You'll have to see for yourself when they visit Phoenix later this week, but all of this is just a solid preamble for what we all really want: a ranking of the very best ABBA songs. Is this a definitive list? No way; we'd clearly need eight to 10 articles to fully reflect on pop music's most sturdy discography. These songs are, however, representative of why other artists would want to cover ABBA in the first place: they've touched all of us with their simple but powerful love songs and ballads, and they disarm even the most jaded soul into giving into pop's pure optimism.
If you have your own takes, we'd love to hear them. You can message or email us whenever, or as is customary with all ABBA music, just stare longingly into the horizon and whisper your words onto the breeze.
'I Am the City'
This one's for sure a true ABBA deep cut. So deep, in fact, that it wasn't released until 1993's "More ABBA Gold" comp after being recorded in 1982 as part of a scrapped record. Still, there's a reason this bad boy was pulled from life on the cutting room floor, as it's peak '80s ABBA in all their shimmery synth-pop wonder. In the hands of most other bands, the idea of personifying a city as some metaphor for both nightlife and community action might seem a little odd or hokey. In ABBA's gifted hands...it's a little odd or hokey, but in a way that's as endlessly charming as crafting an ode to a brand of spotlights. Here, ABBA make the cheesy into the transcendent, and they manage to make all of us feel like we're the denizens of somewhere truly special. It's a song that'll move you so hard you'll find yourself in a montage from an '80s movie about a long-distance runner in old Paris.'Andante, Andante'
Speaking of walking, ABBA's "Super Trouper" album featured this gem that translates to "at a walking pace" in Italian. It's a love song about being sweet and earnest, and taking one's time in all romantic gestures and displays and generally embracing a methodical pace to daily life. All of that checks out for pretty standard, totally appealing ABBA fare, but there's also some layers to what's seemingly just another synth-pop gem. For instance, there's some proper vibes culled from Italian folk, which makes sense considering the song's thematic interests. There's also some undercurrent of country in those twangy guitars. Those core sentiments together add even more depth and warmth to a song already brimming with life. It's just one example of how ABBA continually augmented their work with new textures to show their true range and create an ever more beguiling experience for listeners.'Rock Me'
We get it: most of you want songs featuring Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad on lead vocals. While those two have delivered more magic than a legion off David Copperfields, "Rock Me" is that rare enough ditty where Björn Ulvaeus gets to act as the temporary frontman. And boy oh boy does he deliver...what's basically a Queen B-side, really. That's a good thing, though, as Ulvaeus has a swagger and lowkey grit that would have made him right at home in, say, a poppier version of Thin Lizzy. More than that, it's nice to have an ABBA song where there's not too many layers, or where the sentiment isn't just all about tenderness and connectivity. Nope, this one's just a chance to strut around like a peacock, or experience what happens when the squeaky clean ABBA really cut loose (while keeping their pop game at its most upper echelon). Now, rock all the way out.'Kisses of Fire'
Among ABBA's many albums, 1979's "Voulez-Vous" doesn't receive nearly enough attention. For one, the title track is a pretty sturdy disco jam, and there's also another underrated masterpiece in "Does Your Mother Know." Yet the thing that really solidifies that album's power and importance is the song "Kisses of Fire." Mostly because it's perhaps the best example of what I'd call a regular trend among ABBA's discography. The song starts rather quietly and mundane enough, but by the time that chorus roars to life, you'd swear that you'd been transported to the finest Swedish cabaret in all the land. It's how ABBA lull you in only to then smack you with a velvet glove, and that ability is what makes the group so interesting and potent as opposed to just being truly great pop musicians. They know how to play with their audience, and when they finally strike, ABBA land across our sternums like a mighty hammer blow.'Gonna Sing You My Love Song'
ABBA are no strangers to delving into feelings of sorrow or being forlorn. And, based on songs like "Andante, Andante," they also have an appreciation for folk and country music. All of that reaches an apex, however, in perhaps the group's saddest, country-fried ballad ever, "Gonna Sing You My Love Song." On the surface (again, that's a theme for this group), ABBA seem to be committed to the idea of showing their lover the true depths of their commitment. Dig a touch deeper, though, and you almost get the sense that they're mostly trying to convince themselves of their feelings and intentions and not the lover at this song's core. In that way, the group has masked some truly potent pain with more beauty, and it makes you wonder just what other songs we hopelessly misread in ABBA's mighty discography. Either way, it's this ditty that captures something singular and true about how ABBA can break our hearts with spellbinding results.Mania: The ABBA Tribute. 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29. Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St. in Mesa. Tickets are $27.50 to $64.50. Visit mesaartscenter.com.
