Waterloo (album)

Waterloo
Studio album by ABBA
Released 4 March 1974 (1974-03-04)
Recorded 24 September 1973 – 20 February 1974 at Metronome Studios, Stockholm
Genre
Length 38:10 (original release)
44:47 (reissue 2001)
Language English and Swedish (in reissued ed 2001, with Swedish versions of the songs "Waterloo" and "Honey, Honey"
Label Polar
Epic (UK)
Atlantic (US original release)
Producer Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA chronology
Ring Ring
(1973)		 Waterloo
(1974)		 ABBA
(1975)
Singles from Waterloo
  1. "Waterloo (Swedish version)"
    Released: 4 March 1974
  2. "Waterloo (English version)"
    Released: 12 March 1974
  3. "Honey, Honey"
    Released: April 1974
  4. "Hasta Mañana"
    Released: 1974
  5. "King Kong Song"
    Released: 1977
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Waterloo is the second studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA, and the first released internationally. It was originally released in Sweden on 4 March 1974 through Polar Music. The album's title track won ABBA the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and became a worldwide smash-hit, launching the group's career.

Overview

Recording sessions for Waterloo began on 24 September 1973 with the track "Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)". This song was unusual in that it is the only ABBA track not to feature member Benny Andersson on keyboards, but instead featured American pianist John Rabbit Bundrick who was in Sweden at the time.[2] Bundrick, however, was not credited on the album. Three weeks later the next two songs ("Suzy-Hang-Around" and "My Mama Said") went into the studio. A recording sheet from the day credits the artist as "ABBA", the first time the name was ever used in writing, the group until now being called "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid", although their manager Stig Andersson had informally been calling them ABBA with the media for some time. The former of these songs marks the only time Benny Andersson sang lead on a track. 17 October saw the recording of two more tracks; "What About Livingstone" and "Honey Honey" - the latter being the second single released from the album in most countries. "King Kong Song" was recorded on 14 November, a song which members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus today single out as one of their weakest tracks.[2] This was also the date in which it was announced that ABBA were to appear at the Swedish selection for the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. From that point, recording sessions speeded up and the rest of the tracks were recorded. Two songs were up for consideration for their Eurovision entry; "Waterloo" and "Hasta Mañana". The group preferred the former but felt the latter was a more safe bet. Ultimately they chose "Waterloo" as it was more the direction they wished to take the group. "Waterloo" and "Watch Out" were recorded on the same day - the songs that made up the lead single and its B-side.[2]

"Waterloo" swept to victory at the Swedish heats and the group represented Sweden in Brighton for the Eurovision Song Contest 1974. ABBA won the contest and "Waterloo" became not only a massive hit in Europe but all over the world (peaking at No.6 in the US for example). In Sweden, the album had already been released as topped the Swedish album charts for 12 weeks, becoming one of the biggest-selling Swedish albums ever to that point. In the UK the album made No.28 - the first time a foreign Eurovision act had charted an album and it performed well in the rest of Europe.[2]

Reviews of the album were positive with Phonograph Record's Greg Shaw stating that it "might just turn out to be one of the classic début LPs of the '70s". Rolling Stone also gave the album a favourable review.[2] In a 3-star review, AllMusic said that it was "a beautiful album".

Waterloo was first released on CD in Sweden in 1988; a West German CD release followed in 1990 (later released internationally). The album has been reissued in digitally remastered form three times; first in 1997, then in 2001 and again in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set. It was also released as a special 30th Anniversary edition in 2004, celebrating 30 years of the group's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest. The album was released yet again in 2014 as 40th anniversary edition with bonus tracks and bonus DVD. This version of the album re-entered the UK album charts.

The original 1974 Polar Music edition of the album opens with the Swedish version of the title track and closes with the English-language version. The American version of the album, released through Atlantic Records, closes with a 1974 remix of "Ring Ring". In the United Kingdom/Ireland and several other European markets, the original 1973 version of "Ring Ring" was added as track 6 on side 2. The cover features the sub-title "Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida" although some editions replaced 'Agnetha' with 'Anna' – by which Agnetha Fältskog was known in some countries.[3]

Track listing[4]

All tracks written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Waterloo" (Swedish version) (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus)2:45
2."Sitting in the Palmtree"  3:39
3."King Kong Song"  3:14
4."Hasta Mañana" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)3:05
5."My Mama Said"  3:14
6."Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)"  3:05
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Honey, Honey" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)2:56
2."Watch Out"  3:46
3."What About Livingstone?"  2:54
4."Gonna Sing You My Lovesong"  3:35
5."Suzy-Hang-Around"  3:11
6."Waterloo" (English version) (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)2:46
Total length:38:10

CD Version

No.TitleLength
1."Waterloo" (English version) (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)2:45
2."Sitting in the Palmtree"  3:39
3."King Kong Song"  3:14
4."Hasta Mañana" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)3:05
5."My Mama Said"  3:14
6."Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)"  3:05
7."Honey, Honey" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)2:56
8."Watch Out"  3:46
9."What About Livingstone?"  2:54
10."Gonna Sing You My Lovesong"  3:35
11."Suzy-Hang-Around"  3:11
Total length:34:59

CD re-issues, bonus tracks

Personnel

Additional musicians
Production

Chart positions

Album

Year Chart/Country Position
1974 UK Album Chart 28
U.S. Billboard 200 145
Norway 1
Germany Album Chart 6
Finland 4
Zimbabwe 6
Sweden 1
1976 Australia 18
New Zealand 38
40th Anniversary Edition
Year Chart/Country Position
2014 UK Album Chart 71
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1974 "Waterloo" UK Singles Chart 1
Norway Singles Chart 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 6
RPM Top 100 7
"Ring Ring (1974 Remix)" UK 32
"Honey, Honey" Billboard Hot 100 27
Billboard Easy Listening (AC) Chart 27
RPM 18

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[6] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[7] Gold 25,035[7]
Germany (BVMI)[8] Platinum 500,000^
Sweden (GLF)[9] Platinum 349,938[6]
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Silver 60,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic Review
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Sleeve notes, Waterloo re-issue, Carl Magnus Palm, 2014
  3. ↑ Abba The Book. Aurum Oress Ltd. 2000. p. 9. ISBN 1-85410-698-8.
  4. ↑ http://www.abbasite.com/discography/album/waterloo/
  5. 1 2 3 4 Scott, Robert (2002) 'ABBA: Thank You for the Music – The Stories Behind Every Song', Carlton Books Limited: Great Britain, p.38
  6. 1 2 ABBA The History. Billboard. 8 September 1979. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Abba" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  8. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (ABBA; 'Waterloo')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  10. ↑ "British album certifications – ABBA – Waterloo". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 May 2014. Enter Waterloo in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
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