Anyone looking for the key to ABBA's enduring appeal should look no further than "Voulez Vous" and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" for their answer. There was an innocence to the Swedish quartet, even when they were singing about one-night stands and the invitations to them. Gold establishes that the band, while appreciated as campy, were actually multifaceted in their execution. "S.O.S." has a raw urgency in its chorus, and "Does Your Mother Know" draws its energy from classic 1950s rock & roll. Likewise, you don't have to be Priscilla to swoon over "Mamma Mia" or "Dancing Queen". And when it comes to drama, those soaring vocals on "The Winner Takes It All" turn the song into a bitter anthem of every relationship that has ever fallen apart. The much-covered "Lay All Your Love on Me" is practically epic. --Steve Gdula

Abba: Gold shows why they will NEVER be forgotten, 30 Aug 2008
This compilation album needs little introduction as it has sold a zillion copies or something ;), and there is a reason for that. Nobody, not even The Beatles have created a finer collection of pop songs. Pop is often sneered at by some hoity toity music lovers, but there is no need. A finely crafted 3 minute pop tune can be just as meaningful and exquisite as any other piece of music. The tunes Bjorn & Benny created will live on forever, and the girls singing stays in your mind so very easily.

For me this is not their ultimate collection, as I liked more of the bitter-sweet songs they did like Eagle and The Day Before You Came. But that's a personal preference. This compilation contains all the biggest hits, including some of the camp/hi-nrg stuff that can be ever so slightly cringe-inducing nearly 30 years on. But that's just because things have moved on, leaving the production stuck in a point of time which can't be avoided and happens to all pop music.

Abba - a top class act and the ultimate pop band. No question about that.

Abba Gold: Ssssshh, don't tell anyone, but I'm putting Abba on., 18 Aug 2008
I've revisited this Album since my missus took an eager liking of the recent film translation of the musical Mamma Mia.

I've mentioned in my review of the soundtrack that I'm not a massive Abba fan, but there is something about the music that makes it incredibly likable. I'm not going to go through all the tracks on this double CD, but each song feels very independently crafted. No two sound the same.

There are no weak tracks here and the album is the perfect showcase for the pop phenomenon. Most cheesy pop songs over recent times have been basic stories of love, loss ...or lost love - but here there's a wide variation in subject matter. Most are to do with relationships, but they tend to tell a story rather than give a formulaic four minutes of music. This is no doubt one of the strengths of Abba, and a reason as to why this album is still popular today - it hasn't really dated. The spectrum of moods and types of music used is wider than what you'd usually find on a pop album, it is testament to the pure creative energy the group had and stops it from ever going stale.

In a nutshell: This goes beyond empty shallow pop music, it is a celebration of how creative genius can give birth to individual nuggets of musical gold. The tracks are incredibly catchy and they haunt you for hours after listening to them. This isn't great in the same way that a Bob Dylan album is great, there's no political message that will inspire you to stand up and be counted. This album is great because it uses sounds fresh and fun. Practically everyone is familiar with the majority of the tracks on this album, but it's only when you sit and listen to them that you appreciate how much work has gone into them. I'm not an Abba fan, but I do recognise the impact that this music has had - and I can't help but enjoy it when 'my wife puts it on'.


THE 'OTHER' FAB FOUR - NO LONGER A GUILTY PLEASURE, 04 Aug 2008
With interest in ABBA once again at a premium, thanks to the Mamma Mia Film and hugely successful musical, it's not surprising that this collection is once again at the top of the UK album charts and cruising to 26 million sales. ABBA themselves have'nt been a functioning band since 1982 when they released their last studio album The Visitors.
Time has been kind to the lagacy of the group and they now enjoy the kind of critical and commercial success afforded to true legends - Beatles, Queen, Who - where once they were considered sugary sweet and europap.
Gold is the perfect compilation collecting together all the major hits and presenting them, not in chronological order, but sequenced to construct a simply great listen.
The songs of Benny & Bjorn are beautifully crafted and constructed pop gems - 'Dancing Queen', 'Waterloo' (surely the greatest Eurovision song ever), 'The Winner Takes It All', 'Knowing Me Knowing You', 'SOS' - the hits just keep on coming. Those trademark Agnita & Frieda harmonies, clever studio arrangements and giant choruses are perfectly realised and even the lyrics, which were often derided in the 70's, are much better than you may remember.
Yes a sweet musical tooth is required and it is all, mostly, resolutely 'up' but if you are a fan of pop then Abba Gold is pure genius.

A PERFECT COLLECTION, 12 Jan 2008
AS A DEVOTEE OF ABBA I THINK THIS COLLECTION IS FIRST CLASS. ABBAS LYRICS ARE BRILLIANT, CATCHY, STORY TELLING SONGS WHICH FOR THE MOST PART STAND THE TEST OF TIME. OUTSTANDING TRACKS FOR ME FROM THIS COLLECTION WOULD BE SOS, THE NAME OF THE GAME, THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL ( AGNETHA AT HER MOST HEART WRENCHING) AND KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU. THIS COLLECTION CAN HOLD ITS HEAD UP AGAINST ANY OTHER.

ABBA song fest, 04 Oct 2007
when ABBA burst onto the scene in 1974 winning the eurovision song contest with 'Waterloo' the world was never going to be the same. some 33 years later, the world is still enthralled by them, spawning a highly succesful musical 'mamma mia' in the west end.

This CD includes all of their best known hits. 'Dancing queen' 'Take a chance on me' 'the name of the game' 'One of us' 'The winner takes it all'
'Thank you for the music' being just some of their major hits that make it onto this greatest hits album.

I was two years old when 'Dancing queen' came out in 1976, Just goes to prove, with quality music like this, the world never forgets.

Anyone looking for the key to ABBA's enduring appeal should look no further than "Voulez Vous" and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" for their answer. There was an innocence to the Swedish quartet, even when they were singing about one-night stands and the invitations to them. Gold establishes that the band, while appreciated as campy, were actually multifaceted in their execution. "S.O.S." has a raw urgency in its chorus, and "Does Your Mother Know" draws its energy from classic 1950s rock & roll. Likewise, you don't have to be Priscilla to swoon over "Mamma Mia" or "Dancing Queen". And when it comes to drama, those soaring vocals on "The Winner Takes It All" turn the song into a bitter anthem of every relationship that has ever fallen apart. The much-covered "Lay All Your Love on Me" is practically epic. --Steve Gdula

Abba: Gold shows why they will NEVER be forgotten, 30 Aug 2008
This compilation album needs little introduction as it has sold a zillion copies or something ;), and there is a reason for that. Nobody, not even The Beatles have created a finer collection of pop songs. Pop is often sneered at by some hoity toity music lovers, but there is no need. A finely crafted 3 minute pop tune can be just as meaningful and exquisite as any other piece of music. The tunes Bjorn & Benny created will live on forever, and the girls singing stays in your mind so very easily.

For me this is not their ultimate collection, as I liked more of the bitter-sweet songs they did like Eagle and The Day Before You Came. But that's a personal preference. This compilation contains all the biggest hits, including some of the camp/hi-nrg stuff that can be ever so slightly cringe-inducing nearly 30 years on. But that's just because things have moved on, leaving the production stuck in a point of time which can't be avoided and happens to all pop music.

Abba - a top class act and the ultimate pop band. No question about that.

Abba Gold: Ssssshh, don't tell anyone, but I'm putting Abba on., 18 Aug 2008
I've revisited this Album since my missus took an eager liking of the recent film translation of the musical Mamma Mia.

I've mentioned in my review of the soundtrack that I'm not a massive Abba fan, but there is something about the music that makes it incredibly likable. I'm not going to go through all the tracks on this double CD, but each song feels very independently crafted. No two sound the same.

There are no weak tracks here and the album is the perfect showcase for the pop phenomenon. Most cheesy pop songs over recent times have been basic stories of love, loss ...or lost love - but here there's a wide variation in subject matter. Most are to do with relationships, but they tend to tell a story rather than give a formulaic four minutes of music. This is no doubt one of the strengths of Abba, and a reason as to why this album is still popular today - it hasn't really dated. The spectrum of moods and types of music used is wider than what you'd usually find on a pop album, it is testament to the pure creative energy the group had and stops it from ever going stale.

In a nutshell: This goes beyond empty shallow pop music, it is a celebration of how creative genius can give birth to individual nuggets of musical gold. The tracks are incredibly catchy and they haunt you for hours after listening to them. This isn't great in the same way that a Bob Dylan album is great, there's no political message that will inspire you to stand up and be counted. This album is great because it uses sounds fresh and fun. Practically everyone is familiar with the majority of the tracks on this album, but it's only when you sit and listen to them that you appreciate how much work has gone into them. I'm not an Abba fan, but I do recognise the impact that this music has had - and I can't help but enjoy it when 'my wife puts it on'.


THE 'OTHER' FAB FOUR - NO LONGER A GUILTY PLEASURE, 04 Aug 2008
With interest in ABBA once again at a premium, thanks to the Mamma Mia Film and hugely successful musical, it's not surprising that this collection is once again at the top of the UK album charts and cruising to 26 million sales. ABBA themselves have'nt been a functioning band since 1982 when they released their last studio album The Visitors.
Time has been kind to the lagacy of the group and they now enjoy the kind of critical and commercial success afforded to true legends - Beatles, Queen, Who - where once they were considered sugary sweet and europap.
Gold is the perfect compilation collecting together all the major hits and presenting them, not in chronological order, but sequenced to construct a simply great listen.
The songs of Benny & Bjorn are beautifully crafted and constructed pop gems - 'Dancing Queen', 'Waterloo' (surely the greatest Eurovision song ever), 'The Winner Takes It All', 'Knowing Me Knowing You', 'SOS' - the hits just keep on coming. Those trademark Agnita & Frieda harmonies, clever studio arrangements and giant choruses are perfectly realised and even the lyrics, which were often derided in the 70's, are much better than you may remember.
Yes a sweet musical tooth is required and it is all, mostly, resolutely 'up' but if you are a fan of pop then Abba Gold is pure genius.

A PERFECT COLLECTION, 12 Jan 2008
AS A DEVOTEE OF ABBA I THINK THIS COLLECTION IS FIRST CLASS. ABBAS LYRICS ARE BRILLIANT, CATCHY, STORY TELLING SONGS WHICH FOR THE MOST PART STAND THE TEST OF TIME. OUTSTANDING TRACKS FOR ME FROM THIS COLLECTION WOULD BE SOS, THE NAME OF THE GAME, THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL ( AGNETHA AT HER MOST HEART WRENCHING) AND KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU. THIS COLLECTION CAN HOLD ITS HEAD UP AGAINST ANY OTHER.

