The Definitive Collection (ABBA album)

The Definitive Collection
Greatest hits album by ABBA
Released	November 2, 2001
Genre	Pop
Length	147:38
Label	Universal Music Group
ABBA chronology
Thank You for the Music (1994) The Definitive Collection (2001) 18 Hits (2005)

Professional ratings
Review scores
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Allmusic

The Definitive Collection is a 2001 greatest hits compilation album of all the singles released by Swedish pop group ABBA. It consisted of two discs: the first featuring the singles from 1972-79 ("People Need Love" – "Does Your Mother Know"), and the second including the singles from 1979-82 ("Voulez-Vous" – "Under Attack"), with the tracks being listed in chronological order. The main exception is the track "Thank You For The Music", which, despite being written and recorded in 1977, was in fact released as a single (primarily in the UK) in 1983 after the band had split up. It appears on disc two, along with two bonus tracks, "Ring Ring" (1974 Remix, UK Single Version), and "Voulez-Vous" (Extended Remix, 1979 US Promo). The Australian version of The Definitive Collection adds a further two bonus tracks: "Rock Me" and "Hasta Mañana". The 1974 remix of Ring Ring is the first appearance on CD of this version mastered from the original master tape, after the UK single master tapes had been returned to Polar Music by the former UK licensees, Epic Records. The track's previous appearance on CD, in a 1999 singles boxed set, was mastered from a vinyl single.

"The Definitive Collection" is the only ABBA compilation to include all the UK single releases from 1973 to 1983. The four "unofficial" UK ABBA singles are included, these being the 1974 remix of "Ring Ring", "Angeleyes", "Lay All Your Love On Me" and "Thank You For The Music". An "unofficial single" is one that was not released by ABBA's record label, Polar Music, in any Scandinavian country.

The Definitive Collection replaced an old collection of ABBA's singles titled The Singles: The First Ten Years, released in 1982.

A DVD also called The Definitive Collection was released in 2002, and features all of ABBA's videos, as well as five bonus videos and a picture gallery. In the US the 2CD set was bundled with the DVD.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 180 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Track listing

All songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus unless otherwise noted.

Disc one

1. "People Need Love" – 2:45
2. "He is Your Brother" – 3:18
3. "Ring Ring" (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus, Neil Sedaka, Phil Cody) – 3:04
4. "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" – 2:53
5. "Waterloo" (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 2:47
6. "Honey, Honey" (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 2:55
7. "So Long" – 3:05
8. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 3:16
9. "SOS" (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 3:20
10. "Mamma Mia" (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 3:32
11. "Fernando" (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 4:14
12. "Dancing Queen" (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 3:51
13. "Money, Money, Money" – 3:05
14. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 4:01
15. "The Name of the Game" (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 4:52
16. "Take a Chance on Me" – 4:05
17. "Eagle" – 4:27
18. "Summer Night City" – 3:35 (single version)
19. "Chiquitita" – 5:24
20. "Does Your Mother Know" – 3:13
21. "Rock Me" - 3:08 (Australian bonus track only)
22. "Hasta Mañana (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus) - 3:11 (Australian bonus track only)

Disc two

1. "Voulez-Vous" – 5:08
2. "Angeleyes" – 4:19
3. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" – 4:50
4. "I Have a Dream" – 4:42
5. "The Winner Takes It All" – 4:56
6. "Super Trouper" – 4:13
7. "On and On and On" – 3:42
8. "Lay All Your Love on Me" – 4:34
9. "One Of Us" – 3:56
10. "When All Is Said And Done" – 3:17
11. "Head Over Heels" – 3:47
12. "The Visitors" – 5:46
13. "The Day Before You Came" – 5:51
14. "Under Attack" – 3:47
15. "Thank You For The Music" – 3:51
16. "Ring Ring" (Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus, Sedaka, Cody) (UK Single Remix, 1974) – 3:10 (Bonus track)
17. "Voulez-Vous" (Extended Remix, 1979 US Promo) – 6:07 (Bonus track)

DVD

1. "Waterloo" – 2:47
2. "Ring Ring" – 3:04
3. "Mamma Mia" – 3:32
4. "SOS" – 3:20
5. "Bang-A-Boomerang" – 2:50
6. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" – 3:16
7. "Fernando" – 4:14
8. "Dancing Queen" – 3:51
9. "Money, Money, Money" – 3:05
10. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" – 4:01
11. "That's Me" - 3:16
12. "The Name of the Game" – 4:52
13. "Take a Chance on Me" – 4:05
14. "Eagle" – 4:27
15. "One Man, One Woman" - 4:37
16. "Thank You For The Music" – 3:51
17. "Summer Night City" – 3:35
18. "Chiquitita" – 5:24
19. "Does Your Mother Know" – 3:13
20. "Voulez-Vous" – 5:08
21. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" – 4:50
22. "On and On and On" – 3:42
23. "The Winner Takes It All" – 4:56
24. "Super Trouper" – 4:13
25. "Happy New Year" - 4:23
26. "When All Is Said And Done" – 3:17
27. "One Of Us" – 3:56
28. "Head Over Heels" – 3:47
29. "The Day Before You Came" – 5:51
30. "Under Attack" – 3:47
31. "When I Kissed The Teacher" - 3:01
32. "Estoy Sonando" (I Have A Dream) - 4:45
33. "Felicidad" (Happy New Year) - 4:23
34. "No Hay A Quien Culpar" (When All Is Said And Done) - 3:17
35. "Dancing Queen" (Live at the Swedish Royal Opera)

Charts and certifications

Album charts

Year	Country	Position
2003	Australia	10
2001	Denmark	3
2003	Germany	14
2002	New Zealand	9
2002	Norway	8
2001	UK	17
2004	Sweden	26
2001	USA	186
2008	USA (Catalog Albums)	43

Certifications

Country	Certification	Amount
Australia	2xPlatinum	140,000+
Brazil	Gold (2006)
Germany	1xPlatinum	300,000+
New Zealand	Platinum	15,000+