Album Review

An occasionally bouncy chorus and still-on-target singing can't disguise the fact that the boys and girls of Abba are in a slump. Synthdrenched, mellow-dramatic balladeering seems to have supplanted almost entirely the perky pop that first made these Swedes Croesusrich. But it's hard to pull off slow, sensitivo stuff when you're writing in your second language, as the beach-poem, Berlitz-class lyrics here attest. Add to this the disconcerting effect of having all the material penned by the boys and sung by the girls, and one's longing for a little old-fashioned DOR becomes much stronger. Only the album's title tune – appropriately subtitled "Crackin' Up" – comes close to filling that bill. The Visitors is a pretty lousy LP, but given the current state of Abba's portfolios, I guess we should be glad they're doing it at all. (RS 365)

CHRISTOPHER CONNELLY

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