BONUS - Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus: Det kan ingen doktor hjälpa (single 1971)


During their career Abba released 110 recordings commercially, of which I have now revisited ten. However, there are number of tracks that could be called Abba recordings in all but name, recordings that are written and produced by Abba members and that include audible participation of all four of them. Most of these were done before Abba was formed as the two couples participated in the making of each other's solo recordings. The quality of these recordings varies, but to me they are an interesting sideline of the official Abba canon. So I will review some of these as bonus entries to my blog.

The first bonus track was released as a Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus single in 1971, two years before Abba took off. The gentlemen of course wrote, produced and performed the duet, but Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog, their respective fiancées are clearly audible in the backing vocals.

My first encounter with this jolly track was as late as 2006 when it was included (among all the other single tracks by the two musicians) as a bonus track on the CD release of Benny's & Björn's duet album Lycka (from 1970). They had had a big domestic success a year before with a single track Hej gamle man, a Salvation Army - type singalong which is famous for being the first recording in which all four future Abba members took part. 

Det kan ingen doktor hjälpa is an unsuccessful attempt to recreate the success. The refrain, where Frida and Agnetha can be easily heard, is again a thumping singalong with trite lyrics, but with nothing new to give. This time, however, I managed to get over the irritating refrain and was surprised to find a decent verse stuck in between. So there are elements that could have made this a good song if it had been thought out a little more. Still, this song is easily the most forgettable of the bonus tracks I am going to review in this blog. 

Pay attention to:

  • A decent verse with good vocals by Björn.
Coming up... King Kong Song


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