ABBA

Greatest Hits compilation album by legendary Swedish Pop band.
ABBA's 19-song "Gold" collection was the first hits compilation prepared specifically for the CD format by the 1970s supergroup, and, appearing after a period of several years in which their music had been off the market, was a welcome addition to the catalogue. Originally released on 21 September 1992 through PolyGram, it was the first compilation to be released after the company had acquired Polar Music, and thus the rights to the ABBA back catalogue. Polar had only produced and distributed ABBA's records in Scandinavian countries, licensing the recordings for release by different companies around the world (such as Atlantic in the US and Epic in the UK). This meant there were many different compilations released in different parts of the world. As these licenses were renewed every three years, between 1989 (when PolyGram acquired Polar) and 1992 all of these licenses had expired. Although PolyGram had made all the original studio albums available (along with the 1986 live album, which had originally been issued by Polydor worldwide), all previously released ABBA compilations had been deleted. Rather than issue the multiple previous compilations, PolyGram put together a new collection, optimized for the CD format.
Since 1992, it has been re-released several times, most notably in 1999 as the first remastered reissue to mark the band's 25th anniversary of winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, in 2008 to coincide with the release of the film "Mamma Mia!", and most recently in 2014 to mark the band's 40th anniversary of winning the Eurovision Song Contest.
With sales of 30.000.000, "Gold" is the best-selling ABBA album, as well one of the best-selling albums worldwide. It is still the simplest and most straightforward collection of the band's material that it is possible to buy.
Double 180g vinyl.
Polar Music International AB/Polydor, 1992/2014 (535 110-6). Made in the EU. Repress.


Tracklist:

Side One
1. Dancing Queen 3:49
2. Knowing Me, Knowing You 4:01
3. Take A Chance On Me 4:01
4. Mamma Mia 3:32
5. Lay All Your Love On Me 4:32
Side Two
1. Super Trouper 4:10
2. I Have A Dream 4:43
3. The Winner Takes It All 4:54
4. Money, Money, Money 3:05
5. S.O.S. 3:19
Running time: 40:22 min.

Side Three
1. Chiquitita 5:26
2. Fernando 4:10
3. Voulez-Vous 5:05
4. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 4:46
Side Four
1. Does Your Mother Know 3:14
2. One Of Us 3:53
3. The Name Of The Game 4:50
4. Thank You For The Music 3:51
5. Waterloo 2:42
Running time: 38:00 min.

Total playing time: 78:22 min.

“Voulez-Vous” 40th anniversary, a very high quality remastered re-release of the sixth full-length studio album by legendary Swedish Pop band.
Their sixth album coincided with the marital split between Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus and the massively shifting currents in Popular music, with Disco, which had been on the wane, suddenly undergoing a renaissance thanks to the 1977 movie S"aturday Night Fever". 
"Voulez-Vous" showed the band embrace Disco music, which was at its peak at the time. Thus, about half of "Voulez-Vous" shows the heavy influence of the Bee Gees from their megahit disco era. This is shown not just in the fact that the backing track for the title song was cut at Criteria Studios in Miami, where the Bee Gees had cut "Main Course", "Children of the World", and most of the rest of their Disco-era music, but through the Funky beat that ran through much of the material; yet the album still had a pair of soft, lyrical Euro-Pop-style ballads ("I Have a Dream" and "Chiquitita"), which proved as popular as any of the more dance-oriented songs, and were reminders of Fältskog's and Ulvaeus' roots, in particular, in popular Folk music during the mid- to late '60s. Those two songs, plus "Angeleyes", "Does Your Mother Know", and the title cut, were all Top Five Singles in England, although only "Chiquitita" and "Does Your Mother Know" were Top 40 hits in America, where the album's sales peaked at a modest 500,000 or so.
It was the first ABBA album to be mainly recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm, and the only ABBA album to include a studio recording made outside Sweden: the instrumental backing track for the title track was partly recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami.
"Voulez-Vous" was first released on CD in 1984.
The album peaked at No.1 in a number of countries and was one of the top five-selling albums in the UK for that year.
Half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, 45 RPM double 180g vinyl in gatefold cover features Mastering Certificate of authenticity with golden hot foil embossing.
Polar Music International AB. A Universal Music Company, 1979/2019 (00602577237485). Made in Germany.

 
Tracklist:

Side A
1. As Good As New 3:22
2. Voulez-Vous 5:11
Side B
1. I Have A Dream 4:44 
2. Angeleyes 4:20 
3. The King Has Lost His Crown 3:30 

Side C:
1. Does Your Mother Know 3:13 
2. If It Wasn´t For The Nights 5:13
Side D
1. Chiquitita 5:26 
2. Lovers (Live A Little Longer) 3:28 
3. Kisses Of Fire 3:16

Total playing time: 41:43 min.

