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ABBA Gold

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Untitled

ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits is a compilation album of recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA, released by PolyGram in 1992, the first compilation to be issued after the company had acquired Polar Music and thus the rights to the ABBA back catalogue. In 1998, PolyGram was in turn merged into what is now the Universal Music Group.

Overview

Prior to its release, all previously released ABBA compilations had been deleted and only the original studio albums (along with the 1986 live album) remained in print. ABBA Gold was well received by the music-buying public, and went on to be one of the Top 30 best-selling albums of all time worldwide. Worldwide sales as of 2009 are 28 million.[1] It is the third biggest selling album of all time in the UK as of the end of October 2008, and by June 2009 it had sold 4,610,813 copies in that territory.[2] The album entered the UK album charts at #1 in October 1992, and had climbed back to #1 position four times after then, the most recent time in 2008. It has occupied every position in the top 75 of the U.K. album chart, while also appearing in the chart every year since the release except for 2002 and 2006.[3]

It is also the best selling album of all time in Switzerland, with certified sales of almost half a million copies there [4].It is also all time chart champion album in Switzerland for longevity. ABBA Gold has been re-released in various 'special' or 'remastered' releases in 1999, 2002, a 2003 CD/DVD release, 2004 and 2008. A similar package titled ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos featured ten ABBA songs sung in Spanish.

History

The original 1992 release included edited versions of "Voulez-Vous" and "The Name of the Game." These were replaced by the full original-length versions on the 1999 and subsequent re-releases. The original 1992 version is still the only one available in the United States, however. The Australasian release had a modified track list to include three local hits, replacing three other songs. In Spain, the original 1992 release replaced the English versions of "Chiquitita" and "Fernando" with the Spanish language versions.

In 1999, the album was also released both worldwide and in Australasia with the different track listings to commemorate ABBA's 25th Anniversary of winning the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo". This new version was called the 'signature series', as it came with autographs from the band members embedded into the front plastic casing in gold writing. This new version also contained new sleeve notes.

A 10th Anniversary Edition was released worldwide in 2002. The ABBA logo was changed to the official ABBA font and the back cover was redesigned. It was released in Europe and New Zealand (with the European track list, and not the previous Australasian track list). This version was not released in Australia.

A 2xCD Special Edition with Bonus CD was released on 22 September 2003. The DVD released in 2003 included the same 19 songs as the CD, plus a 25-minute documentary ABBA - The History, as well as the 1992 version of the "Dancing Queen" video. This includes scenes from other clips edited into the original video, which was made to promote the original release of ABBA Gold.

A 30th Anniversary Edition was released in 2004 in UK with a gold-coloured sleeve cover rather than the normal black sleeve. The original release included a DVD with 18 of the 19 songs from the CD, excluding "The Name Of The Game". It was available also without the DVD.

ABBA Gold was re-released in some territories in 2008, coinciding with the release of the film Mamma Mia!. The Australasian release featured the European track list, not the Australasian track list on previous issues.

The album topped the UK album chart on five separate occasions, sixteen years apart - first in 1992, then three times in 1999, and then again in 2008. It was also in the UK Top 50 best sellers of 2004[5]. As a result, ABBA Gold is one of the highest selling and longest charting albums released in the United Kingdom. By 2010, it had become the fourth longest charting album of all time, it had totalled 455 weeks in the Top 100.[6][7]

On July 24, 2008, it also topped for the first time the US Top Pop Catalog Albums charts, being its first #1 ever in any one of Billboard's Album charts, previously peaking at #17 on the Billboard Comprehensive Albums charts, where it finally peaked at #11.

In the Irish Album Chart, the album - as of 23 January 2008 - has been in the top 100 best selling albums for 426 weeks.

Track listings

Worldwide excluding Australasia (until 2008)

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

  1. "Dancing Queen" (1976) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:51
  2. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (1976) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:03
  3. "Take a Chance on Me" (1977) – 4:06
  4. "Mamma Mia" (1975) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:33
  5. "Lay All Your Love on Me" (1980) – 4:35
  6. "Super Trouper" (1980) – 4:13
  7. "I Have a Dream" (1979) – 4:42
  8. "The Winner Takes It All" (1980) – 4:54
  9. "Money, Money, Money" (1976) – 3:06
  10. "S.O.S." (1975) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:20
  11. "Chiquitita" (1979) – 5:27
  12. "Fernando" (1976) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:14
  13. "Voulez-Vous" (1979) – 4:21/5:10
  14. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" (1979) – 4:52
  15. "Does Your Mother Know" (1979) – 3:13
  16. "One of Us" (1981) – 3:58
  17. "The Name of the Game" (1977) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:56/4:53
  18. "Thank You for the Music" (1977/1983) – 3:49
  19. "Waterloo" (1974) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 2:46

Australasia version (until 2008)

