Voulez-Vous | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 23 April 1979 | |||
Recorded | 13 March 1978 – 29 March 1979 | |||
Studio | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:43 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
ABBA chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Voulez-Vous | ||||
|
Voulez-Vous (pronounced [vulevu] ; French for "Do you want (to)?") is the sixth studio album by the Swedish supergroup ABBA. Released on 23 April 1979, the album yielded five hits, all of them big 1979 singles in Britain – "Chiquitita", "Does Your Mother Know", "I Have a Dream" and the double A-side "Voulez-Vous"/"Angeleyes". The title track showed the group embracing disco music, which at the time was at its peak. The album topped the charts in a number of countries and ranked among Britain's five best-selling albums of the year.
It was the first ABBA album to be mainly recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm, and the only ABBA album to include a studio recording made outside Sweden: the instrumental backing track for the title track was partly recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami.
Voulez-Vous was first released on CD in 1984. The album has been digitally remastered and reissued four times: first in 1997, then in 2001 and in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set, and yet again in 2010 for the Voulez-Vous Deluxe Edition.
In early 1978, ABBA were at the peak of their success and having just completed promotion for their latest album and theatrical film release, thoughts were turned to the next album, which was planned to be released in time for Christmas. Sessions however proved to be difficult and after starting on 13 March 1978 with the ultimately unreleased track "Dr Claus von Hamlet", a number of compositions were demoed and rejected. Indeed, after six months, only two songs that would end up on the finished album ("The King Has Lost His Crown" and "Lovers (Live a Little Longer)") were completed. [1]
During this time the group opened their own recording studio, Polar Studios in Stockholm, which was among the most advanced in the world at the time and would be where ABBA would work from here on. Two songs recorded at this time were "Lovelight" and "Dream World". However, neither song would appear on the Voulez-Vous album ("Lovelight" would be used as the B-side to the single "Chiquitita", while "Dream World" would remain unreleased until 1994; both songs are now featured as bonus tracks on re-issues of the Voulez-Vous album). Other tracks started but subsequently scrapped included "Just a Notion", which was later included on Voyage (2021).
By September 1978, ABBA had been absent from the charts for some months, and so a song from the recording sessions, "Summer Night City", was released as a single. Never happy with the finished song, members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus regretted the release and lamented the fact that it peaked lower than previous singles in the charts, not being released at all in the US. They considered the UK to be their most important market, and there it had ended a run of No. 1 hits by stalling at No. 5 - their smallest hit for three years. A full-length version was however still planned for the upcoming album, but ultimately never used. By this time, tensions were growing within the group due to the low productivity of the period, as member Agnetha Faltskog commented; "I can tell from the look in Björn's eyes when he gets home how the day's work has been. Many times the boys have been working for ten hours without coming up with one single note". Andersson talked to a reporter at the time saying; "The prospects are not good. It’s worse than ever...We have no idea when we’ll be finished". [1] It became obvious that the album wouldn't be completed by the end of the year and the deadline was extended into 1979. In late 1978, further indication of internal struggles became widely known when it was announced that married couple Ulvaeus and Faltskog were to divorce. Rather than spelling the end for the group however, this freed up a lot of the tensions between the two and in late 1978, work suddenly took off apace for the album.
In October, two tracks were completed: "Angeleyes" and "If It Wasn't for the Nights". Although seen as an archetype ABBA track, the former of these was deemed dated by Andersson, labelling it "back to the sixties". The second track however featured an all-out contemporary vibe, being quite disco-orientated and considered the strongest song that had been recorded for the album. It was intended to be not only the next single but also the song that ABBA would perform at the Music for UNICEF Concert in January 1979. This plan was changed however when an even-better song came along in December. With the original title of "In the Arms of Rosalita", "Chiquitita" was the song the band performed. Although rather more schlager in style, Andersson considered it the best of their new songs, despite the feeling that it was very out of style with the rest of the acts performing that night. "It was pretty strange, but we felt it was the best song we had and that's why we chose it, however wrong it may have been", he said. [1] In early 1979, "Chiquitita" became one of ABBA's biggest hits around the world, reaching No. 1 in many countries, although just being clipped by Blondie's "Heart of Glass" in the UK at No. 2. [2]
At the end of January, Andersson and Ulvaeus left Sweden and rented an apartment in the Bahamas where they felt they could get some inspiration by listening to American music and experiencing a whole different vibe to the rather conservative Stockholm. Two songs emerged from this time; "Voulez-Vous" and "Kisses of Fire". Excited by the former, they went to Criteria Studios in Miami to record the backing track with the disco band Foxy — the only time they recorded a song outside Sweden. [1] Upon returning to Sweden to finish the songs, another track, "Does Your Mother Know", was recorded - a song that was to be the next single, and also the only mainstream release to feature Ulvaeus on lead vocals. The single would not become as big a hit worldwide as "Chiquitita", but was the most successful release from the album in the US.
