Abba - Gold

Gold - 1993

I never really understood why Abba sold 10 billion records and after sitting down for the first time in my life and actually listening to one of their albums (and a greatest hits to boot) I'm even more confused at their phenomenal popularity. Maybe it was a side effect of all that great blow that everyone was doing back in the 70s.

This record for the most part fluctuates between the mediocre (Waterloo) and the truly awful (Fernando). In fact Fernando is so gay that it makes the Village People sound like Bob Seger. Two songs stand out as better than the rest, Super Trooper and Take A Chance On Me. Both are decent pop songs that are well crafted and produced. Actually the best thing about this record is the production. Abba knew how to write songs it's just that most of them are so cheesy and lacking in depth that it's hard to like them. Thank You For The Music, Fernando and I Have A Dream are truly horrible songs. Mostly we find on this record mediocre dance/pop music that's been very well put together.