For four decades ABBA - the combined talents of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad - has been a global music phenomenon, clocking up record sales of over 360 million.
For the very first time The Complete ABBA compiles all of the Swedish supergroup's singles, albums, TV specials, tours and movies. Beginning with their 1972 debut single People Need Love , the book chronicles the band's incredible story right through to Björn and Benny's triumphant Thank You for the Music tribute concert held in London in 2009, and beyond, to 2012, the band's 40th anniversary.
Overall it was a very entertaining read that gave me some interesting insight on the production of ABBA's music and videos, without much about the artists' personal lives. The author could tone down the metaphors a bit, he definitely goes overboard with adjectives and sometimes the pictures he paints is too vivid for a work of non-fiction. He is quick to criticize cheap, overdone ABBA compilations that capitalize on the band's milestones, but the irony is that that is exactly what this book does: claims to be the ultimate and most complete package of information, and capitalizes on the band's 40th anniversary. Aside from that, it is a pretty good and informative book for ABBA fans.