Abba: Songs as Effervescent as Beach Boys’ Surf Sounds

Abba is the band that won’t go away.

The latest in an apparently endless series of reissues of the Swedish band’s massively popular late-’70s and early-’80s work has already sold 5 million copies in Europe and is now available in this country.

Titled simply “Gold,” the PolyGram collection contains 19 tracks, including all but one of Abba’s 10 U.S. Top 20 singles. The lineup includes “Dancing Queen,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “Fernando” and “The Winner Takes It All.” The missing hit: “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do.”

What’s interesting about Abba’s continuing appeal is that the quartet, which broke up a decade ago, was largely written off the first time around--not just by rock critics, but also by rock fans who dismissed Abba’s syrupy, sentimental sound as the essence of disposable pop.

This absence of substance may be why the Swedish quartet--Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad--never enjoyed the same success in the United States as in Europe, where the mainstream pop diet is even more lightweight than here. Only “Dancing Queen” reached No. 1 in this country and no Abba album even reached the Top 10.

In truth, Abba gave us gloriously infectious music that was almost as disarming and effervescent, in its grand European pop way, as the Beach Boys’ California surf sounds. The difference was Abba didn’t have a Brian Wilson to add a dark, melancholy edge.

Abba’s pure pop instincts can be felt these days in the works of such contemporary groups as the Pet Shop Boys and Erasure. In fact, Erasure saluted Abba last year by releasing its own version of some Abba tunes in a mini-album. But that album, “Abba-esque,” lacked the imagination and sparkle of the original versions.

Rounder Samplers: The packaging isn’t fancy (no photos or liner notes), but Rounder Records’ new bluegrass and blues samplers are rewarding glimpses into the continuing vitality of the vintage musical styles.

“Blue Ribbon Bluegrass” contains 23 selections from the Rounder catalogue. Among the artists featured: Alison Krauss & Union Station, Ricky Skaggs, Jim & Jesse, Vassar Clements, and J.D. Crowe & the New South.

“Blues Across the U.S.A.” offers 18 tracks by such artists as Otis Clay, Ann Peebles, Marcia Ball, Irma Thomas, Johnny Adams and Tracy Nelson.