ABBA: the lesser known early singles

"Love Isn't Easy"

"Ring Ring"

'So Long'.

Love Isn't Easy is kind of the dry run for Waterloo/SOS

Love Isn't Easy pretty much squashes a different hook into every line, which makes it a dry run for the likes of SOS indeed, but here it's too much. If they could just shut up for a moment it might work. It has dozens of great bits but dozens of bad bits too.

Yor your consideration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2BiIUjR1a0

So Long.

No Nina Pretty Ballerina, no credibility.

"Ring Ring", my biggest hit at karaoke and their best outfits:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL0EoXdpOqg

The old 70s Greatest Hits is great for these. Love the dorky well-intentioned 60s vibe of these, especially in the male parts. But voting for ''Ring Ring'' - the shrill desperation in the chorus is pure ABBA gold.

(Why no "Another Town, Another Train" though?)

I voted for Honey Honey, but here are the rest:

People Need Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCdHfcAnAAw

He Is Your Brother: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQnTvSMQZHo

Love Isn't Easy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7VI-Ox1P9M

So Long: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdTIXROcebw

One of the biggest questions that appeared in my mind when I was going through the ABBA discography for the first time was "why the fuck wasn't 'Watch Out' a single?"

"So Long," easily.

listening to "Watch Out" right now - damn, this is a killer arrangement/production. The lyrics/melody aren't reaching out and grabbing me as much, and they maybe needed a more exciting drummer for these "rock" type songs, but the highs are high. Has anyone ever sampled this? Seems like a gold mine.

I voted for Honey Honey.

An alternative shot from the album cover of the record where most of us probably heard these songs.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6597/2190/1600/park-2.jpg

Due to the inconsistency of releasing singles in different countries, I finally decided on using the singles section of this to base the poll on
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABBA/Diskografie#Singles
In Australia they released a lot of singles, they didn't elsewhere for example. This is also the method used for The Essential Abba compilation.

I'm going Honey, Honey by the way, because like honey it is sweet and delicious. The Swedish version is great too, though here someone has put it over a performance of the English version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2BiIUjR1a0

"So Long" for me and I guess it shows how much they hit their stride because it might be the third or fourth best single on that album.

No "Hej, gamle man", no cred.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVQWo6g-dRQ

björn was originally with the hootenanny singers benny was with the hep stars björn joined the hepstatrs benny left the hep stars hej gamle man was a hootenanny singers song recorded under the name björn ulvaeus and benny andersson

All of which somehow leads to THIS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9DJcmRYBUo

Which is: the singer for the Hep Stars (Svenne Hedlund) and his wife Lotta (nee Charlotte Walker, who sang with the Hep Stars in their late "showband" phase) in their entry for Eurovision - the song having been handed to them by B&B, who, being well on their way at that point anyhow couldn't be much bothered with ye olde talent show. And this is why the internet.

My favorite song from Ring Ring is Disillusion by miles but one song from Ring Ring that has kind of stuck with me as a surprise earworm is I Saw It in the Mirror. Kind of wish I had found space for it in my ballot for the ABBA tracks poll

Watch Out completely smokes. There's a lot of great stuff like that on Waterloo and the s/t. Another song from that whole period that mines that whole vein is Hey Hey Helen (tho now we're getting definitively into mid period ABBA)

I tried to nominate Waterloo (the album) for AG's 70s rawk poll last year but no dice (but King Kong Song did make the tracks countdown somehow). Everyone thought I was trolling, but from what I can tell, ABBA first crossed over to the US as a glam rock band endorsed by Creem!

but what did you vote for? ring ring?

Love Isn't Easy

for the Hey Hey Helen fans out there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFuSflMBCWg

'I've Been Waiting For You', any interest? OK the lyrics are a bit naff in places and I'd rather a real third verse instead of the 'na-na-naa' long fade, but the tune and harmonies are breathtaking.

It was in my Top 20 in the ABBA poll

Wow, "Watch Out" is something. I'd never really noticed before this thread how glam some of the early stuff was. "So Long" could almost have been a Slade song.Or something.

xp it was in my top 20 too

Don't really like either Watch Out or I've Been Waiting for You. By the way, my least favourite ABBA song is called One Man, One Woman.

This is more like it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRnNOu5IiXw

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

vote now or forever hold your peace

Kneejerk reaction was "Ring Ring," but I too had forgotten the glamminess of "So Long." With a little snarlier production it could have been a Chinnichap/ Suzi Quatro joint. Voted for that.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

seems fair