The album's title track won ABBA the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and became a global hit, launching the group's career.

These discs follow the running order of the Waterloo LP that was released in The Netherlands, swapping Watch Out and What About Livingstone?

[6] The album has been reissued in digitally remastered form several times: in 1997 as part of "The ABBA Remasters" series,[7] then in 2001 with an updated cover artwork and some bonus tracks,[8] again in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set, and most recently in 2014 as a 40th anniversary "Deluxe Edition" reissue.

[15][16] The remaining TV content included performances of "Honey, Honey" on Disco (ZDF), Spotlight (ORF), and Ein Kessel Buntes (Fernsehen der DDR), as well as an interview with Frida and Stig Anderson, following the band's Eurovision victory.

[18] The cover photo was taken at Gripsholm Castle, in Mariefred, Sweden,[19] and features bass player Mike Watson [sv] dressed as Napoleon.

[20] "Waterloo" swept to victory at the Swedish heats and the group represented Sweden in Brighton for the Eurovision Song Contest 1974.

[2] Reviews of the album were positive with Phonograph Record's Greg Shaw stating that it "might just turn out to be one of the classic début LPs of the '70s".

[2] In a 3-star review, Bruce Eder from AllMusic said that the album was "unusual in the group's output" due to the "variety of sounds" and because "the guys are still featured fairly prominently in some of the vocals".

[21] He wrote, in relation to "King Kong Song", that "when the women's voices jump in on the choruses, it's hard not to listen attentively; the quartet knew what a powerful weapon they had, but not quite how to use it".

Notes Released for the album's 40th anniversary, this edition also features the Swedish version of "Waterloo" as a bonus track.