ABBA “Voyage” /CD/

Remastered re-release of the fourth full-length studio album by legendary Swedish Pop band.
Widely considered the Swedish foursome's first classic album (and historically important as the first to use the now-famous mirror-B logo), 1976's "Arrival" contains three huge hit singles: the dramatic "Money Money Money", the downcast "Knowing Me, Knowing You", and the absolutely perfect Pop classic "Dancing Queen" - a combination of Spector-ian grandeur, McCartney-esque melody, and the indescribable vocals of Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
The rest of ABBA's fourth album is strikingly consistent and accomplished, from the sly, bouncy "When I Kissed the Teacher" to the atmospheric title track, making room in between for the three excellent singles and five other substantial Pop tunes.
The album became a major seller all over the world, becoming the top-selling album of 1977 in both the UK and West Germany for example. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The "Arrival" was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. 
Polar Music Production/Universal Music Group International, 1976/2011 (POLS272 / 00602527346502). Made in Germany.

Tracklist:

Side 1
1. When I Kissed The Teacher 3:00
2. Dancing Queen 3:50
3. My Love, My Live 3:52
4. Dum Dum Diddle 2:53
5. Knowing Me, Knowing You 4:02

Side 2
1. Money, Money, Money 3:05
2. That's Me 3:15
3. Why Did It Have To Be Me 3:20
4. Tiger 2:55
5. Arrival 3:00

Total playing time: 33:12 miin.

Polydor Records, 1976 (2344 058). Made in Germany. Used (cover/disc): EX/EX. Glossy cover. Insert.

 
Tracklist:

Side 1
1. When I Kissed The Teacher 3:00
2. Dancing Queen 3:50
3. My Love, My Live 3:52
4. Dum Dum Diddle 2:53
5. Knowing Me, Knowing You 4:02

Side 2
1. Money, Money, Money 3:05
2. That's Me 3:15
3. Why Did It Have To Be Me 3:20
4. Tiger 2:55
5. Arrival 3:00

Total playing time: 33:12 min.

Polydor Records, 1976 (2344 058). Made in Germany. Used (cover/disc): EX/EX. Glossy cover. Insert. Sticker.

 
Tracklist:

Side 1
1. When I Kissed The Teacher 3:00
2. Dancing Queen 3:50
3. My Love, My Live 3:52
4. Dum Dum Diddle 2:53
5. Knowing Me, Knowing You 4:02

Side 2
1. Money, Money, Money 3:05
2. That's Me 3:15
3. Why Did It Have To Be Me 3:20
4. Tiger 2:55
5. Arrival 3:00

Total playing time: 33:12 min.

Epic Records, 1976 (86018). Made in UK. Used (cover/disc): NM/NM. 

 
Tracklist:

Side 1
1. When I Kissed The Teacher 3:00
2. Dancing Queen 3:50
3. My Love, My Live 3:52
4. Dum Dum Diddle 2:53
5. Knowing Me, Knowing You 4:02

Side 2
1. Money, Money, Money 3:05
2. That's Me 3:15
3. Why Did It Have To Be Me 3:20
4. Tiger 2:55
5. Arrival 3:00

Total playing time: 33:12 min.

The seventh full-length studio album by legendary Swedish Pop band.
Led by the international hit "The Winner Takes It All", "Super Trouper" was the band's sixth chart-topping album in the UK. It was also the best-selling album in Britain for 1980.
Musically, "Super Trouper" found ABBA, always trend-conscious, taking account of the passing of Disco (due to the Disco backlash at that time) and returning to the Pop/Rock sound typical of their early albums, as opposed to the preceding (and noticeably more Dance-oriented) "Voulez-Vous" album. Only "Lay All Your Love on Me" employed a dance approach. 
Commercially, "Super Trouper" was another worldwide blockbuster. "The Winner Takes It All," its lead-off Single, released several months in advance of the album in most territories, was a smash; for example, it was the band's 14th consecutive Top Five Hit in the U.K. and their eighth Number One there. The title track was also a British chart-topper (their last), as was the album, their sixth. "Lay All Your Love on Me" made the U.K. Top Ten, and "On and on and On" was released as a Single in some countries, hitting the Top Ten in Australia.
Polydor Records, 1980 (2344 162). Made in Germany. Used (cover/disc): VG+/VG+. OIS.

 
Tracklist:

Side 1
1. Super Trouper 4:13    
2. The Winner Takes It All 4:55    
3. On And On And On 3:41    
4. Andante, Andante 4:38    
5. Me And I 3:56

Side 2
6. Happy New Year 4:37    
7. Our Last Summer 4:58    
8. The Piper 4:40    
9. Lay All Your Love On Me 4:33    
10. The Way Old Friends Do 2:53    

Total playing time: 43:04 min.

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.

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.

