ABBA -THE
ALBUMS YEAR BY YEAR 1990-1994
All original ABBA and ABBA solo releases, are listed here, by year of release, the order of release within each year is approximate. Albums are listed by country of orgin, unless they were released widely throughout the world. The most recent available format of release (LP or CD) is what is listed and is what has been reviewed. Singles are listed only if they include non album tracks. Multi-artist collections are usually not listed unless they include tracks not available elsewhere. Bootleg lp's or CD's are not included in this listing. Related artists are included when it is deemed relevant or convenient to do so..
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1990 In 1990 Benny and Bjorn began five years of work on their adaption of Vilhem Moberg's UTVANDRARPOS. Or as the books are known in English- THE EMIGRANTS. In the meantime Benny also worked with his friends, Orsa Spelman. Polydor completed it's purchase of Polar International from Stig Anderson . On a sad note, Agnetha Faltskog hit 40 years of age, the last ABBA member to do so.... Blancmange- Second Helpings - The best of Blancmange British CD April 1990 Single for 1990 World Equestrian Championship. UPP TILL KAMP/ STOCKHOLM BY NIGHT July 1990 12 inch Swedish single release. Hep Stars-Basta September 1990 Released on Swedish Cd. Ainbusk Singers-Cd single- LASSIE / GUNATT October 1990 CD single .ABBA- ABBA STORY Fall 1990 French 2CD/2lp set (another source says this was released 1991) Various artists- FIOLIN MIN Sweden's Greatest Hits November 1990 Produced by Benny and including Benny as a artist Avail. on Swedish Cd ABBA- HONEY HONEY 1990 German CD ABBA-THE SONGBOOK - AUSTRALIAN CHART HITS Late 1990 Australian CD Lush-Gala - November 1990 Internationally released CD Various Birds -Fagelsang i Sverige-90 VÄLKÄNDA FÅGLARS LÄTEN Available on Swedish Cd November 1990 Swedish Cd. |
Blancmange- Second Helpings - The best of Blancmange British CD April 1990
This London CD includes Blancmange's hit cover version of ABBA's 1982 single-"The Day Before You Came".
God's Kitchen/I've seen the Word/Feel
me
Living on the Ceiling/Waves/Game above my Head
Blind Vision/That's Love, that it is/Don't tell me
The Day before you came.
Single for 1990 World Equestrian Championship. UPP TILL KAMP/ STOCKHOLM BY NIGHT July 1990 12 inch Swedish single release.
The A side of this single was sung primarily by Tommy Körberg , It was essentially the teamsong for the Swedish equstrian team. In English the song title means "Up to The Fight".Benny and Bjorn produced and wrote the song. Why did Benny occupy his time doing this kind of thing? I dont really know, but it was probably because Benny was a racehorse owner, and because the 1990 world Equestrian Championships were held in Stockholm. This is evidence that Benny after ABBA did most projects simply to make himself happy. The b-side is simply a track from Benny's November 1989 album. This was also released on a whole album of songs clebrating this event....The horsie set must really have a lot of time on their hands...
Hep Stars-Basta September 1990 Released on Swedish Cd.
A one disc compilation of their hits, with autumny looking mid-1960's portrait of the boys, on the cover.... Reissiue of the 1980 2LP set, but with fewer tracks....
Cadillac, Farmer John, Bald headed woman, No response, A tribute to Buddy Holly, So mystifying, Should I, Sunny girl, Wedding, Consolation, No time, Speedy gonzales, Malaika, She will love you, Let it be me, Save your heart for me, Mot okänt land, Inatt jag drömde
Ainbusk Singers-Cd single- LASSIE / GUNATT October 1990 CD single
"Lassie" was a song written by Benny Andersson (with Lyrics by Marie Nilsson) for the Ainbusk theatrical show "More Amore". The song actually is about a dog-and was a major Swedish hit...The b-side is not written by Benny...
"Lassie" can found on the 2000 Ainbusk collection called .En Samling 2003....
ABBA- ABBA STORY Fall 1990 French 2CD/2lp set (another source says this was released 1991)
A 25 track collection mostly of hits covering most of ABBA's career.This appears to be a French only release,A 2004 release with same title was released in France..
Waterloo
Mamma Mia
Fernando
Dancing Queen
Money, Money, Money
Knowing Me, Knowing You
The Name Of The Game
Take A Chance On Me
Chiquitita
Voulez-Vous
I Have A Dream
The Winner Takes It All
Thank You For The Music
Ring, Ring
Super Trouper
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
S.O.S.
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Happy New Year
Rock Me
Summer Night City
Eagle
One Of Us
One Man, One Woman
So Long
Thank You For The Music
Various artists- FIOLIN MIN Sweden's Greatest Hits November 1990 Produced by Benny and including Benny as a artist Avail. on Swedish Cd
"Can folk music survive
in a time when
people are constantly confronted by global
mass media culture?
