The real genius of Abba's music was in the ease in which their songs addressed the ups and downs of personal relationships from both a female and male perspective.For a so called pop group Abba sang about difficult personal issues [in retrospect they were merely writing about their own crumbling inter band relationships,whilst becoming the most popular group in the world].
This reissue of the soundtrack to the bands tour movie of 1976 is perhaps the nearest Abba got to treading water in their prime[sandwiched between the pop brilliance of "Arrival",and the more mature "Voulez Vous"],but the sheer quality of the songwriting, production, and performances just illustrates how on top of their game Abba were in this period.From the mellow opener, "Eagle", to the classic pop genius of "Take A Chance On Me" Abba never short changed their huge audience on a musical level,and very few bands have ever sustained this level of quality throughout their careers.Whilst essentially a cheerful album, a sly hint of the bands emerging melancholy and maturity can be found in the brilliant "The Name Of The Game".
This reissue has 6 interesting curiosities especially the "Doris Day",[read less produced], version of "Thank you For The Music",which i personally prefer to the album version, and two Spanish versions of tracks from the album.
The dvd is a bit of a gem,with some hard to find,television appearances and interviews[including some in Swedish],that offer more than standard record company propaganda[especially interesting is a brief Blue Peter clip where the bands professionalism is as noticable as their obvious desire to be elsewhere].
Overall this is a fabulous package and worth the investment.It may not be quite as much fun as the "Arrival" Deluxe Edition,but that is merely splitting hairs,and should not stop anybody from purchasing this small slice of Seventies nostalgia.