It’s been four decades since Agnetha Fälksog, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad came together to change the face of pop music. This fall, the first album by the group the world now knows as ABBA is getting an expanded CD/DVD treatment – and those who are interested as to how the quartet came together will have a lot of bonus tracks to discover and enjoy.

When the single “People Need Love” was released in 1972, it was intended as a one-off collaboration between three successful Swedish pop entities: female singers Fälksog and Lyngstad and songwriting/producing duo Ulvaeus and Andersson. The single was credited to the rather unmarketable “Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid,” with no intentions of further capitalizing on the partnership. But the success of the song – a Top 20 hit in their native country – led to an album’s worth of sessions, released throughout parts of Europe as Ring Ring. The title track, a Swedish chart-topper, was a sensation in several languages, including German, Spanish and English (with lyrics penned by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody). When the group reconvened for their second album Waterloo – the title track of which was a worldwide smash and the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest for 1974 – they were, once and for all, a group named ABBA.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL0EoXdpOqg]

The deluxe CD/DVD edition of Ring Ring – the final ABBA album to get this expanded treatment – features no less than 13 bonus tracks, including foreign language versions, non-LP B-sides and even a rare promo-only spoken-word recording. But the real treats are six pre-ABBA recordings featuring the future line-up of the band. Björn & Benny’s “Hej gamle man!” from their album Lycka features backing vocals from Agnetha and Frida. Billy G-son’s non-LP single “There’s a Little Man” b/w “I Saw It in the Mirror” were written and produced by the Andersson-Ulvaeus duo that fueled a decade of ABBA hits, and the quartet also added their magic to singles by Anni-Frid and pop singer Lill-Babs – all of which feature here. The DVD rounds out the action with two vintage TV performances and a Swedish news feature from last year in which Andersson uncovers the secrets behind ABBA’s production techniques direct from the original multitrack masters of “Ring Ring.”

The deluxe Ring Ring will hit stores October 14. Keep an eye out for pre-order links when they’re available, and check out the full track list after the jump!

Ring Ring: Deluxe Edition (Polar/UMe, 2013)

Disc 1: Original LP (released as Polar POLS 242, 1973 – below track list based on Polydor (U.S.) CD 422 843 642-2, 1995) and bonus material

1. Ring Ring
2. Another Town, Another Train
3. Disillusion
4. People Need Love
5. I Saw It in the Mirror
6. Nina, Pretty Ballerina
7. Love Isn’t Easy (But It Sure is Hard Enough)
8. Me and Bobby and Bobby’s Brother
9. He is Your Brother
10. She’s My Kind of Girl
11. I Am Just a Girl
12. Rock’n Roll Band
13. Ring ring (bara du slog en signal) (Polar single A-side POS 1171, 1973)
14. Merry-Go-Round (B-side to “People Need Love” – Polar POS 1156, 1972)
15. Santa Rosa (B-side to “He is Your Brother” – Polar POS 1168, 1972)
16. Ring Ring (Spanish Version) (from Mas ABBA Oro – Polydor 314 523 365-2, 1993)
17. Wer im Wartesaal der Liebe Steht (German Version of “Another Town, Another Train”) (Polydor single B-side 2040 105, 1973)
18. Ring Ring (German Version) (Polydor single A-side 2040 105, 1973)
19. En hälsning till våra parkarrangörer (rare spoken-word promo-only recording)
20. Hej gamle man! – Björn & Benny (from Lycka (Polar LP POLS 226, 1970) and Polar single A-side POS 1110, 1970)
21. There’s a Little Man – Billy G-son (Polydor single A-side 2053 010, 1970)
22. I Saw It in the Mirror – Billy G-son (Polydor single B-side 2053 010, 1970)
23. Jag är blott en man – Jarl Kulle (Polar single A-side POS 1162, 1972)
24. Man vill ju leva lite dessemellan – Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Polydor single A-side POS 1161, 1972)
25. Välkommen till världen – Lill-Babs (Karusell single A-side 2108 036, 1971)

Disc 2: DVD

1. People Need Love (Vi i femman, SVT)
2. Ring Ring (Spotlight, ORF)
3. Ring Ring revealed (Låtarna som förändrade musiken, UR)
4. International Sleeve Gallery