-from the liner notes to
FIOLIN MIN
by Gunnar Ternhag
Well maybe, if they would stop rereleasing
ABBA GOLD, people might stop and buy this.
This is collection of 20 Swedish folk music standards released
by Benny's Mono Records label. It's sounds very like KLINGA
MINA KLOCKOR or one of the Orsa Spelman albums but with
the disadvantage that none of the songs are written by Benny.
However, that's not the point.The idea of the album is to collect
some great old folk melodies onto one album. Playing along with
Benny on this album are Orsa Spelman,Dalarnas Spelmansforbund
and Asa Jinder & Peter Hedlund. The liner notes refer to to
one of the bands coming from the traditional folk music scene
in Dalecarlia. It is of interest to note that the original title
of the ABBA song -"Arrival" was "Arrival at Dalecarlia".
This album was engineered by Bernard Lohr
and recorded at various studios using ancient
time honored Swedish recording methods.
Released by Benny's label , MONO in both a English language and a Swedish language versions. The English version of course, was to used as a possible export...
..
ABBA- HONEY HONEY 1990 German CD
A German CD reissue of a 1974 lp that has tracks mostly drawn from the Ring Ring album. They should have just called it Ring Ring.. They were dancing in Bremerhaven..
Ring Ring
Another Town, Another Train
People Need Love
Nina, Pretty Ballerina
Disillusion
Rock 'n Roll Band
Honey, Honey
Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)
Me And Bobby And Bobby's Brother
He Is Your Brother
She's My Kind Of Girl
I'm Just A Girl
ABBA-THE SONGBOOK - AUSTRALIAN CHART HITS Late 1990 Australian CD
One of the first ABBA albums not to be issued in Lp-this one actually boasts a Cd length of 77 minutes. 20 tracks are featured -all of which were hits in Australia. Thus, the emphasis is on the earlier stuff.
Most of ABBA's Australian hits are included here. ABBA had a lot of hits early on in Australia but did less well after 1978.
1. Fernando 2. Mamma
Mia3. S.O.S4. Dancing Queen 5. Money, Money, Money
6. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do 7. Rock Me 8. Ring Ring
9. Waterloo 10. Chiquitita 11. Does Your Mother Know
12. Knowing Me, Knowing You13. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After
Midnight)
14. The Winner Takes It All15. On And On And On16. The Name Of
The Game 4.02
17. Summer Night City18. Hasta Mañana19. Take A Chance
On Me
20. The Day Before You Came
Lush-Gala - November 1990 Internationally released CD
This is a compilation album of tracks by the British female rock group, Lush.
Included is an effective cover of the 1975 ABBA rocker, "Hey Hey Helen "
.
Various Birds -Fagelsang i Sverige-90 VÄLKÄNDA FÅGLARS LÄTEN Available on Swedish Cd November 1990 Swedish Cd.
Benny produced this collection of 90 Swedish
birdsongs, yes that's right 90 birds recorded outdoors. Lars Svensson
wrote the text and helped compile the album and Dan Zetterstrom
drew the pictures. The album is credited to Andersson-Svensson
and Zetterstom.
A boy (supposedly Benny's son Ludvig) states each of the birds
names
on the CD in between the birdsongs.There were two editions of
this recording. The deluxe version includes a detailed booklet
with drawings of the birds and the cheap version that has just
the CD and a two page booklet. Released by Benny's label , MONO.
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1991 Nothing happened...Well very little. Bjorn sipped tea . This was the first year since 1986 that offered no new ABBA or ABBA solo studio albums. Ainbusk Singers ÄLSKA MEJ/EN LÅT SOM DENNA April 1991 Swedish CD single Kalle Moreaus -May 1991 Available on Swedish CD Features Björn and Benny Hootennnanny Singers-Polar Cd reissues March ?1991
The Hootenanny Singers - BASTA reissue Released on Swedish CD 1991 Hep Stars & Svenne and Lotta-Fran Cadillac to Rolls Royce March 1991 Available on Swedish Cd Ainbusk Singers ÄLSKA MEJ/EN LÅT SOM DENNA April 1991 Swedish CD single Frida- Pa Egan Hand -November?1991 Swedish Cd |
Hootennnanny Singers-Polar Cd reissues March ?1991
During 1991 Polar issued four of the Hootennnanny Singers later studio albums on CD . These CD's did not feature any bonus tracks...One source says these were issued in March,but another says that some were released later in the year...three more of the Hootz albums were issued in May 1992 ...
