After the middle aged angst of 'The Name Of The Game', Abba perform an effortless volte face back to the disco with their most direct single in ages. 'Take A Chance On Me' is one of the most danceable tunes in the Abba catalogue, perhaps moreso than the high class drive and shimmy of 'Dancing Queen' or the follow up to this 'Summer Night City'; no need for any fancy footwork with this one, it's a tune tailor made for even the most awkward and uncoordinated down at the tackiest club in the land to jig along to.Once again, love is on the agenda, but there's no hint of the uncertainty of recent past; the girls know what they want and they know where to get it. And if it means being second best ("If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown. Honey I'm still free") then they ain't fussy. Which doesn't mean that they are going to be anyone's doormat - the confidence of "You don't wanna hurt me, baby don't worry, I ain't gonna let you" is quite startling following the reluctant suitors of 'The Name Of The Game'.
The 'go out and get 'em' lyrics are complimented by the music which, though it jumps around excitedly never loses that the danceable thread. Whenever the centre threatens not to hold, it reverts back to the homebase of that wonderfully spongy keyboard riff that rings out as the aural equivalent of a bright yellow smiley face. I wouldn't place 'Take A Chance On Me' in the premier league of Abba songs, but it's a tune to be cherished nonetheless if only for the act that Abba sound as if they're truly enjoying themselves, a commodity that would be in short supply from here on in.
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