ABBA - Singles Rate: The Results






A big THANK YOU to the 36 Buzzjack members who took part in this rate. ABBA has released many, many iconic classics throughout their careers & after nearly 40 years they made an unexpected comeback & brought us new gems to add to their already stellar discography., with 33 singles in the running, which will come out on top? All will be revealed in this thread in due course.

Thoughts?, Predictions ? feel free to share.....

A reminder of what's to come

Waterloo
Honey, Honey
Ring, Ring

I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
SOS
Mamma Mia

Fernando
Dancing Queen
Money, Money, Money
Knowing Me Knowing You

The Name of the Game
Take A Chance on Me

Summer Night City

Chiquitita
Does Your Mother Know
Voulez-Vous
Angeleyes
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
I Have A Dream

The Winner Takes It All
On and On and On
Super Trouper
Lay All Your Love on Me

One of Us
When All is Said and Done
Head Over Heels
The Visitors

The Day Before You Came
Under Attack

Thank You For The Music

I Still Have Faith In You
Don't Shut Me Down
Just A Notion

Edited December 13, 20213 yr by Nina West

'Does Your Mother Know' to finish as low as possible please and rooting for a 'Lay All Your Love On Me' or 'The Winner Takes It All' win!

'Does Your Mother Know' to finish as low as possible please

 

:o How could you say such thing?

'Does Your Mother Know' to finish as low as possible please and rooting for a 'Lay All Your Love On Me' or 'The Winner Takes It All' win!

 

 

Ban ban BANNNNN!!

I am rather shocked by that too :o

Oops sorry I'm not keen on the lyrics and find it a bit annoying sonically anyway :kink: I think that and 'Thank You For The Music' were the only songs I gave below a 5 though so a testament to their discography on the whole :o very interested to see how this will play out.

SOS and Lay All Your Love On Me are my absolute ABBA faves.

:o How could you say such thing?

 

 

She's right. I dislike it too.

It's Buzzjack, so my favourite (Honey Honey) will be in the bottom of results table.

Please forgive and then forget

33. Ring, Ring | 5.625



Highest Scores: 8.5/8: (Qween, Last Dreamer, Eduardo, Liam.k), Lowest Scores: 2: (King Rollo)


Kicking off this countdown at #33 is Ring, Ring, the only song not to score at least a 9. Released as the title track of their debut album in February 1973. The single gave the group their big break in several European countries (although the rest of Europe, North America and Australia would be introduced to ABBA the following year). The song was written in Swedish by group member Benny & Bjorn, along with their manager Stig Anderson, under its original title "Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)". The track was also invited to enter the Melodifestivalen 1973, where the winner would represent Sweden in that years Eurovision Song Contest, but it wouldn't get picked & that was when it was translated into an English version to make it more accessible to a universal audience.

Upon release the song topped the Swedish charts in its original Swedish version & even its English version did well by reaching a #2 peak. Elsewhere it also managed top 5 peaks in Denmark, Belgium, Norway, South Africa & Netherlands. However in the UK it was the group's first single, but failed to chart on its original release, but would get re-released later after the success of 'Waterloo' where it would go onto reach a #32 peak.

Well something had to finish in last place & it was "Ring, Ring", which isn't a surprise really as this isn't something I go back to all that often. The song itself falls rather short with very simplistic yet dumb lyrics. Not saying its terrible or anything & in fact the verse and chorus melody are very catchy & the production is nearly orchestral in texture and approach. But this early effort lacks that special ABBA magic that their later stuff would have. An okay effort even if it is a bit slight.

Edited December 10, 20213 yr by Nina West

'Ring Ring' is so bad!

I will be posting these results in 1's, so that I can give each song their spotlight & not have each page cluttered.

Not the worst song on the list for me as aforementioned but definitely down near the bottom so no loss!

Evil times are coming, we are in for darker nights"

32. On and On and On | 5.833



Highest Scores: 9: (Liam.k), Lowest Scores: 1: (King Rollo, Hide&Seek)


At #32 is On and On and On, released in September 1980 as the 2nd single from ABBA's 7th studio album Super Trouper in a limited number of countries. while most countries had the title track as the 2nd single. The track, which had the working titles "Esses vad det svänger när man spelar jazz" (roughly translated as "God Almighty How it Swings When You're Playing Jazz") and "'Til the Night is Gone". An early mix of the song was used in the song's music video, but not released on record in stereo until 2011, and it features an extra verse. Upon release the song managed top 10 peaks in both Australia & France, making this their 15th & final top 10 hit in the former country. In the USA it only managed to reach a #90 peak, but would fare better on the dance charts by reaching #1.

