ABBA was never known as a live act. Abba only toured twice in their extremely successful career, and ABBA in Concert followed their 1979 tour of the United States and Europe. In fact in their heyday, they were accused of being a hit machine. This nowadays is rejected, the ins and outs of each ABBA song is now well documented to have been a very complicated derivation of a song from its early stages to its completed form.

ABBA in Concert is ABBA at their best, released on DVD, the show flows through their grueling US tour. The group is shown performing live as live was intended, with absolutely no overdubs and a true live sound.

Kicking off with the group performing their breakthrough song Waterloo, we are then transported to America, where they are seen relaxing and preparing for their shows. The camera then suddenly transports us back to the Wembley Arena in London, and a wonderful live concert to a crowd of around 45,000 fans. There were many critics to any live show Abba conducted, but they sure do shine at Wembley, and definitely seemed to be enjoying it (Frida particularly). Great shots of the group in performance also. Can miss out on commenting on the two ladies curvaceous body that was every man’s envy.

It was a shame that we did not see Abba actually perform in the US, where they were sadly not as successful as elsewhere in the world, but did have thousands of fans.

Unsurprising that the concert included the terrific Dancing Queen, and the sheer excitement of the crowd certainly sealed their popularity as one of the biggest groups in the world, even if, ironically, 1979 was the year that, despite this massive world tour, was the only year between 1976 and 1980 in which Abba had no UK #1s or U.S. Top 15 hits. Nevertheless, it's hard to believe the group split up so long ago now, as this film makes you believe that you can still go and see them live. There’s also other songs like Eagle, Take A Chance on Me, Chiquitita, I have a Dream, Hole in Your Soul.

Considering this concert was done in 1979, both the sound quality and cinematography are excellent! Unfortunately, the editing is however not to the mark though.

ABBA in Concert is a definite must for any Abba fan, with terrific, polished performances that showcased the group as a perfectly great live band as well as a studio group. A small insight into the group's day to day lives is included, but mainly the music is concentrated on.

ABBA played it live as true professionals, and I respect ABBA for having shown the world that they were TRUE artists and not frauds like many of the stars of today with all their fake voice enhancements. Long live ABBA, they will be remembered for far longer than anyone produced in today's throw away music world.

Rating *****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira