Waterloo is the second studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA, and the first released internationally. It was originally released on 4 March 1974 in Sweden through Polar Music. The album's title track won ABBA the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and became a global hit, launching the group's career.
Recording
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, instead featuring American pianist John "Rabbit" Bundrick who was in Sweden at the time. 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 had previously been called "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid"), although their manager Stig Anderson 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. Two more tracks were recorded on 17 October; "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. Polydor first released Waterloo, along with Ring Ring, throughout Europe in 1990, with the discs being pressed in West Germany. These discs follow the running order of the Waterloo LP that was released in The Netherlands, swapping "Watch Out" and "What About Livingstone" in the tracklist. In 1995, Polydor reissued their pressings of all of ABBA's albums in the United States. The album has been reissued in digitally remastered form several times: in 1997 as part of "The ABBA Remasters" series, then in 2001 with an updated cover artwork and some bonus tracks, again in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set, and most recently in 2014 as a 40th anniversary "Deluxe Edition" reissue. This version of the album entered the UK album charts.
On 5 April 2024, a new collection of vinyl products was released for the album's 50th anniversary celebration, featuring: a double-LP 45-rpm half-speed mastered gatefold version of the album; a seven-inch box set with colored discs (red, white and blue) of "Honey, Honey" / "King Kong Song", "Waterloo"/ "Watch Out" and "Waterloo (Swedish Version)" / "Honey, Honey (Swedish Version)", respectively; and individual 7-inch picture discs of these same three singles. A 10-inch limited edition "Waterloo" single was also released, featuring the four different language versions of the track. The half-speed high-quality audio was mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. The first disc consisted of a CD version of the original album, expanded with eight bonus tracks, and featuring: all the language versions of "Waterloo" (including an alternate mix of the English version), the Swedish version of "Honey, Honey", and the 1974 US remix of "Ring, Ring".
Album cover
The album's 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. The cover photo was taken at Gripsholm Castle, in Mariefred, Sweden, and features bass player Mike Watson dressed as Napoleon.
Critical reception
"Waterloo" swept to victory at the Swedish heats and the group represented Sweden in Brighton, England, 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). Faleij gave the album a positive review in Swedish calling it an "incredibly professional production":
Reviews of the album were positive with Phonograph Records 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. He wrote, in relation to "King Kong Song", that "when the women's voices jump in on the choruses, it's hard not to listen attentively; the quartet knew what a powerful weapon they had, but not quite how to use it". All tracks are written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, except where noted.
Notes
- The international edition of the album opens with the English version of "Waterloo" and closes with the English version of "Ring Ring".
Deluxe edition
Released for the album's 40th anniversary, this edition also features the Swedish version of "Waterloo" as a bonus track. All tracks are written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson, except where noted.
Personnel
Adapted from original Swedish release's liner notes.
ABBA
- Agnetha Fältskog – lead vocals (4, 6), co-lead vocals (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12), backing vocals
- Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead vocals (10), co-lead vocals (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12), backing vocals
- Björn Ulvaeus – acoustic guitar, lead vocals (2, 8), co-lead vocals (3, 6, 7, 11), backing vocals
- Benny Andersson – piano, Moog synthesizer, mellotron, lead vocals (11), co-lead vocals (3, 6, 7), backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Janne Schaffer – guitars
- Rutger Gunnarsson – bass guitar
- Ola Brunkert – drums
- Per Sahlberg – bass guitar (6)
- Christer Eklund – tenor saxophone (1, 12)
- Malando Gassama – congas (2)
Production
- Benny Andersson; Björn Ulvaeus – producers
- Michael B. Tretow – engineer
- Sven-Olof Walldoff – strings arrangement (7)
- Ola Lager – photography
- Ron Spaulding – album design
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Original release
!Chart (1974)
!Peak<br />position
|-
!scope="row"| Australia Albums (Kent Music Report)
| style="text-align:center;"| 18
|-
|-
! scope="row" | Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
| style="text-align:center;" | 2
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|US Cash Box Top 100 Albums
|style="text-align:center;"|156
|-
!scope="row"|US Record World Albums
|style="text-align:center;"|153
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+40th Anniversary Edition
|-
!Chart (2014)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" | Chart (1974)
! scope="col" | Position
|-
! scope="row" | German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 24
|}
Release history
{| class="wikitable"
!Region
!Date
!Label
!Format
!Catalog
!Reference
|-
|Scandinavia
|4 March 1974
|Polar
|LP · cassette · 8-track cartridge
|POLS 252
|
|-
|United Kingdom
|17 May 1974
|Epic
| rowspan="2" |LP · cassette
|EPC 80179
|
|-
|Australia
|May 1974
|RCA Victor
|VPL1-4003
|
|}