The Coulda-Shoulda-Woulda Files: “Watch Out” For ABBA

Brian Raftery | November 13, 2006 10:32 am

Time to another installment of the Coulda-Shoulda-Woulda Files, in which we acknowledge the near-hits that never relegated to the remainder bin of history:

Artist: Abba Song: “Watch Out,” 1974 What happened: Shortly before they began their still-ongoing campaign of world domination, ABBA released a 45 featuring “Waterloo” on the A-side and “Watch Out” on the B-side. Not surprisingly, most people chose to play “Waterloo” over and over again without flipping the disc–really, who could blame them?–and “Watch Out” never got the following it deserved. Why it should have been a hit: With its jagged opening guitar riff and propulsive drumbeat, “Watch Out” has a grit you won’t find on, say, “Mama Mia” or “S.O.S.” And the lyrics border on the obsessively creepy; if it weren’t for the “Ooh la la la” backing vocals, you’d have no clue this was a Benny & Björn production.

Abba – Watch Out [MP3, link expired]

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