| Ring Ring | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by ABBA | ||||
| Released | March 26, 1973 | |||
| Recorded | March 29, 1972–March 15, 1973 at Metronome, Europafilm and KMH Studios, Stockholm, Sweden[1] | |||
| Genre | Pop, pop rock, folk rock, schlager | |||
| Length | 36:09 | |||
| Label | Polar | |||
| Producer | Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus | |||
| ABBA chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
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CD re-issue with ABBA logo.
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | link |
| Blender | link |
Ring Ring is the debut studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in Scandinavia and a limited number of other territories, including West Germany, Australia, South Africa and Mexico, on March 26, 1973 through Polar Music.[2] The album was a chart-topping album in Belgium, and a big success in Holland, Norway and South Africa.[3]
The album was re-released in Australasia in 1975, but was not released in the United Kingdom until 1992, and the United States until three years later. The re-release artwork for the album (see below) uses the name "ABBA", although at the time of the album's original release, the name ABBA had not yet been coined, and instead was awkwardly credited to "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida". Ring Ring was first released on CD in Sweden in 1988; a West German CD release followed in 1990 (later released internationally). The album has been reissued in digitally remastered form three times; first in 1997, then in 2001 and again in 2005 as part of the The Complete Studio Recordings box set.
The original 1973 Polar version of the album opens with "Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal)", the Swedish version of the track, and places the English language version as track four on side two.
The track "She's My Kind of Girl", included on the international editions, is in fact a song by Björn & Benny which dates back to 1969, which was a hit in Japan, and had also been included on the b-side of the English version of the "Ring Ring" single in Scandinavia.
Ring Ring also features a song co-written by Agnetha Fältskog. Although she had composed much of her Swedish solo output, the song "Disillusion", for which she wrote the music, is the only song released on an ABBA album to feature a songwriting contribution from her.
When the first song "People Need Love" was recorded in the Spring of 1972, the group was just one of many projects the four members were involved in. Only after the title track, "Ring Ring" became a hit, did the four decide to go on working together as a permanent group.
Contents |
All songs written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ring Ring" (written by Andersson, Stig Anderson, Ulvaeus, Neil Sedaka, Phil Cody) | 3:04 |
| 2. | "Another Town, Another Train" | 3:12 |
| 3. | "Disillusion" (written by Agnetha Fältskog, Ulvaeus) | 3:04 |
| 4. | "People Need Love" | 2:46 |
| 5. | "I Saw It in the Mirror" | 2:34 |
| 6. | "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" | 2:51 |
| 7. | "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" | 2:53 |
| 8. | "Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother" | 2:50 |
| 9. | "He Is Your Brother" | 3:18 |
| 10. | "She's My Kind of Girl" | 2:44 |
| 11. | "I Am Just a Girl" (written by Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) | 3:01 |
| 12. | "Rock'n Roll Band" | 3:09 |
|
Total length:
|
36:09 | |
Ring Ring was remastered and reissued in 1997 with the same track listing
Ring Ring was remastered and reissued in 2001 with three bonus tracks (all songs produced by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus):
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Merry-Go-Round" | Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus | 3:24 |
| 14. | "Santa Rosa" | Andersson, Ulvaeus | 2:59 |
| 15. | "Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal)" (Swedish version) | Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus | 3:08 |
Ring Ring was remastered and reissued again in 2005 as part of the The Complete Studio Recordings box set with several bonus tracks (all tracks were produced by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus):
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal) (Swedish Version)" | Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus | 3:08 |
| 14. | "Åh, Vilka Tider" (B-side of "Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal)") | Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus | 2:33 |
| 15. | "Merry-Go-Round" (B-side of "People Need Love") | Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus | 3:36 |
| 16. | "Santa Rosa" (B-side of "He Is Your Brother") | Andersson, Ulvaeus | 3:01 |
| 17. | "Ring Ring" (Spanish version) | Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, Doris Band | 3:01 |
| 18. | "Wer Im Wartesaal Der Liebe Steht" (German version of "Another Town, Another Train", B-side of "Ring Ring" (German version)) | Andersson, Ulvaeus, Fred Jay | 3:21 |
| 19. | "Ring Ring" (German version) | Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, Peter Lach | 3:09 |
Ring Ring was reissued once again in 2008 as part of the The Albums box set but without any bonus tracks.
The Original vinyl release in Scandinavia did not include the track "She's My Kind of Girl", and featured the Swedish version of "Ring, Ring", in addition to the English version.
| Year | Chart/Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Belgium | 1[3] |
| Norway | 2 | |
| Sweden | 2 | |
| Australia | 10 |