The ninth and the final full-length studio album by legendary Swedish Pop band.
The band's first album of new material in forty years! It is also the first album without long-time bassist Rutger Gunnarsson and drummer Ola Brunkert.
ABBA kind of stumbled their way into "Voyage". In 2016, the group began working on ABBAtars, a virtual concert based on the band's blockbuster 1979 tour and featuring 3D renditions of Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Andersson and Ulvaeus decided they should write a couple of new songs for ABBAtars, thinking that if it was going to replicate the experience of an ABBA tour, the group would surely be peddling new material. The two new songs soon turned into three, then into the ten songs that comprise "Voyage". Throughout the process, Andersson and Ulvaeus operated under the notion that if a song didn't live up to their standards, they were under no pressure to release it; they already had two songs they liked in the can for ABBAtars. Fältskog and Lyngstad were happy to participate so long as they didn't have to promote the resulting album, a compromise Benny and Björn happily accepted. And that's how ABBA wound up with "Voyage", an album that uncannily sounds and feels like a classic ABBA album, one that could've been delivered not long after "The Visitors"!
Andersson and Ulvaeus wisely decided to not follow any stylistic trend or adopt any modern production technique; while there may be some digital gloss here, voices aren't auto-tuned and rhythms aren't sequenced. "Voyage" is recognizably ABBA music, a quality that's simultaneously thrilling, disorienting, and a bit corny. Andersson and Ulvaeus managed to revive the big, dramatic melodies that defined a good portion of their catalogue (the way the opening ballad "I Still Have Faith in You" soars can cause goosebumps of recognition) and they do convincing nods at their lighter, danceable moments on the singles "Don't Shut Me Down" and "Just a Notion," yet they also offer reminders of their Eurovision origins with the overheated showstopper "I Can Be That Woman" and vaguely ominous, vaguely disco "Keep an Eye on Dan." Moments like these are quite remarkable, as it feels like ABBA have continued without missing a step, but the retro vibes are also apparent on such stilted pieces of cheese as the stately "Bumblebee" and "Little Things," a sticky trifle made stickier by the presence of an overbearing children's choir. Such missteps prevent "Voyage" from being a triumph, yet they are true to the rest of ABBA's catalogue, so, in a sense, they're welcome. If ABBA didn't have cheese ball moments, they wouldn't be ABBA, so it's reassuring that the group brings the lows along with the highs on this unexpected and delightful album!
The album recorded 40 000 UK pre-orders in the first 24 hours following the announcement of its release. Three days after the album was announced, it had received over 80 000 pre-orders in the UK alone. By October 2021, the album had recorded 111 000 pre-orders. Advance orders in the Netherlands totalled 40,000 copies.
"Voyage" debuted atop the charts of Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. It also became the band's highest-charting studio album ever in Canada and the United States, debuting at number two on the charts in both countries. The album was nominated for "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" at the 2023 Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for "I Still Have Faith in You" and "Don't Shut Me Down", the former for "Record of the Year" at the 2022 Grammy Awards (the first Grammy nomination for the ABBA), and the latter for "Record of the Year" and "Best Pop Duo/Group Performance" at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, with 204 000 chart sales, 90% (180 000) of which were physical sales. It was the biggest opening week for an album in the UK since Ed Sheeran's ÷ (2017), and became the fastest-selling album of 2021 as well as the fastest-selling vinyl LP of the 21st century, with 29 900 vinyl copies sold. It is ABBA's first number-one album since "ABBA Gold", which topped the chart in 1992, 1999 and 2008. It became the 3rd biggest album of 2021 in the UK with 400 000 units and the 2nd best-selling album with 387 000 pure sales.
In Germany, the album also entered at number one on the albums chart with over 200 000 chart sales. In its first week, it sold more copies than the rest of the albums chart combined, and also reached the top of the year-end albums chart for the time being. In Italy, the album debuted at number six on the albums chart.
"Voyage" became ABBA's highest-charting album in the United States, entering the Billboard 200 at number two on 20 November 2021, beating their previous high of number 14 with "ABBA: The Album" in 1978. It opened with 82 000 album-equivalent units, including 78 000 album sales (60 500 of which were physical), making it the highest-selling album of the week. "Voyage" sold more than 1 million units worldwide in its first week of release. According to IFPI, "Voyage" was the eighth best-selling album worldwide (all formats) and the second in album sales list. The album sold 2 050 000 copies in 2021, and over 2.5 million till November 2022.
A digital concert residency in support of the album, "ABBA Voyage", opened in London on 27 May 2022.
Polar Music International AB, a Universal Music Company, 2021 (00602438885800). Made in the EU. Pressed in Austria. First press.