By the end of March, the final two tracks were finished; "As Good as New" and "I Have a Dream" (the latter featuring a local children's choir from the International School of Stockholm). [3]
At the end of April the album, titled Voulez-Vous, was finally ready for release and to emphasize the shift towards a disco sound, the album cover shot was taken at Alexandra's night club in Stockholm. [3] The album was released on 23 April 1979, and in the following months of its launch, ABBA released a number of other singles from it. The title track was released as a double A-side with "Angeleyes", while "I Have a Dream" was belatedly released in December 1979 following their recent world tour. A track recorded in August 1979 (four months after the release of the album), "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", was released as a single in October and was later included as a bonus track on CD versions of Voulez-Vous.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
Blender | [5] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
Record Mirror | [7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
Smash Hits | 6/10 [9] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [10] |
Uncut | [11] |
The album received favourable reviews from music critics. The Manchester Evening News determined that "Frida vocalises with increased assurance, now making words count much more—in fact the lyrics are slowly coming out of their sometimes naivete". [12]
Bruce Eder of AllMusic retrospectively noted that "about half of Voulez-Vous shows the heavy influence of the Bee Gees from their megahit disco era" but that it also "had a pair of soft, lyrical Europop-style ballads" which according to him sounds like "popular folk music during the mid-to-late '60s". Sean Egan from the BBC gave the album a favourable review writing that the album "was an effort that saw Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Anni-Frid put their dancing shoes on to join in with the dominant disco craze" and also that the album's ballads "are able to provide a pocket of air on a disco floor that would otherwise get sweaty and stultifying". [13]
Voulez-Vous topped the charts all over Europe (including the UK, where it entered the charts at No. 1 and remained there for a month), [14] and was a Top 10 success in countries including Canada, [15] New Zealand [16] and Australia. [17] In the US, Voulez-Vous became ABBA's third album to reach the top 20 (peaking at No. 19). [18]
All tracks are written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus [19] except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "As Good as New" | 3:22 |
2. | "Voulez-Vous" | 5:09 |
3. | "I Have a Dream" | 4:44 |
4. | "Angeleyes" | 4:20 |
5. | "The King Has Lost His Crown" | 3:30 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Does Your Mother Know" | 3:13 |
2. | "If It Wasn't for the Nights" | 5:13 |
3. | "Chiquitita" | 5:26 |
4. | "Lovers (Live a Little Longer)" | 3:28 |
5. | "Kisses of Fire" | 3:16 |
Total length: | 41:43 |
All tracks are written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus [20] except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "As Good as New" | 3:22 |
2. | "Voulez-Vous" | 5:09 |
3. | "I Have a Dream" | 4:44 |
4. | "Angeleyes" | 4:20 |
5. | "The King Has Lost His Crown" | 3:30 |
6. | "Chiquitita (Spanish Version)" | 5:26 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Summer Night City" | 3:34 [b] |
12. | "Lovelight" (alternate mix) | 3:18 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Summer Night City" | 3:34 [a] |
12. | "Lovelight" | 3:48 |
13. | "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" | 4:52 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "Estoy Soñando" (Spanish version of I Have a Dream) |
| 4:40 |
15. | "Chiquitita" (Spanish version) |
| 5:35 |
16. | "¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame!" (Spanish version of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)) |
| 4:49 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Summer Night City" (full-length version) | 4:18 |
12. | "Lovelight" | 3:48 |
13. | "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" | 4:53 |
14. | "Dream World" | 3:38 |
15. | "Voulez-Vous" (extended remix; 1979 US promo) | 6:11 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "ABBA in Switzerland" (BBC television special) | |
2. | "Chiquitita" (Music for UNICEF) | |
3. | "I Have a Dream" (extended promo) | |
4. | "If It Wasn't for the Nights" (Mike Yarwood Christmas Show, BBC) | |
5. | "Chiquitita" (Christmas Snowtime Special, BBC) | |
6. | "Björn & Benny Interview" ( Multi-Coloured Swap Shop , BBC) | |
7. | "Greatest Hits Vol. 2" (television commercial I) | |
8. | "Greatest Hits Vol. 2" (television commercial II) | |
9. | "International sleeve gallery" |
Notes: [a] mislabelled as "If It Wasn't for the Night" on 2001 reissue. [b] mislabelled as 4:12.
Additional musicians
Production
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Argentina | — | 200,000 [52] |
Australia (ARIA) [53] | 2× Platinum | 200,000 [53] |
Belgium (BEA) [54] | Platinum | 50,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada) [55] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [56] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [57] | Platinum | 82,340 [57] |
France | — | 200,000 [58] |
Germany (BVMI) [59] | Platinum | 500,000^ |
Greece | — | 50,000 [60] |
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [61] | Gold | 10,000* |
Hungary | — | 75,000 [62] |
Japan (Oricon Charts) | — | 623,000 [28] |
Malaysia | — | 10,000 [63] |
Netherlands (NVPI) [64] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [65] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [66] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Sweden | — | 289,925 [67] |
Taiwan | — | 2,500 [68] |
United Kingdom (BPI) [69] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [70] | Gold | 500,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Waterloo is the second studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA, and the first released internationally. It was originally released on 4 March 1974 in Sweden through Polar Music. The album's title track won ABBA the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and became a global hit, launching the group's career.