ABBA song fest, 04 Oct 2007
when ABBA burst onto the scene in 1974 winning the eurovision song contest with 'Waterloo' the world was never going to be the same. some 33 years later, the world is still enthralled by them, spawning a highly succesful musical 'mamma mia' in the west end.

This CD includes all of their best known hits. 'Dancing queen' 'Take a chance on me' 'the name of the game' 'One of us' 'The winner takes it all'
'Thank you for the music' being just some of their major hits that make it onto this greatest hits album.

I was two years old when 'Dancing queen' came out in 1976, Just goes to prove, with quality music like this, the world never forgets.

ABBA IS THE BEST!!!, 17 Oct 2008
This cd is amazing, it sold over 26 million the year it came out, and now that it has been released it still is selling, ABBA has sold over 7,000 cd's every day!!!

The music on this cd is fantastic, best music there ever is, and the other ABBA cd is amazing music, all there music is fantastic, this cd is somethink that everyone should own cause it is fantastic, catchy, like

1. Dancing Queen
2. Take A Chance On Me
3. Chiquitita
4. Voulez-Vous
5. Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! (A Man After The Midnight)
6. Sooooooooo much more...

And there are amazing songs that capture the heart, like

1. The Winner Takes It All
2. One Of Us
3. Soooooooo much more...

ABBA has made so much amazing music is amazing, and they are the best band that ever lived..

I bet after u listen to this cd, u will want to buy another one, coz they are all amazing.

Thank you ABBA for the music.!!.

400 Million And Counting, 31 Jul 2008


Nineteen of ABBA's best songs are plenty, but you won't tire of them. It is amazing that four Swedes (Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as writers and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog as the main singers) could take such simple English cliches and turn them into pop music magic. Despite sometimes maddeningly simple lyrics, the song arrangements were unnervingly catchy and the multi-level layered compostions are fascinating. The keyboards and synthesizers were used in some of the more ingenious ways during the seventies to produce that unmistakeable ABBA sound. The energy and nearly anthemic enthusiasm eminating from each song marked them all as instant classics, no matter how jaded or synical the listener. It is doubtlful if you read the song list here that you would not know the melody. The one ironic thing about this groups phenomenal success, is that of over 400 million album sales, they only had one number one hit in the US - "Dancing Queen". But it is one heck of a great song.


Every home should have a copy!, 14 Jul 2008
This CD can change your day, your washing up, your chores and your mood into an all singing, all dancing feel good experience. It starts, no messing, straight in there, with Dancing Queen, surely one of the best dance floor fillers of all time. There's no dead wood on this album, all the old favourites are here: Chiquitita, Mamma Mia, Voulez Vous, Thank You For the Music and the beautifully written Winner Takes it All. I admire Benny and Bjorn so much as songwriters since not only do they produce perfect ageless pop songs (and there is such an art to it) but don't forget, their lyrics are written in their second language, not their first. Their talent amazes me and their music makes me feel grrrrreat. I defy anyone to play dancing queen and stand still and not feel that life is good. Worth the money and better than therapy.

Extremely pleased with this CD, 02 Mar 2005
ABBA was formed in 1972 by four great Swedish musicians (Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad - ABBA, get it?). Featuring wonderful vocals and bouncing instrumentation, plus enjoyable (if somewhat lightweight) lyrics, the group shot to international stardom, dominating charts around the world until their final breakup in 1982. This album was put together in 1993, and contains many of ABBA's most memorable tunes. As an added bonus, the paperwork contains a short history of the group, plus many colorful pictures.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this CD, and highly recommend it to everyone! By they way, I used this CD to introduce my own children to ABBA, and now they walk around singing some of the same songs that I did at their age!

THE BEST GREATEST HITS ALBUM EVER, 12 May 2004
I recently read an article on the most reputable American music magazine, Billboard Magazine, about this album being one of the top sellers worldwide of all time. It has sold 30 Million copies around the world, and here in UK it has sold almost 4 million copies! Then I learned that ABBA has sold over 350 million albums worldwide. Wow! Only the Beatles and Elvis have sold more, accoring to the article. I knew they had many number ones here in UK, but did not know they were so big in the world. The article explained that ABBA was bigger than the Beatles in many Latin American countries, in Russia, Viet Nam, Netherlands (where 3 out of every household owns an ABBA record) and in Australia.

I figured out I should give ABBA a try. i needed to understand why so many liked this group, and I did not even own one of their CDs.

I had only heard Dancing Queen, Waterloo, and Take A Chance On Me, so I bought this album. I am now an ABBA fan. I usually don't like pop, but ABBA has finally won me over. After several listens, I decided that I have never EVER heard melodies this good. They are fresh, timeless, and like U2's Bono said, "I think ABBA have a pure joy to their music, and that’s what makes them extraordinary!" The music is so joyous even when there is melancholy and drama added. The music is so much more complex than I had given ABBA credit for --- before really listening.

My favorite music acts are U2, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan. Now ABBA has joined them.

I did some research and found other quotes about ABBA from U2 members and others:

Bjork: “ABBA saved my life, it’s undeniable. Arrival is a happy record. ‘Dancing Queen’ is the biggest song in pop-music history, pure ecstasy, it makes you want to fly!”

Richard Ashcroft, from The Verve: "‘Dancing Queen’ is one of my favourite songs of all time’," "In ‘Dancing Queen,’ taking it as a songwriter, it’s just one of the most perfectly crafted pieces of pop music. It makes me feel good. Life is just moments, you know what I mean? And music’s about capturing those moments. Every time I hear ‘feel the beat of the tambourine/oh yeah’ it makes a chemical react in my brain. Something happens in my body and I feel good!"

Elvis Costello: “We stole them like crazy, and they dragged these things into pop music, these big double octave flourishes on the piano that seemed right straight out of Rachmaninoff”

The Edge, from U2: “ABBA have written the best pop music of all time.”

I agree completely. ABBA is way up there.

Abba: Gold shows why they will NEVER be forgotten, 30 Aug 2008
This compilation album needs little introduction as it has sold a zillion copies or something ;), and there is a reason for that. Nobody, not even The Beatles have created a finer collection of pop songs. Pop is often sneered at by some hoity toity music lovers, but there is no need. A finely crafted 3 minute pop tune can be just as meaningful and exquisite as any other piece of music. The tunes Bjorn & Benny created will live on forever, and the girls singing stays in your mind so very easily.

For me this is not their ultimate collection, as I liked more of the bitter-sweet songs they did like Eagle and The Day Before You Came. But that's a personal preference. This compilation contains all the biggest hits, including some of the camp/hi-nrg stuff that can be ever so slightly cringe-inducing nearly 30 years on. But that's just because things have moved on, leaving the production stuck in a point of time which can't be avoided and happens to all pop music.

Abba - a top class act and the ultimate pop band. No question about that.

Abba Gold: Ssssshh, don't tell anyone, but I'm putting Abba on., 18 Aug 2008
I've revisited this Album since my missus took an eager liking of the recent film translation of the musical Mamma Mia.

I've mentioned in my review of the soundtrack that I'm not a massive Abba fan, but there is something about the music that makes it incredibly likable. I'm not going to go through all the tracks on this double CD, but each song feels very independently crafted. No two sound the same.

There are no weak tracks here and the album is the perfect showcase for the pop phenomenon. Most cheesy pop songs over recent times have been basic stories of love, loss ...or lost love - but here there's a wide variation in subject matter. Most are to do with relationships, but they tend to tell a story rather than give a formulaic four minutes of music. This is no doubt one of the strengths of Abba, and a reason as to why this album is still popular today - it hasn't really dated. The spectrum of moods and types of music used is wider than what you'd usually find on a pop album, it is testament to the pure creative energy the group had and stops it from ever going stale.

In a nutshell: This goes beyond empty shallow pop music, it is a celebration of how creative genius can give birth to individual nuggets of musical gold. The tracks are incredibly catchy and they haunt you for hours after listening to them. This isn't great in the same way that a Bob Dylan album is great, there's no political message that will inspire you to stand up and be counted. This album is great because it uses sounds fresh and fun. Practically everyone is familiar with the majority of the tracks on this album, but it's only when you sit and listen to them that you appreciate how much work has gone into them. I'm not an Abba fan, but I do recognise the impact that this music has had - and I can't help but enjoy it when 'my wife puts it on'.


THE 'OTHER' FAB FOUR - NO LONGER A GUILTY PLEASURE, 04 Aug 2008
With interest in ABBA once again at a premium, thanks to the Mamma Mia Film and hugely successful musical, it's not surprising that this collection is once again at the top of the UK album charts and cruising to 26 million sales. ABBA themselves have'nt been a functioning band since 1982 when they released their last studio album The Visitors.
Time has been kind to the lagacy of the group and they now enjoy the kind of critical and commercial success afforded to true legends - Beatles, Queen, Who - where once they were considered sugary sweet and europap.
Gold is the perfect compilation collecting together all the major hits and presenting them, not in chronological order, but sequenced to construct a simply great listen.
The songs of Benny & Bjorn are beautifully crafted and constructed pop gems - 'Dancing Queen', 'Waterloo' (surely the greatest Eurovision song ever), 'The Winner Takes It All', 'Knowing Me Knowing You', 'SOS' - the hits just keep on coming. Those trademark Agnita & Frieda harmonies, clever studio arrangements and giant choruses are perfectly realised and even the lyrics, which were often derided in the 70's, are much better than you may remember.
Yes a sweet musical tooth is required and it is all, mostly, resolutely 'up' but if you are a fan of pop then Abba Gold is pure genius.

A PERFECT COLLECTION, 12 Jan 2008
AS A DEVOTEE OF ABBA I THINK THIS COLLECTION IS FIRST CLASS. ABBAS LYRICS ARE BRILLIANT, CATCHY, STORY TELLING SONGS WHICH FOR THE MOST PART STAND THE TEST OF TIME. OUTSTANDING TRACKS FOR ME FROM THIS COLLECTION WOULD BE SOS, THE NAME OF THE GAME, THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL ( AGNETHA AT HER MOST HEART WRENCHING) AND KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU. THIS COLLECTION CAN HOLD ITS HEAD UP AGAINST ANY OTHER.