HOOTENANNY SINGERS-evert taube PA VART
SAt (1974)
Hootenanny Singers-Våra Vackraste Visor 1 (1971)
HOOTENANNY SINGERS-VARA VACKRASTE VISOR 2 (1972)
HOOTENANNY SINGERS-DAN ANDERSSON PA VART SAT (197$)
ABBA-THE HITS 1991 3cd set British CD
Released on the British Budget
label Pickwick this was a three part CD compilation series of
ABBA hits (ABBA had more than one hit, you know) and other famous
ABBA tune thingies. Each of three CD's were released separately
at separate
times between 1987-1988
In 1991,the 3 Cd's were cleverly put together into something resembling a box (I think it was paper actually )and viola the first ABBA box set on CD was brought into the world.
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THE HITS (September 1987) 7. Take A Chance On Me |
THE HITS 2 (february 1988 ) 1. The Name Of The Game edit 8. Money, Money, Money |
THE HITS 3 (Septmeber 1988) 1. The Winner Takes It All 8. Chiquitita |
The Hootenanny Singers - BASTA reissue Released on Swedish CD 1991 (this version combines BASTA with the second Hootz hit compilation ) (I have also read that this CD was released in 1990 or 1992 ,but the copyright says 1991)
The Hootenanny Singers were a successful Swedish folk group
that ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus fronted during the 1960's and early
1970's.
BASTA was the Hootz first Best ofcompilation
album . The Lp version of BASTA was originally released in Sweden
by Polar Records in 1967. Basta was also reissued on Lp in the
1970s' with
a different more modern portrait of the group.
The Cd reissue of BASTA combines the contents
of the original BASTA lp with the contents of second Hootz Best
of collection. The second collection was called DU BASTE MED HOOTENANNY
SINGERS & Björn ULVAEUS and was released in 1969. The
BASTA CD functions pretty effectively as the best introduction
to the music of the Hootenanny Singers. The main disadvantage
of this CD is
that it only covers the Hootenanny's work from 1964-1969.
The original BASTA lp (the first half of the CD)
covers 1964-1967. It starts with the Hootz
first hit "Jag Vantar Vd Min Mila" and ends
with two of Björn's English language compositions
for the band, "No Time" and "Baby Those Are
The Rules" . Also included on the first half of the CD are
"Gabrille (Swedish version), 'Marianne" and "Blomman"
.
The second half of the BASTA CD features The Hootenanny's second
hit collection
from 1969 . It features songs by both the Hootenanny Singers and
songs from
Björn 's brief solo career.
Björn's short solo career occurred whilst he was still
a Hootenanny, and only ended because he joined up with Benny to
become a duo (Björn and Benny) .Björn released four
singles four singles (but no lp) in 1968/69 as a solo artist,
These singles are his only solo records to date. Three of the
Björn's solo A-sides are compiled on
this CD. Björn's covers of" Harper Valley PTA"
(rewritten to become "Froken Frederickson' )
and the Bobby Goldsboro's hit "Honey" called
here "Raring' were big Swedish hits. The best
song from the second hit collection is a original composition
by Björn done for the Hootz as a single that is called "Mrs
O'Grady" it features great rythems and intriguing English
lyrics. The use of staccato strings on "Mrs O'Grady"
was probably inspired by The Beatles "Eleanor Rigby".
BASTA is one of three Hootenanny compilation CD's available. Another CD ,called the Hootenanny's-PA SVENSKA features some of the best songs that the Hootz did in Swedish. PA SVENSKA has the advantage of including songs from the Hootz early 1970's work but it doesn't include the Hootz's English language hits. In late 2000, a new compilation of the Hootz work in Swedish was released.
Hep Stars & Svenne and Lotta-Fran Cadillac to Rolls Royce March 1991 Available on Swedish Cd
I think I'd rather go from Waterloo to Duvemala.
This Cd includes some Hep Stars tracks along with Svenne and Lotta
recordings. This set doesn't do either group justice. This Cd
does at least include Svenne & Lotta's Swedish version of
"Bang-A-Bommerang' which uses the same backing track as ABBA's.
This also has S&L's Swedish version of "Dance (While
Music Goes On). Annoyingly the handful of other non- ABBA B&B
songs Svenne & Lotta recorded such as "Funky Feet"
and" If We Only had the Time" are not to be found here.
Instead ,we get Svenne & Lotta's later 1980's work such as
the absymal "Rolls Royce". Get the recent Svenne &
Lotta collection-Tio Gyllene År instead
Ainbusk Singers ÄLSKA MEJ/EN LÅT SOM DENNA April 1991 Swedish CD single
The A side was an new song written by Benny with Marie Nilsson.
