THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME
1. You Owe Me One
2. Elaine
3. Under Attack
4. Should I Laugh Or Cry
5. I Am The City
6. Cassandra
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By 1982, every member of ABBA had filed for divorce from another member of ABBA. The couples had separated, and the hits were gradually drying up as well. The band had begun recording their next album that spring, but to no avail. Only two songs were finished, "You Owe Me One" and "I Am The City," before plans were changed. Instead of putting out a ninth album, they would instead record and promote two new singles, release a compilation album with said singles on it, and then take a break for a while. They recorded three songs that summer ("Under Attack," "Cassandra," and "The Day Before You Came") and used "You Owe Me One" as a B-side. Music videos were produced, but neither single was a big hit. Later on in 1983, Björn (one of the "B"s in ABBA) began looking into finishing up several of the band's unfinished recordings, but his cassettes of the tracks were then stolen from his car that very same day, eventually being bootlegged. This brought plans for a ninth album to a standstill until ABBA reunited in the 2010s for their reunion album, which contained none of these songs.
Despite the fact that they only recorded those five tracks for it, a 1982 album can nonetheless be assembled if some additional material is brought to the table. I decided to add "Elaine" and "Should I Laugh Or Cry," ABBA's non-album B-sides from 1980 and 1981, respectively; go any further back and you get into disco territory, which sounds markedly different. The resulting album comes in at a solid half hour, which is only slightly shorter than their shortest album, 1976's Arrival. The songs are sourced from the 2010s deluxe editions of Super Trooper (1980) and The Visitors (1981) and have been carefully ordered for song flow. The cover art has been used on several hits compilations over the years.
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