ABBA song fest, 04 Oct 2007
when ABBA burst onto the scene in 1974 winning the eurovision song contest with 'Waterloo' the world was never going to be the same. some 33 years later, the world is still enthralled by them, spawning a highly succesful musical 'mamma mia' in the west end.

This CD includes all of their best known hits. 'Dancing queen' 'Take a chance on me' 'the name of the game' 'One of us' 'The winner takes it all'
'Thank you for the music' being just some of their major hits that make it onto this greatest hits album.

I was two years old when 'Dancing queen' came out in 1976, Just goes to prove, with quality music like this, the world never forgets.

ABBA IS THE BEST!!!, 17 Oct 2008
This cd is amazing, it sold over 26 million the year it came out, and now that it has been released it still is selling, ABBA has sold over 7,000 cd's every day!!!

The music on this cd is fantastic, best music there ever is, and the other ABBA cd is amazing music, all there music is fantastic, this cd is somethink that everyone should own cause it is fantastic, catchy, like

1. Dancing Queen
2. Take A Chance On Me
3. Chiquitita
4. Voulez-Vous
5. Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! (A Man After The Midnight)
6. Sooooooooo much more...

And there are amazing songs that capture the heart, like

1. The Winner Takes It All
2. One Of Us
3. Soooooooo much more...

ABBA has made so much amazing music is amazing, and they are the best band that ever lived..

I bet after u listen to this cd, u will want to buy another one, coz they are all amazing.

Thank you ABBA for the music.!!.

400 Million And Counting, 31 Jul 2008


Nineteen of ABBA's best songs are plenty, but you won't tire of them. It is amazing that four Swedes (Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as writers and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog as the main singers) could take such simple English cliches and turn them into pop music magic. Despite sometimes maddeningly simple lyrics, the song arrangements were unnervingly catchy and the multi-level layered compostions are fascinating. The keyboards and synthesizers were used in some of the more ingenious ways during the seventies to produce that unmistakeable ABBA sound. The energy and nearly anthemic enthusiasm eminating from each song marked them all as instant classics, no matter how jaded or synical the listener. It is doubtlful if you read the song list here that you would not know the melody. The one ironic thing about this groups phenomenal success, is that of over 400 million album sales, they only had one number one hit in the US - "Dancing Queen". But it is one heck of a great song.


Every home should have a copy!, 14 Jul 2008
This CD can change your day, your washing up, your chores and your mood into an all singing, all dancing feel good experience. It starts, no messing, straight in there, with Dancing Queen, surely one of the best dance floor fillers of all time. There's no dead wood on this album, all the old favourites are here: Chiquitita, Mamma Mia, Voulez Vous, Thank You For the Music and the beautifully written Winner Takes it All. I admire Benny and Bjorn so much as songwriters since not only do they produce perfect ageless pop songs (and there is such an art to it) but don't forget, their lyrics are written in their second language, not their first. Their talent amazes me and their music makes me feel grrrrreat. I defy anyone to play dancing queen and stand still and not feel that life is good. Worth the money and better than therapy.

Extremely pleased with this CD, 02 Mar 2005
ABBA was formed in 1972 by four great Swedish musicians (Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad - ABBA, get it?). Featuring wonderful vocals and bouncing instrumentation, plus enjoyable (if somewhat lightweight) lyrics, the group shot to international stardom, dominating charts around the world until their final breakup in 1982. This album was put together in 1993, and contains many of ABBA's most memorable tunes. As an added bonus, the paperwork contains a short history of the group, plus many colorful pictures.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this CD, and highly recommend it to everyone! By they way, I used this CD to introduce my own children to ABBA, and now they walk around singing some of the same songs that I did at their age!

THE BEST GREATEST HITS ALBUM EVER, 12 May 2004
I recently read an article on the most reputable American music magazine, Billboard Magazine, about this album being one of the top sellers worldwide of all time. It has sold 30 Million copies around the world, and here in UK it has sold almost 4 million copies! Then I learned that ABBA has sold over 350 million albums worldwide. Wow! Only the Beatles and Elvis have sold more, accoring to the article. I knew they had many number ones here in UK, but did not know they were so big in the world. The article explained that ABBA was bigger than the Beatles in many Latin American countries, in Russia, Viet Nam, Netherlands (where 3 out of every household owns an ABBA record) and in Australia.

I figured out I should give ABBA a try. i needed to understand why so many liked this group, and I did not even own one of their CDs.

I had only heard Dancing Queen, Waterloo, and Take A Chance On Me, so I bought this album. I am now an ABBA fan. I usually don't like pop, but ABBA has finally won me over. After several listens, I decided that I have never EVER heard melodies this good. They are fresh, timeless, and like U2's Bono said, "I think ABBA have a pure joy to their music, and that’s what makes them extraordinary!" The music is so joyous even when there is melancholy and drama added. The music is so much more complex than I had given ABBA credit for --- before really listening.

My favorite music acts are U2, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan. Now ABBA has joined them.

I did some research and found other quotes about ABBA from U2 members and others:

Bjork: “ABBA saved my life, it’s undeniable. Arrival is a happy record. ‘Dancing Queen’ is the biggest song in pop-music history, pure ecstasy, it makes you want to fly!”

Richard Ashcroft, from The Verve: "‘Dancing Queen’ is one of my favourite songs of all time’," "In ‘Dancing Queen,’ taking it as a songwriter, it’s just one of the most perfectly crafted pieces of pop music. It makes me feel good. Life is just moments, you know what I mean? And music’s about capturing those moments. Every time I hear ‘feel the beat of the tambourine/oh yeah’ it makes a chemical react in my brain. Something happens in my body and I feel good!"

Elvis Costello: “We stole them like crazy, and they dragged these things into pop music, these big double octave flourishes on the piano that seemed right straight out of Rachmaninoff”

The Edge, from U2: “ABBA have written the best pop music of all time.”

I agree completely. ABBA is way up there.

Not the best SACD by any means, 28 Oct 2008
I bought the special edition with the book, DVD, CDs with outtakes, auditions, missing pieces etc. But I also wanted to hear The War Of The Worlds in ultra high quality SACD.

Well, I feel let down. The quiet parts get cut, e.g. echoes pop in and out. It seems the recording engineer has cut all sound below a certain level from the mix tapes.

Going back to my original CD version, there is certainly more noise but there is also a hell of lot more depth to the sound. Playing them side by side, I hear a complete change in the mixes right the way through. I noticed that the vocals of the SACD are muted by comparison to the CD version.

This is not what SACD is about, this recording sounds like an early 80s digital recording, very reminiscent of those old Naxos classical CDs that sound terrible on a decent system, compressed and fading to silence abruptly in quiet passages (you should hear breathing, fumbling musicians, cars driving past outside etc. in a non-studio classical recording)

MADE MY XMAS IN '78 - STILL A CLASSIC ROCK ALBUM IN EVERY SENSE!, 27 May 2008
An absolute essential if you appreciate Classical, Rock and/or Science Fiction!
My earliest meeting with Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds was as a 10 year old lad in it's original year of release - and 30 years later, I'm still in love with one of the greatest alien invasion tales ever written (Also very fond of the 1953 film, but a little bit dissapointed by 2005's Spielberg epic - great FX though!). It was great on cassette back in the day, now it's AWESOME on compact disc!!!
What really makes Jeff Wayne's musical concept perhaps the best adaptation is that it's 100% faithful to the early 20th Century England setting. The juxtaposition of Martian technology & pre-World War One weaponry being a fascinating element of the apocalyptic story.
What you have is a combination of the cream of rock musicians & orchestral players all under the supreme guidance of Jeff Wayne who has written a masterful epic of progressive/symphonic rock allied to the best work of H.G.Wells.
Added to this are a fine ensemble of then popular performers such as David Essex & Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynnott (RIP)to bring the characters & story to life. Every performance is exemplary and reasonably faithful to H.G.Wells's landmark 1898 novel.
Richard Burton dominates the narration with his incredibly rich voice. Probably my favourite actor, VOCAL wise (check out the sadly ignored Medusa Touch from 1978))His passing in 1984 is still mourned today. Burton's rich timbre is especially effective in the opening prologue which sets the scene for the Martian's plot to destroy Mankind. I understand a CGI full length feature film is in progress and I am keenly awaiting this - hopefully it will come out this year!
The musicianship of course is Gold Star; one standout performer is four string maestro Herbie Flowers, Just listen to that bass guitar on "Horsell Common and the Heat Ray"! One of the best & most mind-invasive bass lines I've ever heard!
This is just big, epic music - progressive, symphonic rock with a strong theatrical element.
Opening piece "The Eve Of The War" is just massive with its HUGE strings & futuristic synths & rock guitars!
You might well like this if you are into The Trans-Siberian Orchestra or the admittedly much heavier, S&M album by Metallica.
Special mention for the stunning artwork both on the cover & in the liner notes. Simply beautiful, classy illustrations that are never forgotten!
Any lover of the 1898 novel, science fiction, progressive/symphonic rock and indeed classical really needs to invest in this CD - along with the Live DVD if not yet acquired...

Probably the best 5.1 mix...ever!, 10 Dec 2007
The 5.1 mix on this album, is to my mind, the best yet: albeit, I have only heard three 5.1 albums. The other two being Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd and Love by The Beatles. War of the worlds is way way better than the other two.

And, when I read the liner notes, I'm sure it said there were three mixes of the album contained on the SACDs. (1) the 5.1 SACD mix, (2) the SACD stereo mix and (3) a new, but regular CD stereo mix. Fantasitic! Buy it!

Perfect, 10 Dec 2007
I first heard Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds during a lesson at school when I was five years old; afterwards, the teacher let me take home the record to listen to again. I recall the excitement of the music, and browsing the accompanying booklet, looking at the art which depicted each track.
I'm now twenty-seven and still absolutely love this production. I'd recommend this CD to anyone. Indeed, I do recommend it to everyone!
Definitely worth five stars!

All-time classic, 09 Oct 2007

I remember hearing this album when I was a child (I'm now 25) and feeling excited and terrified at the same time.

The album is so well done it brings the listener right into the middle of the story, as a previous reviewer wrote it almost makes you check outside your own windows to make sure one of those terrible tripods isn't striding around your town! (I actually live in the same general area described in HG Wells original novel) you also experience some of the fear and the terror the people felt and really get to know the rich characters within the story especially some of the lunatics the journalist meets on his quest to find his wife amid the carnage and devastation wrought by the terrible, rampaging Martians.

