On and On is a collection of 12
ABBA songs, and that's about the entire theme that seems to be operating here. There is no unifying sound; the songs range in style from the glammy "Rock Me" to the slinky reggae disco of "The Name of the Game" to the cold new wave of "The Visitors." The songs are randomly selected from albums; one from
Ring Ring ("Love Isn't Easy [But It Sure Is Hard Enough]"), two from Waterloo ("Gonna Sing You My Lovesong" and "Waterloo," which is the biggest hit collected here), one from
ABBA ("Rock Me"), one from Arrival ("Why Did It Have to Be Me"), two from The Album ("The Name of the Game," "Hole in Your Soul"), one from Voulez-Vous (the terrible "Kisses of Fire"), two from Super Trouper ("Lay All Your Love on Me," "On and on and On"), and two from
ABBA's last record,
The Visitors ("The Visitors," "When All Is Said and Done"). The chosen songs aren't sequenced in an interesting manner; starting off with the best track leaves nowhere to go but down. They didn't pick the best non-hit album tracks, although "Rock Me" was a pleasantly loud and raucous (for
ABBA) surprise. Really, there is no compelling reason to buy this disc. If you are a casual fan, all you need is the
Gold: Greatest Hits collection. If you are rabid fan, you have all these tracks already. Chalk this release up to Universal's desire to milk the
ABBA catalog for all it is worth. ~ Tim Sendra