Tracklist:
1. I Still Have Faith In You 5:09
2. When You Danced With Me 2:50
3. Little Things 3:08
4. Don't Shut Me Down 3:56
5. Just A Notion 3:32
6. I Can Be That Woman 4:02
7. Keep An Eye On Dan 4:05
8. Bumblebee 3:57
9. No Doubt About It 2:57
10. Ode To Freedom 3:32
Total playing time: 37:08 min.

The ninth and the final full-length studio album by legendary Swedish Pop band.
The band's first album of new material in forty years! It is also the first album without long-time bassist Rutger Gunnarsson and drummer Ola Brunkert.
ABBA kind of stumbled their way into "Voyage". In 2016, the group began working on ABBAtars, a virtual concert based on the band's blockbuster 1979 tour and featuring 3D renditions of Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Andersson and Ulvaeus decided they should write a couple of new songs for ABBAtars, thinking that if it was going to replicate the experience of an ABBA tour, the group would surely be peddling new material. The two new songs soon turned into three, then into the ten songs that comprise "Voyage". Throughout the process, Andersson and Ulvaeus operated under the notion that if a song didn't live up to their standards, they were under no pressure to release it; they already had two songs they liked in the can for ABBAtars. Fältskog and Lyngstad were happy to participate so long as they didn't have to promote the resulting album, a compromise Benny and Björn happily accepted. And that's how ABBA wound up with "Voyage", an album that uncannily sounds and feels like a classic ABBA album, one that could've been delivered not long after "The Visitors"!
Andersson and Ulvaeus wisely decided to not follow any stylistic trend or adopt any modern production technique; while there may be some digital gloss here, voices aren't auto-tuned and rhythms aren't sequenced. "Voyage" is recognizably ABBA music, a quality that's simultaneously thrilling, disorienting, and a bit corny. Andersson and Ulvaeus managed to revive the big, dramatic melodies that defined a good portion of their catalogue (the way the opening ballad "I Still Have Faith in You" soars can cause goosebumps of recognition) and they do convincing nods at their lighter, danceable moments on the singles "Don't Shut Me Down" and "Just a Notion," yet they also offer reminders of their Eurovision origins with the overheated showstopper "I Can Be That Woman" and vaguely ominous, vaguely disco "Keep an Eye on Dan." Moments like these are quite remarkable, as it feels like ABBA have continued without missing a step, but the retro vibes are also apparent on such stilted pieces of cheese as the stately "Bumblebee" and "Little Things," a sticky trifle made stickier by the presence of an overbearing children's choir. Such missteps prevent "Voyage" from being a triumph, yet they are true to the rest of ABBA's catalogue, so, in a sense, they're welcome. If ABBA didn't have cheese ball moments, they wouldn't be ABBA, so it's reassuring that the group brings the lows along with the highs on this unexpected and delightful album!
The album recorded 40 000 UK pre-orders in the first 24 hours following the announcement of its release. Three days after the album was announced, it had received over 80 000 pre-orders in the UK alone. By October 2021, the album had recorded 111 000 pre-orders. Advance orders in the Netherlands totalled 40,000 copies.
"Voyage" debuted atop the charts of Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. It also became the band's highest-charting studio album ever in Canada and the United States, debuting at number two on the charts in both countries. The album was nominated for "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" at the 2023 Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for "I Still Have Faith in You" and "Don't Shut Me Down", the former for "Record of the Year" at the 2022 Grammy Awards (the first Grammy nomination for the ABBA), and the latter for "Record of the Year" and "Best Pop Duo/Group Performance" at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, with 204 000 chart sales, 90% (180 000) of which were physical sales. It was the biggest opening week for an album in the UK since Ed Sheeran's ÷ (2017), and became the fastest-selling album of 2021 as well as the fastest-selling vinyl LP of the 21st century, with 29 900 vinyl copies sold. It is ABBA's first number-one album since "ABBA Gold", which topped the chart in 1992, 1999 and 2008. It became the 3rd biggest album of 2021 in the UK with 400 000 units and the 2nd best-selling album with 387 000 pure sales.
In Germany, the album also entered at number one on the albums chart with over 200 000 chart sales. In its first week, it sold more copies than the rest of the albums chart combined, and also reached the top of the year-end albums chart for the time being. In Italy, the album debuted at number six on the albums chart.
"Voyage" became ABBA's highest-charting album in the United States, entering the Billboard 200 at number two on 20 November 2021, beating their previous high of number 14 with "ABBA: The Album" in 1978. It opened with 82 000 album-equivalent units, including 78 000 album sales (60 500 of which were physical), making it the highest-selling album of the week. "Voyage" sold more than 1 million units worldwide in its first week of release. According to IFPI, "Voyage" was the eighth best-selling album worldwide (all formats) and the second in album sales list. The album sold 2 050 000 copies in 2021, and over 2.5 million till November 2022.
A digital concert residency in support of the album, "ABBA Voyage", opened in London on 27 May 2022.
1221 AB/Polar Music International AB, a Universal Music Company/Universal International Music B.V., 2021 (00602438614813). Made in the EU. First press.