I highly recommend this CD to any fans of War of the Worlds.

Is there anything which screams the 1970s most indelible pop cultural clichés-more than the Swedish pop phenomena Abba and their Definitive Collection? While many a pundit snootily dismissed them during their prime as some sort of prefabricated aberration, their worldwide popularity peaked somewhere just south of Beatlemania. Indeed, Abba's music was as finely tooled and crafted as anything to come from a Volvo or Ikea factory --if occasionally more economically potent. This double-disc, 37-track anthology comes neatly on the heels of Mama Mia, the smash, if unlikely, stage show based on the band's hits, and documents every single released by the band's Polar label in their home country was as well as key tracks released as singles elsewhere internationally.

When you hear the term "Europop," this is the canon from whence the term sprang. With a continental sense of vocal neo-classicism, informed by just the right ethnic clichés (and oft wed to the era's insistent 4/4 disco beat) to make songs like "Mama Mia", "Fernando", "Chiquitita" and "Voulez-Vous" work on a global scale, the writing team of Bjorn Ulvaeus/Benny Anderson and their respective partners in music and life, Agnetha Faltskog and Frida Lyngstad, developed the seamless, wall-of-sound productions contained herein. Definitive Collection features a rare single remix of "Ring, Ring" and a 1979 promo-only extended mix of "Voulez-Vous" as bonus tracks, as well as a concise, illustrated history of the band and each track. --Jerry McCulley

Abba: Gold shows why they will NEVER be forgotten, 30 Aug 2008
This compilation album needs little introduction as it has sold a zillion copies or something ;), and there is a reason for that. Nobody, not even The Beatles have created a finer collection of pop songs. Pop is often sneered at by some hoity toity music lovers, but there is no need. A finely crafted 3 minute pop tune can be just as meaningful and exquisite as any other piece of music. The tunes Bjorn & Benny created will live on forever, and the girls singing stays in your mind so very easily.

For me this is not their ultimate collection, as I liked more of the bitter-sweet songs they did like Eagle and The Day Before You Came. But that's a personal preference. This compilation contains all the biggest hits, including some of the camp/hi-nrg stuff that can be ever so slightly cringe-inducing nearly 30 years on. But that's just because things have moved on, leaving the production stuck in a point of time which can't be avoided and happens to all pop music.

Abba - a top class act and the ultimate pop band. No question about that.

Abba Gold: Ssssshh, don't tell anyone, but I'm putting Abba on., 18 Aug 2008
I've revisited this Album since my missus took an eager liking of the recent film translation of the musical Mamma Mia.

I've mentioned in my review of the soundtrack that I'm not a massive Abba fan, but there is something about the music that makes it incredibly likable. I'm not going to go through all the tracks on this double CD, but each song feels very independently crafted. No two sound the same.

There are no weak tracks here and the album is the perfect showcase for the pop phenomenon. Most cheesy pop songs over recent times have been basic stories of love, loss ...or lost love - but here there's a wide variation in subject matter. Most are to do with relationships, but they tend to tell a story rather than give a formulaic four minutes of music. This is no doubt one of the strengths of Abba, and a reason as to why this album is still popular today - it hasn't really dated. The spectrum of moods and types of music used is wider than what you'd usually find on a pop album, it is testament to the pure creative energy the group had and stops it from ever going stale.

In a nutshell: This goes beyond empty shallow pop music, it is a celebration of how creative genius can give birth to individual nuggets of musical gold. The tracks are incredibly catchy and they haunt you for hours after listening to them. This isn't great in the same way that a Bob Dylan album is great, there's no political message that will inspire you to stand up and be counted. This album is great because it uses sounds fresh and fun. Practically everyone is familiar with the majority of the tracks on this album, but it's only when you sit and listen to them that you appreciate how much work has gone into them. I'm not an Abba fan, but I do recognise the impact that this music has had - and I can't help but enjoy it when 'my wife puts it on'.


THE 'OTHER' FAB FOUR - NO LONGER A GUILTY PLEASURE, 04 Aug 2008
With interest in ABBA once again at a premium, thanks to the Mamma Mia Film and hugely successful musical, it's not surprising that this collection is once again at the top of the UK album charts and cruising to 26 million sales. ABBA themselves have'nt been a functioning band since 1982 when they released their last studio album The Visitors.
Time has been kind to the lagacy of the group and they now enjoy the kind of critical and commercial success afforded to true legends - Beatles, Queen, Who - where once they were considered sugary sweet and europap.
Gold is the perfect compilation collecting together all the major hits and presenting them, not in chronological order, but sequenced to construct a simply great listen.
The songs of Benny & Bjorn are beautifully crafted and constructed pop gems - 'Dancing Queen', 'Waterloo' (surely the greatest Eurovision song ever), 'The Winner Takes It All', 'Knowing Me Knowing You', 'SOS' - the hits just keep on coming. Those trademark Agnita & Frieda harmonies, clever studio arrangements and giant choruses are perfectly realised and even the lyrics, which were often derided in the 70's, are much better than you may remember.
Yes a sweet musical tooth is required and it is all, mostly, resolutely 'up' but if you are a fan of pop then Abba Gold is pure genius.

A PERFECT COLLECTION, 12 Jan 2008
AS A DEVOTEE OF ABBA I THINK THIS COLLECTION IS FIRST CLASS. ABBAS LYRICS ARE BRILLIANT, CATCHY, STORY TELLING SONGS WHICH FOR THE MOST PART STAND THE TEST OF TIME. OUTSTANDING TRACKS FOR ME FROM THIS COLLECTION WOULD BE SOS, THE NAME OF THE GAME, THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL ( AGNETHA AT HER MOST HEART WRENCHING) AND KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU. THIS COLLECTION CAN HOLD ITS HEAD UP AGAINST ANY OTHER.

ABBA song fest, 04 Oct 2007
when ABBA burst onto the scene in 1974 winning the eurovision song contest with 'Waterloo' the world was never going to be the same. some 33 years later, the world is still enthralled by them, spawning a highly succesful musical 'mamma mia' in the west end.

This CD includes all of their best known hits. 'Dancing queen' 'Take a chance on me' 'the name of the game' 'One of us' 'The winner takes it all'
'Thank you for the music' being just some of their major hits that make it onto this greatest hits album.

I was two years old when 'Dancing queen' came out in 1976, Just goes to prove, with quality music like this, the world never forgets.

ABBA IS THE BEST!!!, 17 Oct 2008
This cd is amazing, it sold over 26 million the year it came out, and now that it has been released it still is selling, ABBA has sold over 7,000 cd's every day!!!

The music on this cd is fantastic, best music there ever is, and the other ABBA cd is amazing music, all there music is fantastic, this cd is somethink that everyone should own cause it is fantastic, catchy, like

1. Dancing Queen
2. Take A Chance On Me
3. Chiquitita
4. Voulez-Vous
5. Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! (A Man After The Midnight)
6. Sooooooooo much more...

And there are amazing songs that capture the heart, like

1. The Winner Takes It All
2. One Of Us
3. Soooooooo much more...

ABBA has made so much amazing music is amazing, and they are the best band that ever lived..

I bet after u listen to this cd, u will want to buy another one, coz they are all amazing.

Thank you ABBA for the music.!!.

400 Million And Counting, 31 Jul 2008


Nineteen of ABBA's best songs are plenty, but you won't tire of them. It is amazing that four Swedes (Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as writers and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog as the main singers) could take such simple English cliches and turn them into pop music magic. Despite sometimes maddeningly simple lyrics, the song arrangements were unnervingly catchy and the multi-level layered compostions are fascinating. The keyboards and synthesizers were used in some of the more ingenious ways during the seventies to produce that unmistakeable ABBA sound. The energy and nearly anthemic enthusiasm eminating from each song marked them all as instant classics, no matter how jaded or synical the listener. It is doubtlful if you read the song list here that you would not know the melody. The one ironic thing about this groups phenomenal success, is that of over 400 million album sales, they only had one number one hit in the US - "Dancing Queen". But it is one heck of a great song.


Every home should have a copy!, 14 Jul 2008
This CD can change your day, your washing up, your chores and your mood into an all singing, all dancing feel good experience. It starts, no messing, straight in there, with Dancing Queen, surely one of the best dance floor fillers of all time. There's no dead wood on this album, all the old favourites are here: Chiquitita, Mamma Mia, Voulez Vous, Thank You For the Music and the beautifully written Winner Takes it All. I admire Benny and Bjorn so much as songwriters since not only do they produce perfect ageless pop songs (and there is such an art to it) but don't forget, their lyrics are written in their second language, not their first. Their talent amazes me and their music makes me feel grrrrreat. I defy anyone to play dancing queen and stand still and not feel that life is good. Worth the money and better than therapy.

Extremely pleased with this CD, 02 Mar 2005
ABBA was formed in 1972 by four great Swedish musicians (Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad - ABBA, get it?). Featuring wonderful vocals and bouncing instrumentation, plus enjoyable (if somewhat lightweight) lyrics, the group shot to international stardom, dominating charts around the world until their final breakup in 1982. This album was put together in 1993, and contains many of ABBA's most memorable tunes. As an added bonus, the paperwork contains a short history of the group, plus many colorful pictures.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this CD, and highly recommend it to everyone! By they way, I used this CD to introduce my own children to ABBA, and now they walk around singing some of the same songs that I did at their age!

THE BEST GREATEST HITS ALBUM EVER, 12 May 2004
I recently read an article on the most reputable American music magazine, Billboard Magazine, about this album being one of the top sellers worldwide of all time. It has sold 30 Million copies around the world, and here in UK it has sold almost 4 million copies! Then I learned that ABBA has sold over 350 million albums worldwide. Wow! Only the Beatles and Elvis have sold more, accoring to the article. I knew they had many number ones here in UK, but did not know they were so big in the world. The article explained that ABBA was bigger than the Beatles in many Latin American countries, in Russia, Viet Nam, Netherlands (where 3 out of every household owns an ABBA record) and in Australia.

I figured out I should give ABBA a try. i needed to understand why so many liked this group, and I did not even own one of their CDs.

I had only heard Dancing Queen, Waterloo, and Take A Chance On Me, so I bought this album. I am now an ABBA fan. I usually don't like pop, but ABBA has finally won me over. After several listens, I decided that I have never EVER heard melodies this good. They are fresh, timeless, and like U2's Bono said, "I think ABBA have a pure joy to their music, and that’s what makes them extraordinary!" The music is so joyous even when there is melancholy and drama added. The music is so much more complex than I had given ABBA credit for --- before really listening.

