Ring Ring (studio album) by ABBA

From Jboy56 05/28/2023 17:03

The one and only does some nice things but not just yet. Smooth and poppy, 2 good singles I suppose

From Boltzmann 05/06/2021 04:25

Really funny to hear what they were like before they broke through. It's not much different however; infectious as always. But you can hear that they are not aware that the rest of the world is listening. They pretty much had the same career as the Bee Gees: psychedelic pop, disco, and they even had an attempt at a more sophisticated album at the end.

I agree with Mother Nature's Son however, what were they trying with this cover art? A bit funny though. They look so innocent, like they know about the positivity of the hippy movement, but they would be shocked if you told them they were heavy drug users too.

She's Just My Kind of Girl is a bit trippy, which is really strange for ABBA.

I have a real soft spot for this and Waterloo.

Once you get past the pretty vocals, you find that Abba isn't really singing about anything interesting. Chorus are repeated too often as well.

This first ABBA album, from before their rise to fame, is quite different from the rest. Their schlager music influences are a bit more prominent on this album and a large portion of the singing is done by the men. This leads to a less distinctive sound.

However, it's quite a comfortable listen from start to finish and you can clearly hear the songwriting qualities are there. Some people might actually be pleasantly surprised by this 'version' of ABBA.

Abba would go on to achieve more impressive things until their final album. This, their debut, is still a good effort, however. Abba were together for 10 years, but fit 9 albums into that time. Huge progress between each offering.

From Tamthebam 08/26/2015 12:25

A not bad debut but as everyone has mentioned nothing like their best. There are 4 or 5 really nice songs here, Ring Ring the stand out track along with Nina.......& Another Town. He is Your Brother & People Need Love are under rated songs.

From Listmeister 12/19/2013 14:48

ABBA's first shows their influences, there was folk, rock, and California harmonies. They hadn't quite found their sound yet, so what we have here is different from other ABBA albums.

From Mother Nature's Son 09/01/2013 21:05

Failed attempt at psychedelic cover art!