Greatest Hits (ABBA album)

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Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). Greatest Hits was rush-released in Scandinavia in November 1975 to counter expected import sales of similar collections released by licencees in Europe, such as French Disques Vogue's ABBA's Greatest Hits and West German Polydor's The Best Of ABBA. The album was the best selling album of 1976 in the UK and is the second-best selling album in the UK for ABBA [1]. Its compilation successor was Greatest Hits Vol. 2, released in 1979.

Despite the title of the compilation, only half of the tracks had actually charted as hit singles in major territories. One track, "Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)," was never released as a single and thus was never certified a hit in any territory or country. "Waterloo," "SOS," "Mamma Mia" and, later, "Fernando" were Top 10 hits in the UK and several other countries, though only the first of these was a Top 10 hit in the US. Other arguable hits in multiple territories included "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (a Top 10 hit in several countries, and a Top 20 hit in the US, though barely cracking the Top 40 in the UK) and "Honey Honey" (a Top 20 hit in several countries and a Top 30 hit in the US). Ironically, in Australia, where several of the tracks had reached Number One, the release of Greatest Hits was beaten to the market by the local compilation The Best Of ABBA, precluding a release there for years. Nevertheless, the official greatest hits package was an enormous success. Even Rolling Stone, often one of ABBA's harshest critics in the US, declared in the years shortly after its release, "Anyone who could listen to this record five times and not wind up humming half the songs is an android."

There are two versions of the sleeve, both versions of the sleeve featured a gatefold design. The original artwork pictured (by artist Hans Arnold) was not used in all countries. A completely different design was used in the UK, North America and some other territories, featuring the group sitting in a park on a chilly autumn day. Benny and Frida are kissing, while Björn reads a technical paper and Agnetha looks wistfully ahead into the distance. That image was printed on the inside of the gatefold on those versions featuring the Arnold painting as front cover. [2]

Track listing

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

Side A

1. "SOS" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:22
2. "He Is Your Brother" – 3:17
3. "Ring Ring" (Anderson, Andersson, Cody, Sedaka, Ulvaeus) – 3:03
4. "Hasta Mañana" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:09 Not on US/Canada edition
5. "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" – 2:52
6. "Honey, Honey" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 2:55
7. "So Long" – 3:06

Side B

1. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:15
2. "People Need Love" – 2:43
3. "Bang-A-Boomerang" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:02
4. "Another Town, Another Train" – 3:10
5. "Mamma Mia" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:32
6. "Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)" – 3:05
7. "Waterloo" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 2:42

(P)1972(2,9)/1973(3,5,11)/1974(4,6-7,13-14)/1975(1,8,10,12) Polar Music International AB

The song "Fernando" was added to Greatest Hits when the LP was released in certain countries during the first few months of 1976. In Australia and New Zealand,' "Fernando" was released on the Arrival album.

Variations on the tracklisting exist. For instance, "Fernando" was added as the opening track on the 1976 re-release of the album in Norway and Denmark, whereas in the UK and elsewhere it was added as the closing track. In the USA, as noted below, "Hasta Mañana" was omitted and the other tracks were significantly rearranged.

In 2006 the album was re-released on CD to mark its 30th anniversary, in a miniature album sleeve. The design and tracklisting was based on the 1976 Norway/Denmark re-issue, featuring the Scandinavian artwork with the park bench photo on the inner gatefold and "Fernando" as the opening track.

The UK park bench artwork was designed by CBS/Epic in the UK, and was also used in North America. It was issued on CD in 1984 by Atlantic in the US but was later deleted. This version copied the original vinyl album cover but without the tracklisting on the front.

Track listing (US version)

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

Side A

1. "SOS" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:22
2. "He Is Your Brother" – 3:17
3. "Ring Ring" (Anderson, Andersson, Cody, Sedaka, Ulvaeus) – 3:03
4. "Another Town, Another Train" – 3:10
5. "Honey, Honey" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 2:55
6. "So Long" – 3:06
7. "Mamma Mia" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 2:54

Side B

1. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:15
2. "People Need Love" – 2:43
3. "Waterloo" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 2:42
4. "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" – 2:52
5. "Bang-A-Boomerang" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:02
6. "Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)" – 3:05
7. "Fernando" – 4:15

Charts

Album - Europe

Year	Chart	Position
1976	UK Album Chart	1
	Norway's Album Chart	1

Album - USA and Canada

Year	Chart	Position
1976	Billboard 200 - USA	48
	RPM albums - Canada	2
1977	CRIA albums - Canada	6

Singles - Europe

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1976	"Fernando"	UK Singles Chart	1
		Norway's Singles Chart	2

Singles - USA and Canada

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1976	"Fernando"	Billboard Hot 100 - USA	13
		Billboard Adult Contemporary - USA	1
		Cashbox singles - USA	10
		RPM singles - Canada	4
		RPM Adult Contemporary - Canada	1
		Steede Report airplay - Canada	2

See also

• Music of Sweden
• Official Abba Website