My favorite music acts are U2, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan. Now ABBA has joined them.

I did some research and found other quotes about ABBA from U2 members and others:

Bjork: “ABBA saved my life, it’s undeniable. Arrival is a happy record. ‘Dancing Queen’ is the biggest song in pop-music history, pure ecstasy, it makes you want to fly!”

Richard Ashcroft, from The Verve: "‘Dancing Queen’ is one of my favourite songs of all time’," "In ‘Dancing Queen,’ taking it as a songwriter, it’s just one of the most perfectly crafted pieces of pop music. It makes me feel good. Life is just moments, you know what I mean? And music’s about capturing those moments. Every time I hear ‘feel the beat of the tambourine/oh yeah’ it makes a chemical react in my brain. Something happens in my body and I feel good!"

Elvis Costello: “We stole them like crazy, and they dragged these things into pop music, these big double octave flourishes on the piano that seemed right straight out of Rachmaninoff”

The Edge, from U2: “ABBA have written the best pop music of all time.”

I agree completely. ABBA is way up there.

Not the best SACD by any means, 28 Oct 2008
I bought the special edition with the book, DVD, CDs with outtakes, auditions, missing pieces etc. But I also wanted to hear The War Of The Worlds in ultra high quality SACD.

Well, I feel let down. The quiet parts get cut, e.g. echoes pop in and out. It seems the recording engineer has cut all sound below a certain level from the mix tapes.

Going back to my original CD version, there is certainly more noise but there is also a hell of lot more depth to the sound. Playing them side by side, I hear a complete change in the mixes right the way through. I noticed that the vocals of the SACD are muted by comparison to the CD version.

This is not what SACD is about, this recording sounds like an early 80s digital recording, very reminiscent of those old Naxos classical CDs that sound terrible on a decent system, compressed and fading to silence abruptly in quiet passages (you should hear breathing, fumbling musicians, cars driving past outside etc. in a non-studio classical recording)

MADE MY XMAS IN '78 - STILL A CLASSIC ROCK ALBUM IN EVERY SENSE!, 27 May 2008
An absolute essential if you appreciate Classical, Rock and/or Science Fiction!
My earliest meeting with Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds was as a 10 year old lad in it's original year of release - and 30 years later, I'm still in love with one of the greatest alien invasion tales ever written (Also very fond of the 1953 film, but a little bit dissapointed by 2005's Spielberg epic - great FX though!). It was great on cassette back in the day, now it's AWESOME on compact disc!!!
What really makes Jeff Wayne's musical concept perhaps the best adaptation is that it's 100% faithful to the early 20th Century England setting. The juxtaposition of Martian technology & pre-World War One weaponry being a fascinating element of the apocalyptic story.
What you have is a combination of the cream of rock musicians & orchestral players all under the supreme guidance of Jeff Wayne who has written a masterful epic of progressive/symphonic rock allied to the best work of H.G.Wells.
Added to this are a fine ensemble of then popular performers such as David Essex & Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynnott (RIP)to bring the characters & story to life. Every performance is exemplary and reasonably faithful to H.G.Wells's landmark 1898 novel.
Richard Burton dominates the narration with his incredibly rich voice. Probably my favourite actor, VOCAL wise (check out the sadly ignored Medusa Touch from 1978))His passing in 1984 is still mourned today. Burton's rich timbre is especially effective in the opening prologue which sets the scene for the Martian's plot to destroy Mankind. I understand a CGI full length feature film is in progress and I am keenly awaiting this - hopefully it will come out this year!
The musicianship of course is Gold Star; one standout performer is four string maestro Herbie Flowers, Just listen to that bass guitar on "Horsell Common and the Heat Ray"! One of the best & most mind-invasive bass lines I've ever heard!
This is just big, epic music - progressive, symphonic rock with a strong theatrical element.
Opening piece "The Eve Of The War" is just massive with its HUGE strings & futuristic synths & rock guitars!
You might well like this if you are into The Trans-Siberian Orchestra or the admittedly much heavier, S&M album by Metallica.
Special mention for the stunning artwork both on the cover & in the liner notes. Simply beautiful, classy illustrations that are never forgotten!
Any lover of the 1898 novel, science fiction, progressive/symphonic rock and indeed classical really needs to invest in this CD - along with the Live DVD if not yet acquired...

Probably the best 5.1 mix...ever!, 10 Dec 2007
The 5.1 mix on this album, is to my mind, the best yet: albeit, I have only heard three 5.1 albums. The other two being Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd and Love by The Beatles. War of the worlds is way way better than the other two.

And, when I read the liner notes, I'm sure it said there were three mixes of the album contained on the SACDs. (1) the 5.1 SACD mix, (2) the SACD stereo mix and (3) a new, but regular CD stereo mix. Fantasitic! Buy it!

Perfect, 10 Dec 2007
I first heard Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds during a lesson at school when I was five years old; afterwards, the teacher let me take home the record to listen to again. I recall the excitement of the music, and browsing the accompanying booklet, looking at the art which depicted each track.
I'm now twenty-seven and still absolutely love this production. I'd recommend this CD to anyone. Indeed, I do recommend it to everyone!
Definitely worth five stars!

All-time classic, 09 Oct 2007

I remember hearing this album when I was a child (I'm now 25) and feeling excited and terrified at the same time.

The album is so well done it brings the listener right into the middle of the story, as a previous reviewer wrote it almost makes you check outside your own windows to make sure one of those terrible tripods isn't striding around your town! (I actually live in the same general area described in HG Wells original novel) you also experience some of the fear and the terror the people felt and really get to know the rich characters within the story especially some of the lunatics the journalist meets on his quest to find his wife amid the carnage and devastation wrought by the terrible, rampaging Martians.

I highly recommend this CD to any fans of War of the Worlds.

The real deal, 15 Aug 2008
For all its world-conquering success, ABBA Gold didn't really "rehabilitate" ABBA. The casual track sequencing and the choice of only the biggest hits means that a lot of good stuff was missed. The kitsch that dogged the early part of ABBA's career seems to be reinforced.

With The Definitive Collection, however, you get (a) all of the tracks that appear on Gold, (b) plus the additional gems that couldn't be included on Gold, and (c) very elegant packaging.

Another great plus with this set is that the tracks are sequenced chronologically. This makes it easier to see how the group progressed from their somewhat "innocent" early days to their remarkably affecting early 80s output. The big hits are well known and have been discussed ad infinitum. But the second disc (1979 to 1982) is loaded with beauties that don't get the attention they deserve: for instance, skip straight to The Visitors, When All Is Said And Done and The Day Before You Came to see how brilliantly this band evolved as songwrters, as producers and as singers. With these diamonds added to the peachy pop hits that you know and love, The Definitive Collection is a far better bet - and ultimately more satisfying - than the instant sugar rush that is ABBA Gold. Get the Sound & Vision set with the matching DVD for the ultimate experience.





Mamma Mia!, 14 Jul 2008
Abba's best compilation so far if you're buying an abba album for the first time get this it's full of classics not one bad track on this cd this is a must buy! 10/10 now this is what i call music and not the mamma mia soundtrack!

ABBA IS THE BEST!!, 02 Mar 2008
La mejor recopilacion de uno de los mejores grupos de todos los tiempos, y todas las canciones ordenadas de forma cronologica, y un folleto donde se resume muy bien toda su historia, con muchas fotos de todas sus etapas de modo que uno puede ir siguiendo toda su trayectoria como grupo musical; las canciones, simplemente INCREIBLES, desde la sencilla "RING, RING" hasta canciones mas complicadas como "THE WINNER TAKES IT AT ALL"; sin faltar piezas inolvidables como "CHIQUITITA", "I DO I DO I DO", "WATERLOO", "DANCING QUEEN" y "TAKE A CHANCE ON ME"; incluso hay canciones que yo no conocia, como "HONEY HONEY", "ONE OF US" y "PEOPLE NEED LOVE", muy buenas tambien; SIMPLEMENTE LO MEJOR!!!

Not "prog", but they did progress, 20 Jan 2008
OK, they will never be regarded as prog in the way that Yes are, and Genesis were - thank God - not even in the way The Beatles progressed, but there is no doubt that they progressed without, thankfully, loosing the great melodies, superb harmonies, and pop sensibilities. Their lyrical content progressed in terms of maturing, and towards the end the melancholy was obvious without being maudlin. Their break-up songs far exceed Fleetwood Mac's Rumours efforts. This is pop for adults, and a true example of real synergy - the "B"'s writing and the "A"'s harmonious singing. I've a feeling "best of.." 2CD sets will appear regularly for decades.

The best Abba compilation of all, 02 Aug 2007
Abba Gold might be the ideal Abba hits album for most, but this more comprehensive compilation is the ultimate Abba hits package.

It includes all the official singles, plus several tracks released as singles in significant countries. It is the only Abba compilation to include ALL of Abba's UK singles - therefore the UK hits Lay All Your Love on Me, Angeleyes, Thank You For The Music and the single remix of Ring Ring (none of which are classed as "official" singles) are all here.

Unlike Abba Gold, the running order is chronological, telling the story of Abba from beginning to end.

The "rarities" on here are the 1974 single remix of Ring Ring, the extended version of Voulez-Vous and the 1999 re-edit of Eagle.

Clearly a lot of thought went into this compilation, unlike the more recent Number Ones. Abba expert Carl Magnus Palm was involved in selecting the tracks, and it shows. Even the cover artwork nicely re-uses the tasteful photo of Abba from 1979's Greatest Hits Vol 2 (never widely released on CD).

This is the album to get if you want more than Abba Gold can offer.

Abba: Gold shows why they will NEVER be forgotten, 30 Aug 2008
This compilation album needs little introduction as it has sold a zillion copies or something ;), and there is a reason for that. Nobody, not even The Beatles have created a finer collection of pop songs. Pop is often sneered at by some hoity toity music lovers, but there is no need. A finely crafted 3 minute pop tune can be just as meaningful and exquisite as any other piece of music. The tunes Bjorn & Benny created will live on forever, and the girls singing stays in your mind so very easily.