Super Trouper is the seventh studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA, released on 3 November 1980. It features the No.1 singles "The Winner Takes It All" and "Super Trouper". The album became the biggest-selling album of 1980 in the UK.
Ring Ring is the debut studio album by the Swedish group ABBA, initially credited as Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida. It was released in Scandinavia on 26 March 1973, and later in a limited number of other territories, including West Germany, Australia, South Africa and Mexico, through Polar Music. It was a chart-topping album in Belgium, and a big success in the Netherlands, Norway and South Africa.
Arrival is the fourth studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally released in Sweden on 11 October 1976 by Polar Records. It became one of ABBA's most successful albums to date, producing three of their biggest hits: "Dancing Queen", "Money, Money, Money" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You". The track "Fernando", which had been recently released as a single in March 1976, was included on the Australian and New Zealand versions of the album. Arrival was the best-selling album of 1977 in the United Kingdom and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
ABBA: The Album is the fifth studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in Scandinavia on 12 December 1977 through Polar Music, but due to the massive pre-orders the UK pressing plants were not able to press sufficient copies before Christmas 1977 and so it was not released in the UK until January 1978. The album was released in conjunction with ABBA: The Movie, with several of the songs featured in the film. Altogether the album contains nine songs.
The Visitors is the eighth studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released on 30 November 1981.
Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is a compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released on 29 October 1979 to coincide with their tour of North America and Europe. It was ABBA's second chart-topping album of the year, the first being Voulez-Vous, and contained the brand new single "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", recorded in August 1979.
The discography of Swedish pop music group ABBA consists of nine studio albums, two live albums, seven compilation albums, four box sets, five video albums, 50 singles, and 43 music videos. To date, ABBA have sold 150 million records worldwide becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history. They have scored 9 No. 1 singles and 10 No. 1 albums in the UK, becoming the most successful Swedish act of all time on the Official Charts.
Abba-esque is an extended play (EP) by English synth-pop duo Erasure. Released on 1 June 1992, the EP was Erasure's first and only number one on the UK Singles Chart and also became a number-one hit in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, and Sweden.
The Singles: The First Ten Years is a double compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in November 1982.
"Chiquitita" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in January 1979 as the first single from Voulez-Vous (1979), the group's sixth album. Agnetha Fältskog performs the lead vocals. Originally, the track "If It Wasn't for the Nights" was going to be the album's lead single, but after "Chiquitita" was completed these plans were abandoned, and it remained an album track.
"Voulez-Vous" is a 1979 song by the Swedish group ABBA, written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad shared the lead vocals. It is the second track on the group's 1979 album of the same name. In the UK and Ireland, "Voulez-Vous" was released as a double A-side, though nearly everywhere else, "Voulez-Vous" was a single A-side. The double A side single is, as of September 2021, ABBA's 13th-biggest song in the UK, including both pure sales and digital streams.
The Definitive Collection is a 2001 compilation album of all the singles released by Swedish pop group ABBA. It consisted of two discs: the first featuring the singles from 1972 to 1979, and the second including the singles from 1979 to 1982, 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 in 1983 after the band had split up. It appears on disc two, along with two bonus tracks, "Ring Ring", and "Voulez-Vous". 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.
"Angeleyes" is a pop song written and recorded in 1978 by the Swedish group ABBA, and is featured on their sixth studio album, Voulez-Vous. Released as a double A-side with the title track of the album in July 1979, the lyrics and music were composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. As one of ABBA's most popular tracks in the United Kingdom, the song was a successful hit, peaking at No. 3 on the singles chart.
The Best of ABBA is a compilation greatest hits album by Swedish pop group ABBA, first released in August 1975 in the Netherlands. It was then released in West Germany, and then in Australia and New Zealand in November 1975, before being released in Austria and India in 1976. Despite not being released in Norway, imports led the album to chart. After import copies were being sold in Scandinavia, ABBA's Greatest Hits was rush-released there in November 1975. The album topped the charts in Australia, Austria and New Zealand, and went on to be certified 24× Platinum in New Zealand and 22× Platinum in Australia. The album is tied with Dire Straits' album Brothers in Arms for being the best-selling album in New Zealand.
Number Ones is a compilation album of recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA, released by Polar Music in 2006.
BAO 3 is a studio album by Swedish folk group Benny Anderssons Orkester, released on 24 October 2007. It is the group's third studio album and their fourth release in total.
ABBA 18 Hits was released by Polar Music International on 8 September 2005, and is a compilation of hits by ABBA.
Live at Wembley Arena is an album of live recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA, released by Polar Music on 26 September 2014, on 2 CD, 3 LP and digital format.
Voyage is the ninth and final studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA, released 5 November 2021. With ten songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, it is the group's first album of new material in forty years. The album was supported by the dual single release of "I Still Have Faith in You" and "Don't Shut Me Down", released alongside the album announcement on 2 September 2021. "Just a Notion" was issued as the third single on 22 October 2021, followed by the fourth single "Little Things" on 3 December. A digital concert residency in support of the album, ABBA Voyage, opened in London on 27 May 2022.