1977 Abba: The Name Of The Game

Fresh from charting the breakdown of one relationship in 'Knowing Me, Knowing You', 'The Name Of The Game' details the first hesitant steps at the start of a new one. In many respects it's a direct sequel, or perhaps it would be better to regard it as a continuation of events; Agnetha is still bruised from the break-up and is wary about getting in too deep too soon with a new relationship that's blossoming.

That's my favoured interpretation anyway - as far as the lyrics go, then on face value they could be taken as describing any brand new, first time love affair, but following that route makes the "I'm a bashful child, beginning to grow" a bit too clumpy and demeaning for my liking. But whatever, what's certain is that a personal wall has been breached for the first time ("I was an impossible case, no-one ever could reach me") and someone once content to live alone is no longer so sure. It's a theme Abba would go on to develop in the much darker 'The Day Before You Came'.

'The Name Of The Game' is a markedly more downbeat affair after the searchlight brightness of their previous brace of singles. True, the almost trip-hop bass driven introduction gives way to (yet another) memorable chorus, but the lights aren't shining quite so brightly this time and there's a shadow of doubt lying over the song that dampens the glam and makes me less inclined to sing along.

The mixed up confusion of Agnetha's vocal is mirrored by the song's stop/start violent key change structure and it makes the overall ambiance more jagged than smooth - is she ready for love or isn't she? Agnetha doesn't know and the tension is brilliantly voiced in the middle eight where she shifts from a coy flirting on "If I trust in you, would you let me down? Would you laugh at me?" before blurting a question of sheer, naked emotion: "IF I SAID I CARED FOR YOU? COULD YOU FEEL THE SAME WAY TOO?" It's a spine tingling moment that briefly reveals the fear of heartbreak and rejection that underpins her reluctance to commit. And not just her - it's a question that we'd all like an answer to at some point in our lives.

'The Name Of The Game' can now be seen as a transitional work. It's Abba's most 'adult' single to date and it's the fact that they are being so self consciously grown up about it all that makes it slightly less enjoyable than it could have been. Benny and Bjorn seemed intent on drawing a line under the 'Dancing Queen's, yet they weren't prepared to abandon a winning formula entirely by starting on a completely fresh page.

Thus, 'The Name Of The Game' falls between two stools. It still punches its weight in the glammy pop stakes, but it's a far less immediate listen and a few years of experience under your belt is needed to properly appreciate all that's being said. Perhaps its biggest shortcoming is that it followed a series of singles that were the personification of pop perfection. 'The Name Of The Game' falls short of that but, as I say above, it's transitional and while it would be a few years yet before 'serious' Abba set down the benchmark for this chapter of their career with 'The Winner Takes It All', the wait would be well worth it.