For me this is not their ultimate collection, as I liked more of the bitter-sweet songs they did like Eagle and The Day Before You Came. But that's a personal preference. This compilation contains all the biggest hits, including some of the camp/hi-nrg stuff that can be ever so slightly cringe-inducing nearly 30 years on. But that's just because things have moved on, leaving the production stuck in a point of time which can't be avoided and happens to all pop music.

Abba - a top class act and the ultimate pop band. No question about that.

Abba Gold: Ssssshh, don't tell anyone, but I'm putting Abba on., 18 Aug 2008
I've revisited this Album since my missus took an eager liking of the recent film translation of the musical Mamma Mia.

I've mentioned in my review of the soundtrack that I'm not a massive Abba fan, but there is something about the music that makes it incredibly likable. I'm not going to go through all the tracks on this double CD, but each song feels very independently crafted. No two sound the same.

There are no weak tracks here and the album is the perfect showcase for the pop phenomenon. Most cheesy pop songs over recent times have been basic stories of love, loss ...or lost love - but here there's a wide variation in subject matter. Most are to do with relationships, but they tend to tell a story rather than give a formulaic four minutes of music. This is no doubt one of the strengths of Abba, and a reason as to why this album is still popular today - it hasn't really dated. The spectrum of moods and types of music used is wider than what you'd usually find on a pop album, it is testament to the pure creative energy the group had and stops it from ever going stale.

In a nutshell: This goes beyond empty shallow pop music, it is a celebration of how creative genius can give birth to individual nuggets of musical gold. The tracks are incredibly catchy and they haunt you for hours after listening to them. This isn't great in the same way that a Bob Dylan album is great, there's no political message that will inspire you to stand up and be counted. This album is great because it uses sounds fresh and fun. Practically everyone is familiar with the majority of the tracks on this album, but it's only when you sit and listen to them that you appreciate how much work has gone into them. I'm not an Abba fan, but I do recognise the impact that this music has had - and I can't help but enjoy it when 'my wife puts it on'.


THE 'OTHER' FAB FOUR - NO LONGER A GUILTY PLEASURE, 04 Aug 2008
With interest in ABBA once again at a premium, thanks to the Mamma Mia Film and hugely successful musical, it's not surprising that this collection is once again at the top of the UK album charts and cruising to 26 million sales. ABBA themselves have'nt been a functioning band since 1982 when they released their last studio album The Visitors.
Time has been kind to the lagacy of the group and they now enjoy the kind of critical and commercial success afforded to true legends - Beatles, Queen, Who - where once they were considered sugary sweet and europap.
Gold is the perfect compilation collecting together all the major hits and presenting them, not in chronological order, but sequenced to construct a simply great listen.
The songs of Benny & Bjorn are beautifully crafted and constructed pop gems - 'Dancing Queen', 'Waterloo' (surely the greatest Eurovision song ever), 'The Winner Takes It All', 'Knowing Me Knowing You', 'SOS' - the hits just keep on coming. Those trademark Agnita & Frieda harmonies, clever studio arrangements and giant choruses are perfectly realised and even the lyrics, which were often derided in the 70's, are much better than you may remember.
Yes a sweet musical tooth is required and it is all, mostly, resolutely 'up' but if you are a fan of pop then Abba Gold is pure genius.

A PERFECT COLLECTION, 12 Jan 2008
AS A DEVOTEE OF ABBA I THINK THIS COLLECTION IS FIRST CLASS. ABBAS LYRICS ARE BRILLIANT, CATCHY, STORY TELLING SONGS WHICH FOR THE MOST PART STAND THE TEST OF TIME. OUTSTANDING TRACKS FOR ME FROM THIS COLLECTION WOULD BE SOS, THE NAME OF THE GAME, THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL ( AGNETHA AT HER MOST HEART WRENCHING) AND KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU. THIS COLLECTION CAN HOLD ITS HEAD UP AGAINST ANY OTHER.

ABBA song fest, 04 Oct 2007
when ABBA burst onto the scene in 1974 winning the eurovision song contest with 'Waterloo' the world was never going to be the same. some 33 years later, the world is still enthralled by them, spawning a highly succesful musical 'mamma mia' in the west end.

This CD includes all of their best known hits. 'Dancing queen' 'Take a chance on me' 'the name of the game' 'One of us' 'The winner takes it all'
'Thank you for the music' being just some of their major hits that make it onto this greatest hits album.

I was two years old when 'Dancing queen' came out in 1976, Just goes to prove, with quality music like this, the world never forgets.

ABBA IS THE BEST!!!, 17 Oct 2008
This cd is amazing, it sold over 26 million the year it came out, and now that it has been released it still is selling, ABBA has sold over 7,000 cd's every day!!!

The music on this cd is fantastic, best music there ever is, and the other ABBA cd is amazing music, all there music is fantastic, this cd is somethink that everyone should own cause it is fantastic, catchy, like

1. Dancing Queen
2. Take A Chance On Me
3. Chiquitita
4. Voulez-Vous
5. Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! (A Man After The Midnight)
6. Sooooooooo much more...

And there are amazing songs that capture the heart, like

1. The Winner Takes It All
2. One Of Us
3. Soooooooo much more...

ABBA has made so much amazing music is amazing, and they are the best band that ever lived..

I bet after u listen to this cd, u will want to buy another one, coz they are all amazing.

Thank you ABBA for the music.!!.

400 Million And Counting, 31 Jul 2008


Nineteen of ABBA's best songs are plenty, but you won't tire of them. It is amazing that four Swedes (Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as writers and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog as the main singers) could take such simple English cliches and turn them into pop music magic. Despite sometimes maddeningly simple lyrics, the song arrangements were unnervingly catchy and the multi-level layered compostions are fascinating. The keyboards and synthesizers were used in some of the more ingenious ways during the seventies to produce that unmistakeable ABBA sound. The energy and nearly anthemic enthusiasm eminating from each song marked them all as instant classics, no matter how jaded or synical the listener. It is doubtlful if you read the song list here that you would not know the melody. The one ironic thing about this groups phenomenal success, is that of over 400 million album sales, they only had one number one hit in the US - "Dancing Queen". But it is one heck of a great song.


Every home should have a copy!, 14 Jul 2008
This CD can change your day, your washing up, your chores and your mood into an all singing, all dancing feel good experience. It starts, no messing, straight in there, with Dancing Queen, surely one of the best dance floor fillers of all time. There's no dead wood on this album, all the old favourites are here: Chiquitita, Mamma Mia, Voulez Vous, Thank You For the Music and the beautifully written Winner Takes it All. I admire Benny and Bjorn so much as songwriters since not only do they produce perfect ageless pop songs (and there is such an art to it) but don't forget, their lyrics are written in their second language, not their first. Their talent amazes me and their music makes me feel grrrrreat. I defy anyone to play dancing queen and stand still and not feel that life is good. Worth the money and better than therapy.

Extremely pleased with this CD, 02 Mar 2005
ABBA was formed in 1972 by four great Swedish musicians (Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad - ABBA, get it?). Featuring wonderful vocals and bouncing instrumentation, plus enjoyable (if somewhat lightweight) lyrics, the group shot to international stardom, dominating charts around the world until their final breakup in 1982. This album was put together in 1993, and contains many of ABBA's most memorable tunes. As an added bonus, the paperwork contains a short history of the group, plus many colorful pictures.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this CD, and highly recommend it to everyone! By they way, I used this CD to introduce my own children to ABBA, and now they walk around singing some of the same songs that I did at their age!

THE BEST GREATEST HITS ALBUM EVER, 12 May 2004
I recently read an article on the most reputable American music magazine, Billboard Magazine, about this album being one of the top sellers worldwide of all time. It has sold 30 Million copies around the world, and here in UK it has sold almost 4 million copies! Then I learned that ABBA has sold over 350 million albums worldwide. Wow! Only the Beatles and Elvis have sold more, accoring to the article. I knew they had many number ones here in UK, but did not know they were so big in the world. The article explained that ABBA was bigger than the Beatles in many Latin American countries, in Russia, Viet Nam, Netherlands (where 3 out of every household owns an ABBA record) and in Australia.

I figured out I should give ABBA a try. i needed to understand why so many liked this group, and I did not even own one of their CDs.

I had only heard Dancing Queen, Waterloo, and Take A Chance On Me, so I bought this album. I am now an ABBA fan. I usually don't like pop, but ABBA has finally won me over. After several listens, I decided that I have never EVER heard melodies this good. They are fresh, timeless, and like U2's Bono said, "I think ABBA have a pure joy to their music, and that’s what makes them extraordinary!" The music is so joyous even when there is melancholy and drama added. The music is so much more complex than I had given ABBA credit for --- before really listening.

My favorite music acts are U2, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan. Now ABBA has joined them.

I did some research and found other quotes about ABBA from U2 members and others:

Bjork: “ABBA saved my life, it’s undeniable. Arrival is a happy record. ‘Dancing Queen’ is the biggest song in pop-music history, pure ecstasy, it makes you want to fly!”

Richard Ashcroft, from The Verve: "‘Dancing Queen’ is one of my favourite songs of all time’," "In ‘Dancing Queen,’ taking it as a songwriter, it’s just one of the most perfectly crafted pieces of pop music. It makes me feel good. Life is just moments, you know what I mean? And music’s about capturing those moments. Every time I hear ‘feel the beat of the tambourine/oh yeah’ it makes a chemical react in my brain. Something happens in my body and I feel good!"

Elvis Costello: “We stole them like crazy, and they dragged these things into pop music, these big double octave flourishes on the piano that seemed right straight out of Rachmaninoff”

The Edge, from U2: “ABBA have written the best pop music of all time.”

I agree completely. ABBA is way up there.

Not the best SACD by any means, 28 Oct 2008
I bought the special edition with the book, DVD, CDs with outtakes, auditions, missing pieces etc. But I also wanted to hear The War Of The Worlds in ultra high quality SACD.

Well, I feel let down. The quiet parts get cut, e.g. echoes pop in and out. It seems the recording engineer has cut all sound below a certain level from the mix tapes.

Going back to my original CD version, there is certainly more noise but there is also a hell of lot more depth to the sound. Playing them side by side, I hear a complete change in the mixes right the way through. I noticed that the vocals of the SACD are muted by comparison to the CD version.