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

  1. "Dancing Queen" (1976) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:49
  2. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (1977) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:01
  3. "Take a Chance on Me" (1978) – 4:01
  4. "Mamma Mia" (1975) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:32
  5. "Lay All Your Love on Me" (1980) – 4:32
  6. "Ring Ring" (1973) (Neil Sedaka, Phil Cody, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:02
  7. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (1975) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:15
  8. "The Winner Takes It All" (1980) – 4:54
  9. "Money, Money, Money" (1976) – 3:05
  10. "S.O.S" (1975) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:19
  11. "Chiquitita" (1979) – 5:26
  12. "Fernando" (1976) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:10
  13. "Voulez-Vous" (1979) – 4:21
  14. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" (1979) – 4:46
  15. "Does Your Mother Know" (1979) – 3:14
  16. "One of Us" (1981) – 3:53
  17. "The Name of the Game" (1977) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:56
  18. "Rock Me" (1975) – 3:02
  19. "Waterloo" (1974) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 2:42

Special edition bonus CD

In 2003, ABBA Gold was released in Europe with a bonus second disc.

  1. "Summer Night City"
  2. "Angeleyes"
  3. "The Day Before You Came"
  4. "Eagle"
  5. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"
  6. "So Long"
  7. "Honey, Honey"
  8. "The Visitors"
  9. "Ring Ring"
  10. "When I Kissed The Teacher"
  11. "The Way Old Friends Do"

Personnel

ABBA

Additional personnel
  • Jon Astley - digital remastering (1999, 2002, 2004 reissues)
  • Henrik Jonsson - digital remastering (2008 reissue)
  • Ingemar Bergman - compilation
  • Chris Griffin - compilation
  • George McManus - compilation
  • Jackie Stansfield - compilation
  • John Tobler - liner notes, compilation
  • Carl Magnus Palm - liner notes (1999, 2002, 2004, 2008 reissues)
  • Michael B. Tretow - digital remastering (1992 edition)
Production

Chart positions

Note that these are the highest positions ever reached by this album on charts. In many countries, this album has re-entered the charts many times over the last 15 years. It peaked at number 1 on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Albums chart, reaching the Top Spot of this charts 16 years after release.

Album

Chart Position
Australian Albums Chart 1
Austrian Albums Chart 1
Canadian Albums Chart 6
Finnish Albums Chart 1
Germany 1
Hungary Album Chart 10
Irish Albums Chart 1
Italy Album Chart 2
Japanese Album Chart 13
Mexico Album Chart 1
Netherlands Album Chart 2
New Zealand Album Chart 3
Norway Album Chart 1
Portugal 2
Slovenian Albums Chart 3
Swedish Albums Chart 1
Swiss Albums Chart 1
UK Albums Chart 1
U.S. Billboard 200 63
U.S. Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums 1
U.S. Billboard Comprehensive Albums 11

Certifications

Further reading

  • ABBA Gold by Elisabeth Vincentelli - (ISBN 0826415466) in 2004.

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ http://www.bpi.co.uk/assets/files/top%2040%20albums.pdf British Phonographic Industry - Best Selling Albums of All Time
  3. ^ http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=102 Chartstats.com - ABBA - Gold - Greatest Hits
  4. ^ http://swisscharts.com/awards.asp?year=2008 Swiss Certifications 2008
  5. ^ chartsplus.co.uk
  6. ^ Chart Statistics UK Charts Longest Stayers
  7. ^ Chart Statistics for ABBA Gold in the UK
  8. ^ CRIA Searchable Datase - Results for ABBA
  9. ^ RIANZ Gold & Platinum in 2008
  10. ^ BPI (Statistics - Certification Awards)
  11. ^ BPI Top 40 UK albums up to 2009
  12. ^ ARIA Creditation as of 1999
  13. ^ Swiss Certifications 2008
  14. ^ CAPIF Cerifications for ABBA Gold
  15. ^ Russian Gold and Platinum
  16. ^ RIAA Certification Searchable Database
  17. ^ IFPI Sweden GULD & PLATINA Certifications - År1999
  18. ^ IFPI German Certification Searchable Database
  19. ^ RIAJ Official Web Site Japanese Certifications February 2009 (In Japanese)
  20. ^ Mahasz - Hungary Certifications 2000
  21. ^ Korean Sales of ABBA Gold
  22. ^ IFPI Polish Platinum Awards

External links

  • abba4therecord / Webpage showing ABBA Gold Releases worldwide [2]
Preceded by UK number one album
October 3, 1992 – October 9, 1992
April 17, 1999 – April 23, 1999
May 1, 1999 – May 14, 1999
May 29, 1999 – June 11, 1999
August 3, 2008 – August 17, 2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
December 13, 1992 – January 9, 1993 		Succeeded by
Still the 12th Man by The 12th Man
Preceded by
Transit by DumDum Boys[3]
 Norwegian VG-lista number-one album
47/1992 - 49/1992 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Tusen julelys by Oslo Gospel Choir[4]
Preceded by Swedish Chart number-one album
October 14, 1992 - October 28, 1992
June 3, 1999 - July 22, 1999 		Succeeded by
Den ständiga resan by Marie Fredriksson[7]
För Sverige i rymden - Di Levas bästa by Di Leva[8]
Preceded by Swiss Chart number-one album
November 8, 1992 - January 10, 1993 		Succeeded by
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