This is a rather decent effort with a lot of synthesizers & chugging pop/rock beats, along with some insistant yet fun melodies. This may have suffered on here due to it not being one of their biggest or even memorable hits & plus it got passed over in the UK wjere we got the far supieror title track. However this track does feel rather Americanized (which is why it was probably chosen for that market), & while I would call this a strong album track, it doesn't scream single to me. But I do like funky bass-lines this little number has & the lyrics are rather clever, even the vocodered vocals adds a slight charm to the whole thing.

Edited November 24, 20213 yr by Nina West

A shame to see 'Ring Ring' finish dead last but I guess it was always going to be one of the first out. Might not be as slick and quite basic in comparison to following ABBA singles, but I think it's really catchy.

 

'On and On and On' has a similar early ABBA feel to it. I guess ABBA fans were used to something more mature at that stage of the band's career but it's another super catchy effort for me with some fun lyrics.

Love me or leave me, make your choice but believe me
I love you

31. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do | 5.902



Highest Scores: 10: (ready for it, Viper), Lowest Scores: -1: (n4yr)


#31 is I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, released in April 1975 as the 3rd single from ABBA's 3rd studio album ABBA. The song was written by Benny, Bjorn and their manager Stig Anderson and was inspired by by the European schlager music of the 1950s, as well as the saxophone sound of '50s American orchestra leader Billy Vaughn. After the release of their breakthrough worldwide hit 'Waterloo', the group were having difficulty establishing themselves as an act with longevity, but this track would become a significant improvement on the international charts, although it made little impact in the UK. The song's popularity was boosted (particularly in Australia) by the release of a promo clip shown on television.

Upon release the song was a sizeable hit in several countries by topping the charts in Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, South Africa & Switzerland, as well as top 5 peaks in Norway, Netherlands, Austria, France & Zimbabwe. The song got released in the USA the following year & managed to reach a respectable #15 peak, a notable exception to the song's success was in the UK Singles Chart, a market that ABBA was aiming to conquer, where the single stalled at #38. This marked the only time that an ABBA song had more success in the USA than in the UK.

This is a very decent ABBA number, but not great, there's a reason why this didn't quite connect with the British public, it's way too cheesy (even by ABBA's standards) & doesn't go anywhere interesting & those horn sounds gets a bit grating very quickly. Although the piano throughout gives this that grand touch as does the saxophone, which again goes nicely with the longing of the lyrics. Thankfully the album's follow up singles would be more in line with their classic sound & while this is a nice early offering, yet again it pales in comparison to their iconic hits.

No big shocks so far,, thought I do I do I do might have been a couple of places higher.

Congrats on "Voyage" passing 1 million units sold world wide, not bad for four seps after a 40 yer break :)

Give me more than you're dreaming,
step up to the truth

30. Just A Notion | 6.56



Highest Scores: 10: (Feel The Fever, , ___∆___), Lowest Scores: 2: (Dante77)


At #30 is ABBA's most recent offering Just A Notion, released in October 2021 as the 3rd single from their 9th studio album Voyage. The song was originally written & produced in 1978 during recording sessions for the Voluez Vous album. Although progressing beyond the demo stage, Benny and Bjorn became unsatisfied with it, deeming it to be "unmixable" and therefore leaving it unreleased. However a snippet of a rough mix by ABBA's enginer Michael B. Tretow was ultimately released on the box set Thank You for the Music in 1994. After the group's reunion the track was revisited & Benny recorded recorded a new backing track with drums and guitars for the new version, but it retains the vocals from the original 1978 version. Upon release the song recieved decent critical reviews & had a moderate impact on the charts worldwide by reaching top 40 peaks in Sweden & Germany, as well as charting in the lower regions in 3 other countries UK, Switzerland & Netherlands.

This is another solid offering from ABBA's comeback album & may have suffered slightly on here by being too new & not having time to ripe like some of their older hits have. Even though this isn't as strong as the previous 2 comeback hits, its still a very charming number with fantastic synths, sweet symbol hooks & uobeat rhythms, although while retaining the original vocals does add a heartwarming vibe, they sometimes feel a bit buried in the updated mix. However by definition this is the most like the ABBA from ‘the old days’, because it mostly is.

Edited December 5, 20213 yr by Nina West

No big losses so far I think! In fact all 4 of them are songs that are good fun but without the depth of much of their work.