Ring Ring
ABBA was originally called Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha &Frida--the name with which the title track of this, their 1973 debut album, was entered into the Swedish heat of the Eurovision Song Contest. The tune didn't get picked, but the resultant public outcry was such that ABBA's future was assured. BothBjorn and Bennyhad already been Swedish rock icons in the '60s--Benny, most notably, in theHep Stars, better known as "the SwedishBeatles," while Bjorn sang in a folk-rock combo. Anni-Frid, meanwhile, had won several national talent contests and Agnetha had topped the Swedish singles chart by the age of 18.Ring Ring, although lightweight, does contain some poignant rumblings of albums to come. Mostly, though, it is along the lines of the winsome "She's My Kind of Girl" and fun-time "Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother"--music that reflected the group's past, not its future.--Everett True