Waterloo album alternate track list?

Why would anyone make master tapes with a different running order if there wasn't any intention of using them? If you consider the tapes were made in the early 70s, I'm not surprised by the use of hand-writing and paper.

Please watch the video. The photo is one of many from an official source. I have no reason to doubt that.

I think the track list does make sense, in that after they won Melodifestivalen, and especially after the international win, there was a clear need to start with the winning track.

I think "Dance" would have been the perfect opener, with that acapella singing in the beginning. Also, the 'rock' tracks on B-side flow quite nicely that way, continuing with "Waterloo" with more pop sounds.

That makes the most sense, matt. That said, it feels like a better running order to the released version - the means the album is bookended with really lovely songs. Just a matter of where you might squeeze in Hasta Manana, really.

The Barry Levine photos are terrific. I much prefer them to the Anders Hanser images: Levine had an eye for glamour; Hanser's aesthetic was far more candid and documentary... and not always entirely flattering. But would a Levine photo book be extensive? I think his work spans just a year or maybe two?? Some of his unused shots might beautify an anthology or documentary.

Bobby's Brother has developed quite a following now, and some seem too ready to mistake his enthusiastic speculation for insider knowledge. But if he gets traction and the right people are watching, who knows what ideas might be given attention...?

Thanks for clearing this up, although I do like the track order there.

Also, omitting Hasta Manana seems logical in that it's the track they rejected in favour of Waterloo for Eurovision.

Bobby's Borther didn't say anything about this photo, only the comment that all those recent photos have been published by "ABBA's official networks".

If ever there was an album where whoever decided the track sequencing has got a lot of explaining to do, 'Waterloo' is it. It manages to unleash three of my bottom five ABBA tracks back to back to back, straight after the title track. Totally kills the album, for me. (SITPT has got 'hide it away in the middle of side two and hope no-one notices it' written all over it. I'd probably stick KKS last on side one as a throwaway novelty song tacked on the end, but it'd need to be preceded by a couple of the album's better tracks. HM I'd simply consign to one of the inner circles of Dante's Inferno.) There are two or three other clunkers flying around too, but that gruesome threesome really does my head in.

Bottom of the ABBA album pile for me too. And yes, 'My Mama Said' is a hidden gem.

I love the way that no two people ever hear the same album in quite the same way. I hope that never changes! So much depends on personal associations and memories. And when people ask me, 'what's your favourite album by [whoever]', I always have to ask them whether they do mean 'favourite', as opposed to 'best' (in my personal opinion), or 'the one I listen to the most'. There are usually different answers to each of these questions. Where ABBA are concerned, I would say:

My Favourite Album: The Visitors (very clear-cut)
ABBA's Best Album (in my opinion): Tricky one - probably The Visitors, but arguably The Album or even Super Trouper.
The One I Listen to the Most: ABBA. (By some distance.)

It seems I'm in a minority here but I like Waterloo (the album) a lot. Far from perfect, but a lot of fun. The only song I've never liked much is Watch Out but it probably has to do with Björn trying (and failing) to sound like a rock singer. But the overall feel and energy of the album makes it a very fun listen. Don't kill me now, but there are times when I prefer it to the sterile perfection of Super Trouper...