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When I was 10 or 11 years old, I saw something on TV about ABBA. I hadn't heard of them before, but the music captivated me. I became an instant fan. I bought a couple of their albums. I had a greatest hits collection from K-Tel.
As a teenager, I had to change my mind about ABBA. It wasn't cool to like ABBA. They weren't edgy or dangerous. My parents liked the music because it sounds so nice. But deep down, I still loved ABBA. It's nice to know that I wasn't the only person who denied my inner ABBA fan.
As an adult, ABBA songs have impressed me even more with their sophistication. The ladies have fantastic voices. The melodies are beautiful and the arrangements are complex. The transitions from verse to pre-chorus to chorus and back again are flawless. I don't think I've ever heard a transition in an ABBA song that felt awkward. They seem perfectly natural, even the abrupt ones like in "S.O.S."
Their perfect pop songs mask a lot of melancholy in the lyrics. I was surprised the first time I really listened to the lyrics of "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and discovered what a sad song it is behind the catchy tune. I had the same reaction to "Mamma Mia", which is about a woman trapped in a painful relationship because she's obsessed with her man.