Remastered re-release of the debut full-length studio album by legendary Swedish Pop band.
If it seems as though the familiar ABBA sound isn't present on this album, that's because there was no entity known as ABBA at the time that the earliest sides here were recorded. Growing out of an attempt by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus to record together with their respective companions, Agnetha Faltskog and Frida "Anni-Frid" Lyngstad, the first side cut here, "People Need Love", featured the two men singing just as prominently as the women, and was credited to Bjorn and Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid. It was only after its release and the cutting of a further single, "Ring, Ring", that the more familiar sound of the quartet began to coalesce along with the idea of a permanent professional association.
This album is more of a generic European Pop release than an ABBA release; the music has several unusual attributes, including Andersson and Ulvaeus singing lead on several cuts, and also one original song, the moody ballad "Disillusion", co-authored by Agnetha Faltskog. Most of what's here is pleasantly upbeat Europop, with unusually good playing and a lot of spirit, all showing the influence of mainstream American and British Pop/Rock, including the late-era Beatles and early Elton John, and on the title track, a Phil Spector-proportioned production.
At the beginning, the album was released on vinyl and cassettes in Scandinavia and a limited number of other territories (including Germany, Australia, South Africa and Mexico) under band-name Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida. Later, it was re-released in Australasia in 1975, but was not released in the United Kingdom until 1992, and the United States until 1995. First time on CD "Ring Ring" was released in Sweden, in 1988; a West German CD release followed in 1990. Later it was released internationally. The album has been reissued in digitally remastered form three times; first in 1997, then in 2001 and again in 2005.
"Ring Ring" was a chart-topping album in Belgium, and has a big success in the Netherlands, Norway and South Africa.
Polar Music International AB. A Universal Music Company, 1970/1972/1973/2001 (POLS 242 / 00602527346472). Made in the EU.


Tracklist:

Side 1
1. Ring, Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal) 3:05
2. Another Town, Another Train 3:10
3. Disillusion 3:03
4. People Need Love 2:42
5. I Saw It In The Mirror 2:33
6. Nina, Pretty Ballerina 2:50

Side 2
1. Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough) 2:52
2. Me And Bobby And Bobby's Brother 2:46
3. He Is Your Brother 3:15
4. Ring, Ring (Engelsk Version) 3:03
5. I Am Just A Girl 3:00
6. Rock'n Roll Band 3:12

The second re-release of the eighth full-length studio album by legendary Swedish Pop band.
With "The Visitors", ABBA took several steps away from the "lighter" Pop music they had recorded previously and this album is often regarded as a more complex and mature effort.
ABBA's final album was recorded during a period of major personal shakeups, principally in the decision by Benny Andersson and Frida to follow the same route to divorce that had already been taken by Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog. Both male members of the group would soon remarry, but at the time, despite all of these changes in their circumstances, "The Visitors" was never intended as ABBA's swan song - they were to go on recording together. That may explain why, rather than a threadbare, thrown-together feel, "The Visitors" is a beautifully made, very sophisticated album, filled with serious but never downbeat songs, all beautifully sung and showing off some of the bold songwriting efforts.
The opening track, "The Visitors", with its ominous synthesizer sounds and the distinctive lead vocal by Frida, announced a change in musical style. With Benny and Frida going their separate ways, the pain of splitting up was explored yet again in "When All Is Said and Done". The major hit single on the album, "One of Us", also depicted the end of a love story. Elsewhere there were current Cold War themes (highly topical at the time) and further songs of isolation and regret. The title track is a topical song about Soviet dissidents that also manages to be very catchy, while "I Let the Music Speak" sounds like a Broadway number (and a very good one, at that) in search of a musical to be part of, and "When All Is Said and Done" is a serious, achingly beautiful ballad with a lot to say about their personal situations, even "Two for the Price of One," a lighthearted song sung by Björn Ulvaeus about answering a personal advertisement, offered several catchy hooks and beautiful backup singing. "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room" ended the original album on a hauntingly ethereal note, but not as any kind of larger statement about the quartet's fate. The intention was to keep working together, but Andersson and Ulvaeus' growing involvement with their stage project, Chess, prevented any further work together by the group beyond three songs, "The Day Before You Came", "Cassandra", and "Under Attack" - they're all present as bonus tracks on the 2001 remastered edition, along with the orphaned B-side "Should I Laugh or Cry" from the same sessions as "The Visitors", and only add to the appeal of the original album.
"The Visitors" was one of the first records ever to be recorded and mixed digitally, and was the first in history to be pressed on the new CD format in 1982 (though in terms of commercial release dates, it was predated by the Japanese release of Billy Joel's "52nd Street").
The first three tracks for the album had already been recorded using analogue tape and therefore Tretow had to transfer all subsequent tracks from digital to analogue and back again to avoid a difference in quality.
"The Visitors" has been reissued in digitally remastered form three times: first in 1997, then in 2001 and again in 2005 as part of "The Complete Studio Recordings" Box Set.
On its release, "The Visitors" reached the top of the charts in a number of territories but was not as successful as their previous albums.
Polar Music International AB, Stockholm, 1981/2011 (POLS 342 | 00602527346540). Made in Germany. 180 g vinyl.


Tracklist:

Side A
1. The Visitors 5:49
2. Head Over Heels 3:45
3. When All Is Said And Done 3:20
4. Soldiers 4:38

Side B
1. I Let The Music Speak 5:20
2. One Of Us 3:55
3. Two For The Price Of One 3:36
4. Slipping Through My Fingers 3:51
5. Like An Angel Passing Through My Room 3:25

Total playing time: 37:39 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.