This is not what SACD is about, this recording sounds like an early 80s digital recording, very reminiscent of those old Naxos classical CDs that sound terrible on a decent system, compressed and fading to silence abruptly in quiet passages (you should hear breathing, fumbling musicians, cars driving past outside etc. in a non-studio classical recording)

MADE MY XMAS IN '78 - STILL A CLASSIC ROCK ALBUM IN EVERY SENSE!, 27 May 2008
An absolute essential if you appreciate Classical, Rock and/or Science Fiction!
My earliest meeting with Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds was as a 10 year old lad in it's original year of release - and 30 years later, I'm still in love with one of the greatest alien invasion tales ever written (Also very fond of the 1953 film, but a little bit dissapointed by 2005's Spielberg epic - great FX though!). It was great on cassette back in the day, now it's AWESOME on compact disc!!!
What really makes Jeff Wayne's musical concept perhaps the best adaptation is that it's 100% faithful to the early 20th Century England setting. The juxtaposition of Martian technology & pre-World War One weaponry being a fascinating element of the apocalyptic story.
What you have is a combination of the cream of rock musicians & orchestral players all under the supreme guidance of Jeff Wayne who has written a masterful epic of progressive/symphonic rock allied to the best work of H.G.Wells.
Added to this are a fine ensemble of then popular performers such as David Essex & Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynnott (RIP)to bring the characters & story to life. Every performance is exemplary and reasonably faithful to H.G.Wells's landmark 1898 novel.
Richard Burton dominates the narration with his incredibly rich voice. Probably my favourite actor, VOCAL wise (check out the sadly ignored Medusa Touch from 1978))His passing in 1984 is still mourned today. Burton's rich timbre is especially effective in the opening prologue which sets the scene for the Martian's plot to destroy Mankind. I understand a CGI full length feature film is in progress and I am keenly awaiting this - hopefully it will come out this year!
The musicianship of course is Gold Star; one standout performer is four string maestro Herbie Flowers, Just listen to that bass guitar on "Horsell Common and the Heat Ray"! One of the best & most mind-invasive bass lines I've ever heard!
This is just big, epic music - progressive, symphonic rock with a strong theatrical element.
Opening piece "The Eve Of The War" is just massive with its HUGE strings & futuristic synths & rock guitars!
You might well like this if you are into The Trans-Siberian Orchestra or the admittedly much heavier, S&M album by Metallica.
Special mention for the stunning artwork both on the cover & in the liner notes. Simply beautiful, classy illustrations that are never forgotten!
Any lover of the 1898 novel, science fiction, progressive/symphonic rock and indeed classical really needs to invest in this CD - along with the Live DVD if not yet acquired...

Probably the best 5.1 mix...ever!, 10 Dec 2007
The 5.1 mix on this album, is to my mind, the best yet: albeit, I have only heard three 5.1 albums. The other two being Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd and Love by The Beatles. War of the worlds is way way better than the other two.

And, when I read the liner notes, I'm sure it said there were three mixes of the album contained on the SACDs. (1) the 5.1 SACD mix, (2) the SACD stereo mix and (3) a new, but regular CD stereo mix. Fantasitic! Buy it!

Perfect, 10 Dec 2007
I first heard Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds during a lesson at school when I was five years old; afterwards, the teacher let me take home the record to listen to again. I recall the excitement of the music, and browsing the accompanying booklet, looking at the art which depicted each track.
I'm now twenty-seven and still absolutely love this production. I'd recommend this CD to anyone. Indeed, I do recommend it to everyone!
Definitely worth five stars!

All-time classic, 09 Oct 2007

I remember hearing this album when I was a child (I'm now 25) and feeling excited and terrified at the same time.

The album is so well done it brings the listener right into the middle of the story, as a previous reviewer wrote it almost makes you check outside your own windows to make sure one of those terrible tripods isn't striding around your town! (I actually live in the same general area described in HG Wells original novel) you also experience some of the fear and the terror the people felt and really get to know the rich characters within the story especially some of the lunatics the journalist meets on his quest to find his wife amid the carnage and devastation wrought by the terrible, rampaging Martians.

I highly recommend this CD to any fans of War of the Worlds.

The real deal, 15 Aug 2008
For all its world-conquering success, ABBA Gold didn't really "rehabilitate" ABBA. The casual track sequencing and the choice of only the biggest hits means that a lot of good stuff was missed. The kitsch that dogged the early part of ABBA's career seems to be reinforced.

With The Definitive Collection, however, you get (a) all of the tracks that appear on Gold, (b) plus the additional gems that couldn't be included on Gold, and (c) very elegant packaging.

Another great plus with this set is that the tracks are sequenced chronologically. This makes it easier to see how the group progressed from their somewhat "innocent" early days to their remarkably affecting early 80s output. The big hits are well known and have been discussed ad infinitum. But the second disc (1979 to 1982) is loaded with beauties that don't get the attention they deserve: for instance, skip straight to The Visitors, When All Is Said And Done and The Day Before You Came to see how brilliantly this band evolved as songwrters, as producers and as singers. With these diamonds added to the peachy pop hits that you know and love, The Definitive Collection is a far better bet - and ultimately more satisfying - than the instant sugar rush that is ABBA Gold. Get the Sound & Vision set with the matching DVD for the ultimate experience.





Mamma Mia!, 14 Jul 2008
Abba's best compilation so far if you're buying an abba album for the first time get this it's full of classics not one bad track on this cd this is a must buy! 10/10 now this is what i call music and not the mamma mia soundtrack!

ABBA IS THE BEST!!, 02 Mar 2008
La mejor recopilacion de uno de los mejores grupos de todos los tiempos, y todas las canciones ordenadas de forma cronologica, y un folleto donde se resume muy bien toda su historia, con muchas fotos de todas sus etapas de modo que uno puede ir siguiendo toda su trayectoria como grupo musical; las canciones, simplemente INCREIBLES, desde la sencilla "RING, RING" hasta canciones mas complicadas como "THE WINNER TAKES IT AT ALL"; sin faltar piezas inolvidables como "CHIQUITITA", "I DO I DO I DO", "WATERLOO", "DANCING QUEEN" y "TAKE A CHANCE ON ME"; incluso hay canciones que yo no conocia, como "HONEY HONEY", "ONE OF US" y "PEOPLE NEED LOVE", muy buenas tambien; SIMPLEMENTE LO MEJOR!!!

Not "prog", but they did progress, 20 Jan 2008
OK, they will never be regarded as prog in the way that Yes are, and Genesis were - thank God - not even in the way The Beatles progressed, but there is no doubt that they progressed without, thankfully, loosing the great melodies, superb harmonies, and pop sensibilities. Their lyrical content progressed in terms of maturing, and towards the end the melancholy was obvious without being maudlin. Their break-up songs far exceed Fleetwood Mac's Rumours efforts. This is pop for adults, and a true example of real synergy - the "B"'s writing and the "A"'s harmonious singing. I've a feeling "best of.." 2CD sets will appear regularly for decades.

The best Abba compilation of all, 02 Aug 2007
Abba Gold might be the ideal Abba hits album for most, but this more comprehensive compilation is the ultimate Abba hits package.

It includes all the official singles, plus several tracks released as singles in significant countries. It is the only Abba compilation to include ALL of Abba's UK singles - therefore the UK hits Lay All Your Love on Me, Angeleyes, Thank You For The Music and the single remix of Ring Ring (none of which are classed as "official" singles) are all here.

Unlike Abba Gold, the running order is chronological, telling the story of Abba from beginning to end.

The "rarities" on here are the 1974 single remix of Ring Ring, the extended version of Voulez-Vous and the 1999 re-edit of Eagle.

Clearly a lot of thought went into this compilation, unlike the more recent Number Ones. Abba expert Carl Magnus Palm was involved in selecting the tracks, and it shows. Even the cover artwork nicely re-uses the tasteful photo of Abba from 1979's Greatest Hits Vol 2 (never widely released on CD).

This is the album to get if you want more than Abba Gold can offer.

Blonde on Blondie, 19 Jul 2008
Excellent CD well put together compilation of Hits - great to listen to well worth buying.

Sheer Brilliance!, 09 Jul 2008
This was the first CD from Blondie I bought at HMV and i'm certainly not sorry that I did.
"Greatest Hits" really is a superb collection with many brilliant house-hold name songs in the track listing. Once more, the sound is excellent and there isn't one bad track on the disc.
Do yourself a favour a buy this CD, you will not regret it as it's the perfect introduction to one of the truely great bands of all time.

THIS CD GOT ME INTO BLONDIE!, 11 Mar 2008
One day, about five years ago I was browsing thought my local supermaket for a cd. This eye catching red cd caught my attention I never heard of Blondie until I bought this cd! "Heart of Glass" and "Atomic" are defiantly my favourite tracks. This is the only Blondie hits complutation to ever be remastered and all the tracks sound great, the front cover is one of the rare photos taken of the group by Chris Rock. Five years on and I know everything about Blondie and they have to be one of my alltime favourite bands. Its a shame a lot people don't know about this amazing band! I recommend this cd above other compluations for the price and the high quality.

Still sound great 20 years later, 02 Aug 2007
If you are in a band and want to retain some artistic control over your music, then please listen to this album. Blondie was and is still one of the best pop groups of its generation. Yes, yes, I know they started off originally as a pseudo punk band, but good bands evolve and that is what Blondie did. Its not often if at all you hear groups singing in French (Sunday Girl and Denis) or the fact that Debbie Harry was rapping 20 years before rap become fashionable.

This album has everything, from the first track with the sublime lyrics... "When I met you at the restaurant, you could tell I was no debutante". Go on try it, you won't be dissappointed.

BLONDIE, 01 Aug 2007
Excellent album!! My g/f loves it!
I bought it for her as a present as she likes Blondie, and it is a truly wonderful piece of work as there is no one bad song on this album!
What else made me happy was the low price for this album too, thats a bargin and I suggest any one into punk/rock today to buy this as its a work of art!

This is the perfect way to hear Madonna: no album filler, just one hit after another. As a singles artist, she works wonders: quick, danceable tunes that are occasionally "controversial" but never set out to change the world (and don't). The Immaculate Collection begins with her earliest work ("Holiday", "Borderline") and matures from there ("Papa Don't Preach", "Like A Prayer"), ending in 1990. The highlight is the inclusion of "Justify My Love", a track recorded specifically for this compilation. One caveat: since Madonna is a true video artist, it'd be even nicer to "see" these songs. --Rob O'Connor

Abba: Gold shows why they will NEVER be forgotten, 30 Aug 2008
This compilation album needs little introduction as it has sold a zillion copies or something ;), and there is a reason for that. Nobody, not even The Beatles have created a finer collection of pop songs. Pop is often sneered at by some hoity toity music lovers, but there is no need. A finely crafted 3 minute pop tune can be just as meaningful and exquisite as any other piece of music. The tunes Bjorn & Benny created will live on forever, and the girls singing stays in your mind so very easily.

