1976 Abba: Mamma Mia

One of the things I always enjoy most about Abba is the extreme generosity of their music. At their best, their songs come packed with more hooks than a tackle bag, and on that front 'Mamma Mia' is probably the prime example of what I mean. Most lesser bands would never have squandered so much in one shot, they'd have strip mined the tune to produce three or four separate songs, each with a killer chorus of its own. But with melodies to burn, Benny and Bjorn could afford to cram them all into one three and a half minute nutshell.

Though perhaps 'cram' is an unfair description, suggesting as it does something forced, something shoddily knocked together; whatever else 'Mamma Mia' might be, it is definitely not shoddy. What it is though is rather too brisk and breathless for it's own good. And that's because throughout it's duration, 'Mamma Mia' never sits still for a second. As soon as one tune establishes itself as a core melody it turns on a sixpence and changes key or tempo into something else entirely, making it a very nervy listen.

Whenever I hear 'Mamma Mia', I hear the sound of craftsmen who have not yet quite perfected their art. In their eagerness to please Western audiences and break free of the European oompah of previous fayre like 'Ring Ring', 'I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do' (and even 'SOS', albeit to a lesser extent) Abba chuck all their eggs into one basket, oblivious in their enthusiasm that some crack and leak all over the others. And in so doing 'Mamma Mia' never manages to hammer out a definitive theme of its own.

'Mamma Mia' is often credited as the song the kick started Abba's seventies superstardom. While that may be true, it's also true that it's one of the chief examples that evidences the accusation of 'cheesy' that came to tar their whole canon. "Yes, I've been brokenhearted, blue since the day we parted" sings an Anna Frid sounding anything but, while the exclamation of 'Mamma Mia' as an expression of self frustration in the lyrics doesn't suit in any way either (does anybody really say that outside of Italian stereotypes?) and only winds up giving the song the sort of cornball (or cheesy) aura they were desperate to break free of.

And hands up, I know this all sounds like a churlish and possibly unfair demolition of one of Abba's most loved songs, and I probably wouldn't have made it without the benefit of hindsight reference to the singles to come. But nevertheless, I always think a good pop single should provide the comfort of expectation in it's melody and 'Mamma Mia' is just too busy and unpredictable to be truly enjoyable. 'Mamma Mia' is good fun but Abba could and would do much, much better.