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I had a whole screed prepared in my head about how The Day Before You Came is at least one, if not two, minutes too long, but as it turns out that track was originally a non-album single, and only added to later re-releases of this album; it’s not on the original. So, never mind. It is, though.
This album is kind of ABBA’s version of Rumours, written after both marriages had broken down and it feels at times that Andersson and Ulvaeus are having a bit of a jibe at their ex-wives by making them sing lyrics like “One of us is lonely, one of us is only waiting for a call, sorry for herself, feeling stupid, feeling small. Wishing she had never left at all” from One Of Us, but then this is perhaps balanced out by “Thanks for all your generous love, and thanks for all the fun. Neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done” from When All Is Said And Done. I wonder if Lyngstad and Fältskog shared the sentiments that their exes were putting in their mouths? Well, it seems like they were relatively amicable splits, but this was to be the last ABBA album for a long long time.
It was, however, one of the first digitally recorded albums – not that I noticed especially but then I’ve been listening to all of these albums in digital format, even if some of them are rips from vinyl there’s still going to be an element of digital compression.
As well as a break-up album, this also feels like it’s Andersson and Ulvaeus’ audition reel for their team-up with Andrew Lloyd-Weber a few years in the future to create the musical Chess, as many of the tunes sound like show tunes – Let The Music Speak with its sweeping chorus, or the gentle Slipping Through My Fingers (about a daughter growing up), while Head Over Heels has a bit of a tango beat to it.
As before, B&B create songs that feel like they're made entirely of catchy hooks – something that they’re very good at. There are a few tracks where Anni-Frid Lyngstad gets some more solo work (I’m not sure if Agnetha Fältskog gets some as well) and so not every track has the characteristic ABBA harmonies – this, however, is to its benefit so that the sound doesn’t become stale.
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