Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (ABBA album)

Last updated
Greatest Hits Vol. 2
ABBA - Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (Polar).jpg
Greatest hits album by
Released29 October 1979 (1979-10-29)
RecordedOctober 1974 – August 1979
Genre
Length58:25
Label Polar (Sweden)
Epic (UK)
Atlantic (US)
Producer Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA chronology
Voulez-Vous
(1979)
Greatest Hits Vol. 2
(1979)
Gracias Por La Música
(1980)
Singles from Greatest Hits Vol. 2
  1. "Summer Night City"
    Released: 6 September 1978
  2. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!"
    Released: 12 October 1979
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Christgau's Record Guide C [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

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 (taking place between September and November 1979). 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! (A Man After Midnight)", recorded in August 1979.

Contents

History

A round-up of ABBA's hits since their first Greatest Hits album (released in 1975), the album exclusively included material recorded between the years 1976 and 1979 (albums Arrival , The Album and Voulez-Vous plus non-album single "Summer Night City") - with one exception, "Rock Me" from 1975 album ABBA , issued as a single and became a top 5 hit in Australia and New Zealand after the release of the band's first hits package Greatest Hits and also part of the setlist on the 1979 world tour.

"Angeleyes" was included primarily due to its success as a single in the UK, where it was the lead track of a double A-side with "Voulez-Vous". Elsewhere, "Voulez-Vous" had been the A-side in its own right but it was not included on the album. However, the track "I Wonder (Departure)" was not believed to have been released as a single anywhere, but was featured.

Greatest Hits Vol. 2 was released on CD in 1982 by Polydor but was deleted from their ABBA CD range in 1992 when it was replaced with ABBA Gold . It was also released in the US by Atlantic Records in 1983 with the same mastering as the Polydor CD but was discontinued there in the late 1980s as well.

Commercial reception

Greatest Hits Vol. 2 received massive commercial success in Japan, selling in excess of 920,000 units on the chart (it was the best-selling album by non-domestic artists at the time, until Michael Jackson's Thriller each sold over 1 million copies in the 1980s). It is certified Gold in the U.S.

Track listing

All songs written by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, except where noted.

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" 4:49
2."Knowing Me, Knowing You"Andersson, Stig Anderson, Ulvaeus4:01
3."Take a Chance on Me" 4:05
4."Money, Money, Money" 3:06
5."Rock Me" 3:03
6."Eagle" 5:48
7."Angeleyes" 4:17
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dancing Queen"Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus3:48
2."Does Your Mother Know" 3:12
3."Chiquitita" 5:21
4."Summer Night City" 3:31
5."I Wonder (Departure)"Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus4:31
6."The Name of the Game"Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus4:50
7."Thank You for the Music" 3:47

Personnel

Production

Charts

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [24] Platinum50,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [25] Gold25,000 [25]
France100,000 [26]
Germany (BVMI) [27] Platinum500,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [28] Gold10,000*
Netherlands (NVPI) [29] Platinum100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [30] Platinum1,000,000 [31]
United States (RIAA) [32] Gold500,000^
Summaries
Worldwide2,000,000 [31]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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