ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits

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ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits
Greatest hits by ABBA
Released	September 21, 1992
Recorded	December 1973- October 1981
Genre	Pop
Length	76:25
Label	PolyGram (1992-1997) Universal Music (1998 - )
Producer	Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
ABBA chronology
ABBA Live (1986) ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits (1992) More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits (1993)

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.

ABBA Gold appeared at a time when ABBA's original albums had been off the market for a number of years, and was well received by the music-buying public. ABBA Gold has been re-released in various 'special' or 'remastered' releases in 1999, 2002, a 2003 CD/DVD release, and in 2004. A similar package titled ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos featured ten ABBA songs sung in Spanish.

ABBA Gold is the biggest seller of all ABBA releases, and is one of the Top 40 best-selling albums of all time worldwide, and according to Mediatraffic (United World Chart) it is ranked at #39 of the Albums All Time Chart.^[1] Worldwide sales as of 2006 are 26 million.^[2] ABBA Gold is the 4th biggest selling album of all time in the UK as of the end of April 2008. By April 30th 2008 it had sold 4,097,417 UK copies. (UK Sales up-date from The Official UK Charts Company) . ^[3]

Contents 1 History 2 Track listings 2.1 Worldwide excluding Australasia 2.2 Australasia version 2.3 Special edition bonus CD 3 Personnel 4 Chart positions 5 Sales certifications 6 Further reading 7 References 8 External links

[edit] 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.

The DVD released in 2003 included the 19 songs on the CD, plus the short 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 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".

The album topped the UK album chart on four separate occasions, six-and-a-half years apart - first in 1992, and then three times in 1999 - and was the only album in the UK's Top 100 sellers in every year from 1992 to 2000. It was also in the UK Top 100 best sellers of 2004. As a result, ABBA Gold is one of the highest selling and longest charting albums released in the United Kingdom. By week ending 14th June 2008, it held the sixth 'Most Chart Weeks' of any UK album position - 360 weeks - in the Top 75, & 700 weeks in the UK Top 200.

[edit] Track listings

[edit] Worldwide excluding Australasia

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" (1977) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:03
3. "Take a Chance on Me" (1978) – 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) – 5:26
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) – 3:57
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) – 2:42

[edit] Australasia version

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) – 4:21/5:10
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) – 3:56/4:53
18. "Rock Me" (1975) – 3:02
19. "Waterloo" (1974) (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 2:42

[edit] 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. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"
5. "So Long"
6. "Honey, Honey"
7. "The Visitors"
8. "Ring Ring"
9. "When I Kissed The Teacher"
10. "The Way Old Friends Do"

[edit] Personnel

ABBA

• Benny Andersson - synthesizer, keyboards, vocals
• Agnetha Fältskog - vocals
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad - vocals
• Björn Ulvaeus - banjo, guitar, vocals

Additional personnel

• Jon Astley - digital remastering
• 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 reissues)
• Michael B. Tretow - digital remastering

Production

• Producers: Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus
• Engineers: Jon Astley and Michael B. Tretow

[edit] Chart positions

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1992	Australia	1 (4)
1992	Austria	1 (6)
1992	Canada	6
1992	Finland	1
1992	Hungary	10
1992	Italy	2
1992	Mexico	1
1992	Netherlands	2
1992	New Zealand	3
1992	Norway	1 (3)
1992	Sweden	1 (12)
1992	Switzerland	1 (9)
1992	UK	1 (6)
1992	Germany	1 (11)
1992	The Billboard 200 (USA Album Chart)	63, (USA Pop Catalogue Chart - Number 7 - 2001)
1992	Japan	13, 160 (re-issued in 2002), 210 (re-issued in 2006)

[edit] Sales certifications

Album

Country	Certification	Amount
Argentina	6× Platinum[4]	240,000+[5]
Australia	11× Platinum[6]	770,000+[5]
Austria	3× Platinum	90,000+
Canada	Diamond[7]	1,000,000+[5]
Finland	4× Platinum	120,000+
France	Diamond	1,000,000+
Germany	4× Platinum[8]	2,000,000+[5]
Hungary	Platinum[9]	6,000+[5]
Korea	unavailable	256,000+[10]
Mexico	Platinum	100,000+[11]
New Zealand	15× Platinum[12]	225,000+[5]
Poland	Platinum[13]	20,000+[5]
Sweden	5× Platinum[14]	500,000+[5]
Switzerland	9× Platinum[15]	500,000+[5]
UK	13× Platinum[16]	3,900,000+[5] (4.1 Million actual Sales - by April 30th 2008)
USA	6× Platinum[17]	6,000,000++[5]

[edit] Further reading

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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Webpage showing various Gold releases [1]
• Webpage showing various ABBA Releases worldwide [2]

v • d • e ABBA Agnetha Fältskog • Björn Ulvaeus • Benny Andersson • Anni-Frid Lyngstad Studio albums Ring Ring • Waterloo • ABBA • Arrival • The Album • Voulez-Vous • Super Trouper • The Visitors Compilations Greatest Hits • Greatest Hits Vol. 2 • Gracias Por La Música • The Singles: The First Ten Years • ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits • More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits • ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos • Thank You for the Music • The Definitive Collection • The Complete Studio Recordings • Number Ones Hit singles "People Need Love" • "He Is Your Brother" • "Ring Ring" • "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" • "Waterloo" • "Honey, Honey" • "So Long" • "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" • "SOS" • "Mamma Mia" • "Fernando" • "Dancing Queen" • "Money, Money, Money" • "Knowing Me, Knowing You" • "The Name of the Game" • "Take a Chance on Me" • "Eagle" • "Summer Night City" • "Chiquitita" • "Does Your Mother Know" • "Voulez-Vous" • "Angeleyes" • "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" • "I Have a Dream" • "The Winner Takes It All" • "On and On and On" • "Super Trouper" • "Lay All Your Love on Me" • "One of Us" • "When All is Said and Done" • "Head over Heels" • "The Visitors" • "The Day Before You Came" • "Under Attack" • "Thank You for the Music" Related articles Discography • Unreleased songs • Eurovision Song Contest 1974 • Mamma Mia! (musical) • Mamma Mia! (film) • Congratulations • Music of Sweden • Stig Anderson • "Thank ABBA for the Music"