Tracklist

Side A
1. I Still Have Faith In You 5:09
2. When You Danced With Me 2:50
3. Little Things 3:08
4. Don't Shut Me Down 3:56
5. Just A Notion 3:32

Side B
6. I Can Be That Woman 4:02
7. Keep An Eye On Dan 4:05
8. Bumblebee 3:57
9. No Doubt About It 2:57
10. Ode To Freedom 3:32

Total playing time: 37:08 min.




 

Remastered re-release of the second full-length studio album by legendary Swedish Pop band.
ABBA had won Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Waterloo" and soon they became a sensation in Europe. Their second (and U.S. debut) album contains "Waterloo" - the American Top Ten Single, as well as "Honey, Honey," a minor U.S. hit that deserved better.
This album is rather unusual in the group's output, for the fact that the guys are still featured fairly prominently in some of the vocals, and for the variety of sounds (including Reggae, Folk Rock and Hard Rock) embraced by its songs.
The Reggae number "Sitting in the Palmtree" is quite remarkable to hear, with its perfect Caribbean beat and those radiant female voices carrying the chorus behind the beat.
"King Kong Song" is a good example of Hard Rock by rote, going through the motions of screaming vocals and over-amplified guitar (courtesy of Janne Schaffer), although even here, 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.
They get a little closer to their winning formula on the catchy, Folky-textured Pop song "Hasta Mañana", which sounds like a lost Mary Hopkin number.
"Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)" is on the money as the embodiment of the Euro-Disco sound that the group would embrace on their future albums, although it also hints at a vague oldie sound, with a melody that somehow reminds this listener of both the Four Seasons' "Dawn" and the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby."
ABBA explore multiple styles on Waterloo, whilst maintaining the innocence and undeniably catchy qualities of their debut album. A wonderful album, with a more diverse sound than later albums, but with an always winning performance!
Re-release includes three bonus tracks and colour 24-page booklet.
Polar Music International AB, 1974/2001 (549 951-2). Made in the EU.


Tracklist:
1. Waterloo 2:44
2. Sitting In The Palmtree 3:36
3. King Kong Song 3:11
4. Hasta Manana 3:08
5. My Mama Said 3:12
6. Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) 3:12
7. Honey Honey 2:55
8. Watch Out 3:47
9. What About Livingstone? 2:55
10. Gonna Sing You My Lovesong 3:40
11. Suzy Hang Around 3:09
Bonus Tracks:    
12. Ring Ring [US Remix 1974] 3:44
13. Waterloo [Swedish] 2:44
14. Honey Honey [Swedish] 2:55
Total playing time: 44:52 min.

Remastered re-release of the second full-length studio album by legendary Swedish Pop band.
ABBA had won Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Waterloo" and soon they became a sensation in Europe. Their second (and U.S. debut) album contains "Waterloo" - the American Top Ten Single, as well as "Honey, Honey," a minor U.S. hit that deserved better.
This album is rather unusual in the group's output, for the fact that the guys are still featured fairly prominently in some of the vocals, and for the variety of sounds (including Reggae, Folk Rock and Hard Rock) embraced by its songs.
The Reggae number "Sitting in the Palmtree" is quite remarkable to hear, with its perfect Caribbean beat and those radiant female voices carrying the chorus behind the beat.
"King Kong Song" is a good example of Hard Rock by rote, going through the motions of screaming vocals and over-amplified guitar (courtesy of Janne Schaffer), although even here, 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.
They get a little closer to their winning formula on the catchy, Folky-textured Pop song "Hasta Mañana", which sounds like a lost Mary Hopkin number.
"Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)" is on the money as the embodiment of the Euro-Disco sound that the group would embrace on their future albums, although it also hints at a vague oldie sound, with a melody that somehow reminds this listener of both the Four Seasons' "Dawn" and the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby."
ABBA explore multiple styles on Waterloo, whilst maintaining the innocence and undeniably catchy qualities of their debut album. A wonderful album, with a more diverse sound than later albums, but with an always winning performance!
Polar Music International AB. A Universal Music Company, 1974/2011 (POLS 252 / 00602527346489). Made in the EU.


Tracklist:

Side A
1. Waterloo 2:45
2. Sitting In The Palmtree 3:39
3. King Kong Song 3:14
4. Hasta Manana 3:05
5. My Mama Said 3:14
6. Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) 3:05

Side B
7. Honey Honey 2:55
8. Watch Out 3:46
9. What About Livingstone 2:54
10. Gonna Sing You My Lovesong 3:35
11. Suzy Hang Around 3:11
12. Waterloo (English Version) 2:46

Total playing time: 38:09 min.