The Definitive Collection (ABBA album)

Last updated
The Definitive Collection
Abbadefinitivecollection.jpg
Compilation album by
ABBA
Released2 November 2001
Recorded1972–1982
Studio Metronome Studios, Stockholm; Polar Studios, Stockholm; Criteria Studios, Miami; Europafilm Studios, Stockholm; KMH Studios, Stockholm; Marcus Studios, Stockholm; Bohus Studio, Kungälv,
Genre Pop
Length147:38
Label Universal Music Group
Producer Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA chronology
Thank You for the Music
(1994)		The Definitive Collection
(2001)		 18 Hits
(2005)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]

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 ("People Need Love" to "Does Your Mother Know"), and the second including the singles from 1979 to 1982 ("Voulez-Vous" to "Under Attack"), 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 (primarily in the UK) in 1983 after the band had split up. It appears on disc two, along with two bonus tracks, "Ring Ring" (1974 UK single remix), and "Voulez-Vous" (1979 US promo extended remix). 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.

Contents

The Definitive Collection is the only ABBA compilation to include all the UK single releases from 1973 to 1983. The four "unofficial" UK ABBA singles are included, these being the 1974 remix of "Ring Ring", "Angeleyes", "Lay All Your Love on Me" and "Thank You for the Music". An "unofficial single" is one that was not released by ABBA's record label, Polar Music, in any Scandinavian country. A DVD also called The Definitive Collection was released in 2002, and features all of ABBA's videos, as well as five bonus videos and a picture gallery. In the US the 2-CD set was bundled with the DVD.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 179 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, [4] maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, and coming in at number 303 in the 2020 edition. [5] [6]

The album was re-released in 2012 as The Essential Collection with different artwork. [7]

Track listing

All songs which are written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus unless otherwise noted. Tracks 1-4 were originally released under the name "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid".

Disc one

No.TitleAlbum of OriginLength
1."People Need Love" Ring Ring (1973); first released as a single the previous year2:45
2."He Is Your Brother"Ring Ring; first released as a single the previous year3:18
3."Ring Ring" (Andersson, Stig Anderson, Ulvaeus, Neil Sedaka, Phil Cody)Ring Ring3:04
4."Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)"Ring Ring2:53
5."Waterloo" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) Waterloo (1974)2:47
6."Honey, Honey" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)Waterloo2:55
7."So Long" ABBA (1975); released as a single the previous year3:05
8."I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)ABBA3:16
9."SOS" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)ABBA3:20
10."Mamma Mia" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)ABBA3:32
11."Fernando"Non-album single; subsequently included on later releases of Greatest Hits (1975)4:14
12."Dancing Queen" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) Arrival (1976)3:51
13."Money, Money, Money"Arrival3:05
14."Knowing Me, Knowing You" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)Arrival; released as a single the following year4:01
15."The Name of the Game" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) ABBA: The Album (1977)4:52
16."Take a Chance on Me"ABBA: The Album4:05
17."Eagle" (1999 edited version)ABBA: The Album; released as a single the following year4:27
18."Summer Night City"Non-album single; later included on Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1979)3:35
19."Chiquitita" Voulez-Vous (1979)5:24
20."Does Your Mother Know"Voulez-Vous3:13
21."Rock Me" (Australian bonus track)ABBA (1975); released as a single the following year3:08
22."Hasta Mañana" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus; Australian bonus track)Waterloo3:11

Disc two

No.TitleAlbum of OriginLength
1."Voulez-Vous"Voulez-Vous5:08
2."Angeleyes"Voulez-Vous4:19
3."Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1979)4:50
4."I Have a Dream"Voulez-Vous4:42
5."The Winner Takes It All" Super Trouper (1980)4:56
6."Super Trouper"Super Trouper4:13
7."On and On and On"Super Trouper3:42
8."Lay All Your Love on Me"Super Trouper4:34
9."One of Us" The Visitors (1981)3:56
10."When All Is Said and Done"The Visitors3:17
11."Head over Heels"The Visitors3:47
12."The Visitors (Crackin' Up)"The Visitors5:46
13."The Day Before You Came" The Singles: The First Ten Years (1982)5:51
14."Under Attack"The Singles: The First Ten Years3:47
15."Thank You for the Music"ABBA: The Album (1977); released as a single in support of Thank You for the Music (1983)3:51
16."Ring Ring" (1974 UK single remix; Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, Sedaka, Cody; bonus track)Previously unreleased on CD (2001)3:10
17."Voulez-Vous" (1979 US promo extended remix; bonus track)Previously unreleased on CD6:07

DVD

No.TitleLength
1."Waterloo"2:47
2."Ring Ring"3:04
3."Mamma Mia"3:32
4."SOS"3:20
5."Bang-A-Boomerang"2:50
6."I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"3:16
7."Fernando"4:14
8."Dancing Queen"3:51
9."Money, Money, Money"3:05
10."Knowing Me, Knowing You"4:01
11."That's Me"3:16
12."The Name of the Game"4:52
13."Take a Chance on Me"4:05
14."Eagle"4:27
15."One Man, One Woman"4:37
16."Thank You for the Music"3:51
17."Summer Night City"3:35
18."Chiquitita"5:24
19."Does Your Mother Know"3:13
20."Voulez-Vous"5:08
21."Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"4:50
22."On and On and On"3:42
23."The Winner Takes It All"4:56
24."Super Trouper"4:13
25."Happy New Year"4:23
26."When All Is Said and Done"3:17
27."One of Us"3:56
28."Head over Heels"3:47
29."The Day Before You Came"5:51
30."Under Attack"3:47
31."When I Kissed the Teacher"3:01
32."Estoy soñando" ("I Have a Dream")4:45
33."Felicidad" ("Happy New Year")4:23
34."No hay a quien culpar" ("When All Is Said and Done")3:17
35."Dancing Queen" (Live at the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm, Sweden) 

Personnel

Charts

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [22] 2× Platinum140,000^
Australia (ARIA) [23]
video 		3× Platinum45,000^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [24] Gold50,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [25] Gold25,000^
France (SNEP) [26] Gold50,000*
Germany (BVMI) [27] Platinum300,000^
Germany (BVMI) [28]
video 		2× Platinum100,000^
Mexico (AMPROFON) [29]
video 		Gold10,000^
Netherlands (NVPI) [30]
video 		Gold40,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [31] Gold7,500^
South Korea—134,996 [32] [33] [34] [35]
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [36] Gold20,000^
Sweden (GLF) [37] Gold40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [38] Gold100,000^
United States—342,000 [39]

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

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References

  1. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r559219
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  4. ↑ "#179 The Definitive Collection". Rolling Stone . 1 November 2003. Archived from the original on September 1, 2006. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  5. ↑ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  6. ↑ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
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  17. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
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  19. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  20. ↑ "ABBA: The Definitive Collection" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
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  22. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 28 December 2012.
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  24. ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – ABBA – The Definitive Collection" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil . Retrieved 28 December 2012.
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  30. ↑ "Dutch video certifications – ABBA – The Definitive Collection" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers . Retrieved 3 November 2020.Enter The Definitive Collection in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2004 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
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  38. ↑ "British album certifications – Abba – The Definitive Collection". British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Definitive Collection in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  39. ↑ Trust, Gary (23 January 2009). "Ask Billboard: Mariah Carey, Abba, Oasis, The Verve". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
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