electric guitars even seem to explode at the end of the song! Alice Cooper must have been proud of Benny and Bjorn ever since...
What About Livingstone?
"Gonna sing you my love song"
"Suzy-Hang-Around"
"Suzy Hang-Around" begins with a 12-string riff: it's a charming melodic gem that perfectly illustrates the band's versatility.
Few people recognize this song as the work of ABBA, but that is why a deeper study of their discography brings so many surprises!