For me this is not their ultimate collection, as I liked more of the bitter-sweet songs they did like Eagle and The Day Before You Came. But that's a personal preference. This compilation contains all the biggest hits, including some of the camp/hi-nrg stuff that can be ever so slightly cringe-inducing nearly 30 years on. But that's just because things have moved on, leaving the production stuck in a point of time which can't be avoided and happens to all pop music.

Abba - a top class act and the ultimate pop band. No question about that.

Abba Gold: Ssssshh, don't tell anyone, but I'm putting Abba on., 18 Aug 2008
I've revisited this Album since my missus took an eager liking of the recent film translation of the musical Mamma Mia.

I've mentioned in my review of the soundtrack that I'm not a massive Abba fan, but there is something about the music that makes it incredibly likable. I'm not going to go through all the tracks on this double CD, but each song feels very independently crafted. No two sound the same.

There are no weak tracks here and the album is the perfect showcase for the pop phenomenon. Most cheesy pop songs over recent times have been basic stories of love, loss ...or lost love - but here there's a wide variation in subject matter. Most are to do with relationships, but they tend to tell a story rather than give a formulaic four minutes of music. This is no doubt one of the strengths of Abba, and a reason as to why this album is still popular today - it hasn't really dated. The spectrum of moods and types of music used is wider than what you'd usually find on a pop album, it is testament to the pure creative energy the group had and stops it from ever going stale.

In a nutshell: This goes beyond empty shallow pop music, it is a celebration of how creative genius can give birth to individual nuggets of musical gold. The tracks are incredibly catchy and they haunt you for hours after listening to them. This isn't great in the same way that a Bob Dylan album is great, there's no political message that will inspire you to stand up and be counted. This album is great because it uses sounds fresh and fun. Practically everyone is familiar with the majority of the tracks on this album, but it's only when you sit and listen to them that you appreciate how much work has gone into them. I'm not an Abba fan, but I do recognise the impact that this music has had - and I can't help but enjoy it when 'my wife puts it on'.


THE 'OTHER' FAB FOUR - NO LONGER A GUILTY PLEASURE, 04 Aug 2008
With interest in ABBA once again at a premium, thanks to the Mamma Mia Film and hugely successful musical, it's not surprising that this collection is once again at the top of the UK album charts and cruising to 26 million sales. ABBA themselves have'nt been a functioning band since 1982 when they released their last studio album The Visitors.
Time has been kind to the lagacy of the group and they now enjoy the kind of critical and commercial success afforded to true legends - Beatles, Queen, Who - where once they were considered sugary sweet and europap.
Gold is the perfect compilation collecting together all the major hits and presenting them, not in chronological order, but sequenced to construct a simply great listen.
The songs of Benny & Bjorn are beautifully crafted and constructed pop gems - 'Dancing Queen', 'Waterloo' (surely the greatest Eurovision song ever), 'The Winner Takes It All', 'Knowing Me Knowing You', 'SOS' - the hits just keep on coming. Those trademark Agnita & Frieda harmonies, clever studio arrangements and giant choruses are perfectly realised and even the lyrics, which were often derided in the 70's, are much better than you may remember.
Yes a sweet musical tooth is required and it is all, mostly, resolutely 'up' but if you are a fan of pop then Abba Gold is pure genius.

A PERFECT COLLECTION, 12 Jan 2008
AS A DEVOTEE OF ABBA I THINK THIS COLLECTION IS FIRST CLASS. ABBAS LYRICS ARE BRILLIANT, CATCHY, STORY TELLING SONGS WHICH FOR THE MOST PART STAND THE TEST OF TIME. OUTSTANDING TRACKS FOR ME FROM THIS COLLECTION WOULD BE SOS, THE NAME OF THE GAME, THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL ( AGNETHA AT HER MOST HEART WRENCHING) AND KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU. THIS COLLECTION CAN HOLD ITS HEAD UP AGAINST ANY OTHER.

ABBA song fest, 04 Oct 2007
when ABBA burst onto the scene in 1974 winning the eurovision song contest with 'Waterloo' the world was never going to be the same. some 33 years later, the world is still enthralled by them, spawning a highly succesful musical 'mamma mia' in the west end.

This CD includes all of their best known hits. 'Dancing queen' 'Take a chance on me' 'the name of the game' 'One of us' 'The winner takes it all'
'Thank you for the music' being just some of their major hits that make it onto this greatest hits album.

I was two years old when 'Dancing queen' came out in 1976, Just goes to prove, with quality music like this, the world never forgets.

ABBA IS THE BEST!!!, 17 Oct 2008
This cd is amazing, it sold over 26 million the year it came out, and now that it has been released it still is selling, ABBA has sold over 7,000 cd's every day!!!

The music on this cd is fantastic, best music there ever is, and the other ABBA cd is amazing music, all there music is fantastic, this cd is somethink that everyone should own cause it is fantastic, catchy, like

1. Dancing Queen
2. Take A Chance On Me
3. Chiquitita
4. Voulez-Vous
5. Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! (A Man After The Midnight)
6. Sooooooooo much more...

And there are amazing songs that capture the heart, like

1. The Winner Takes It All
2. One Of Us
3. Soooooooo much more...

ABBA has made so much amazing music is amazing, and they are the best band that ever lived..

I bet after u listen to this cd, u will want to buy another one, coz they are all amazing.

Thank you ABBA for the music.!!.

400 Million And Counting, 31 Jul 2008


Nineteen of ABBA's best songs are plenty, but you won't tire of them. It is amazing that four Swedes (Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as writers and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog as the main singers) could take such simple English cliches and turn them into pop music magic. Despite sometimes maddeningly simple lyrics, the song arrangements were unnervingly catchy and the multi-level layered compostions are fascinating. The keyboards and synthesizers were used in some of the more ingenious ways during the seventies to produce that unmistakeable ABBA sound. The energy and nearly anthemic enthusiasm eminating from each song marked them all as instant classics, no matter how jaded or synical the listener. It is doubtlful if you read the song list here that you would not know the melody. The one ironic thing about this groups phenomenal success, is that of over 400 million album sales, they only had one number one hit in the US - "Dancing Queen". But it is one heck of a great song.


Every home should have a copy!, 14 Jul 2008
This CD can change your day, your washing up, your chores and your mood into an all singing, all dancing feel good experience. It starts, no messing, straight in there, with Dancing Queen, surely one of the best dance floor fillers of all time. There's no dead wood on this album, all the old favourites are here: Chiquitita, Mamma Mia, Voulez Vous, Thank You For the Music and the beautifully written Winner Takes it All. I admire Benny and Bjorn so much as songwriters since not only do they produce perfect ageless pop songs (and there is such an art to it) but don't forget, their lyrics are written in their second language, not their first. Their talent amazes me and their music makes me feel grrrrreat. I defy anyone to play dancing queen and stand still and not feel that life is good. Worth the money and better than therapy.

Extremely pleased with this CD, 02 Mar 2005
ABBA was formed in 1972 by four great Swedish musicians (Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad - ABBA, get it?). Featuring wonderful vocals and bouncing instrumentation, plus enjoyable (if somewhat lightweight) lyrics, the group shot to international stardom, dominating charts around the world until their final breakup in 1982. This album was put together in 1993, and contains many of ABBA's most memorable tunes. As an added bonus, the paperwork contains a short history of the group, plus many colorful pictures.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this CD, and highly recommend it to everyone! By they way, I used this CD to introduce my own children to ABBA, and now they walk around singing some of the same songs that I did at their age!

THE BEST GREATEST HITS ALBUM EVER, 12 May 2004
I recently read an article on the most reputable American music magazine, Billboard Magazine, about this album being one of the top sellers worldwide of all time. It has sold 30 Million copies around the world, and here in UK it has sold almost 4 million copies! Then I learned that ABBA has sold over 350 million albums worldwide. Wow! Only the Beatles and Elvis have sold more, accoring to the article. I knew they had many number ones here in UK, but did not know they were so big in the world. The article explained that ABBA was bigger than the Beatles in many Latin American countries, in Russia, Viet Nam, Netherlands (where 3 out of every household owns an ABBA record) and in Australia.

I figured out I should give ABBA a try. i needed to understand why so many liked this group, and I did not even own one of their CDs.

I had only heard Dancing Queen, Waterloo, and Take A Chance On Me, so I bought this album. I am now an ABBA fan. I usually don't like pop, but ABBA has finally won me over. After several listens, I decided that I have never EVER heard melodies this good. They are fresh, timeless, and like U2's Bono said, "I think ABBA have a pure joy to their music, and that’s what makes them extraordinary!" The music is so joyous even when there is melancholy and drama added. The music is so much more complex than I had given ABBA credit for --- before really listening.

My favorite music acts are U2, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan. Now ABBA has joined them.

I did some research and found other quotes about ABBA from U2 members and others:

Bjork: “ABBA saved my life, it’s undeniable. Arrival is a happy record. ‘Dancing Queen’ is the biggest song in pop-music history, pure ecstasy, it makes you want to fly!”

Richard Ashcroft, from The Verve: "‘Dancing Queen’ is one of my favourite songs of all time’," "In ‘Dancing Queen,’ taking it as a songwriter, it’s just one of the most perfectly crafted pieces of pop music. It makes me feel good. Life is just moments, you know what I mean? And music’s about capturing those moments. Every time I hear ‘feel the beat of the tambourine/oh yeah’ it makes a chemical react in my brain. Something happens in my body and I feel good!"

Elvis Costello: “We stole them like crazy, and they dragged these things into pop music, these big double octave flourishes on the piano that seemed right straight out of Rachmaninoff”

The Edge, from U2: “ABBA have written the best pop music of all time.”

I agree completely. ABBA is way up there.

Not the best SACD by any means, 28 Oct 2008
I bought the special edition with the book, DVD, CDs with outtakes, auditions, missing pieces etc. But I also wanted to hear The War Of The Worlds in ultra high quality SACD.

Well, I feel let down. The quiet parts get cut, e.g. echoes pop in and out. It seems the recording engineer has cut all sound below a certain level from the mix tapes.

Going back to my original CD version, there is certainly more noise but there is also a hell of lot more depth to the sound. Playing them side by side, I hear a complete change in the