Let’s take a bunch of Abba songs and do them in an almost metal motif. Who in the world would have ever thought of that idea? It’s either insane or genius. Well, I have to say it’s probably a little of both. I mean, there is little music out there more universal than Abba. No matter how you feel about the group there’s no denying the catchiness of their hooks. Somehow it works remarkably well when converted to a more hard rock arrangement. Quirky as this album is, it’s also very cool.
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Track by Track Review
Money Money Money
The hooks on this work great. The cut is a hard rocker with a bit of a raw approach. Yet there is also an AOR rock sound here. It's definitely a high energy, yet accessible, way to start the set.
Rock Me
More pure metal, this one is less unique and unusual than the opener. It’s got a lot more of a retro hard rock groove to it. There’s a cool stoner rock jam in the middle of the piece.
Knowing Me, Knowing You The main riff on this has a very meaty ‘80’s metal sound to it. I like the cut a lot. Its arrangement feels somewhere between the first two cuts and this one is probably more effective than either of those.
Dancing Queen This one works better than its predecessors. It’s amazing how the instantly familiar melody works so well in this near metal arrangement. I suppose the lyrics feel a bit naïve in this musical vein – but weren’t they always? I love how we get a bit of a Hendrix jam just before the final chorus reprise that serves as outro.
Waterloo A more stripped down, gritty metal/hard rock approach is the motif here. It’s another good cut, but not really a standout. Still, it’s got some especially tasty guitar work. A lot of this relies heavily on percussion and vocals alone.
Voulez Vous This might be the real winner of the set. It has an almost progressive rock or progressive metal feeling to it and it just plain rocks. At about five and a half minutes in length, it’s also the longest piece here.
S.O.S. There’s a more straightforward, stripped down, hard rock texture here. I like this track a lot and the hooks seem to work especially well in this format. There’s a tasty guitar solo, too.
Ring Ring This comes from the same side of town as the last one. It’s another, though, that reminds me quite a bit of Sweet. It’s good and instantly accessible. The guitar solo makes me think of Thin Lizzy.
Fernando If there’s an Abba song I like, this is it. That said, I’m not as impressed with this version. It’s OK, but I definitely prefer the original to this stripped down hard rock take on it. There is a killer guitar solo that takes the track out.
Mamma Mia A theatrical rock element makes up the main motif here. This one reminds me of Sweet, but it also has a bit of a prog rock feeling to it.