Kalle Moreaus -May 1991 Available on Swedish CD Features Björn and Benny
This is the first solo album by Kalle Moreaus,the leading member of Orsa Spelman.. On this album Kalle sings a bit more than he does with Orsa Spelman, and the song lineup is not strictly violin/accordion songs. (For example there is a Swedish version of Chuck Berrys "Maybelline". Of the the violin songs my favorite is "Schottis fran Lima". This album is of interest to B&B fans because it has the new B&B Swedish language song "Beatrice' which Benny and Björn both play on. It is sung by Kalle. It's a good song. It was the only new ABBA related song in 1991.
This seems to be the first documentated credited
appearence by Björn playing a instrument on record since
the breakup of ABBA. Björn
plays a 12 string guitar on "Beatrice'. Benny plays on a
total of three songs.
If you like Benny 's work with Orsa Spelman this is worth getting
,but
otherwise it's not worth it for the one song.
This album was produced ,but not engineered ,by Michael B.Tretow. It was recorded at Polar Studios.
Frida- Pa Egan Hand -November?1991 Swedish Cd
Another PINK COVER!!!This was
the very first release on Cd of Frida's pre-ABBA solo material.
This CD has 16 songs including three from Frida's 1971 studio
album,six from her 1971 compilation album and seven 1967-1972
A and B sides that had never been released on a album before.
Those early singles make perhaps for some unexpected listening
experiences.
A lot of these songs are not really jazz but it's not really pop
either. For some reason, "Mycket Kar' made an impression
on me-
it has such insistent rythems emphasized largely by Frida's strong
voice.
The woman's phrasing is so precise (at least when she's singing
in Swedish).
My favorite song on CD is probably the B&B composition "Peter
Pan".
The 1970's B&B composition "Vi Ar Alla Barn I Borjan' makes it's album debut here but it is not one of their better songs.Although this is a fairly good compilation it is being phased out since all the tracks here are available on FRIDA 1967-1972.The cover features a lovely full color photo Frida with long unhindered t wavy red hair.As with many Frida albums, the color Pink is used on the cover-in this case a darker shade of pink.
1. Du är så underbart rar
2. Din
3. Tre kvart från nu
4. Lycka
5. Min egen stad
6. Så synd du måste gå
7. Försök och sov på saken
8. Där du går lämnar kärleken spår
9. Vi möts igen
10. Mycket kär
11. Peter Pan
12. Vi är alla barn i början
13. Simsalabim
14. Jag blir galen när jag tänker på dej
15. En gång är ingen gång
16. När du blir min
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1992 In 1992 ABBA's commercial revival began with the release of ABBA Gold and Erasure's EP of ABBA covers. Bjorn and Benny made their famous appearence with U2 at a concert at the Globen in Sweden... On a sad note, former Hootenanny Singer Johan Karlberg died.. Munich Philharmonic Orchestra -ABBA Classic January 1992 Released on Cd CHESS-OFF BROADWAY VERSION (no recording made) Early 1992 Salma & Sabina - ABBA in Hindi 1992 CD Indian release and other territories Hootenanny Singers-Polar Swedish Cd reissues May 1992 Erasure-- ABBA-esque May 1992 Ep CD Available worldwide on Cd Benny 's song for 1992 European soccer Championships....(not commerically released) Premeired June 1992 Artister for Miljo (featuring Frida) -Anglamark/ Saltwater Swedish Single July 1992 Edelweiss-The Wonderful World of Edelweiss 1992 International release Out of Print. ABBA GOLD released September 1992 available Worldwide on CD ABBA -ORO (original version) Late 1992 Available on CD in many markerts Bjorn Again --Erasure-ish (EP Fall 1992 British Ep CD Hep Stars-Nastan Bara PA Svenska -1992 Swedish Cd Hep Stars-1964-69 November 1992 Released on Swedish Cd. Various Artists-ABBA-The Tribute November 1992 Available on Swedish CD |
Munich Philharmonic Orchestra -ABBA Classic January 1992 Released on Cd
There has been more than one attempt to do instrumental versions of ABBA songs. .This is too lively to be Muzak but it's not exactly classical music either.This orchestral version-appears to have actually approved by Stig(this time he didnt get in trouble). Poor Stig, really had nothing to do anymore..
This has a black cover similar actually to
the one used later in the year for ABBA GOLD.
Atlantic actually released this in America
during the dark times of 1992 when most ABBA Cd's were out of
print in the U
CHESS-OFF BROADWAY VERSION (no recording made) Early 1992
The failure of CHESS on Broadway, caused many to wonder what could be done for the musical to make it work. This was the spirit in which this Off- Broadway version was concocted. The musical was now set in 1972. In this version-the Book (script) used for the Broadway version is dropped. This version is closer to the London version at least in it's brevity. This version starred Mark McVey and Ray Walker. The OFF-Broadway version was not particularly successful-it closed later in 1992. This version is preety obscure-I havent even seen bootlegs recordings of this.
There were also modest unsuccessful Chess revivals througout 1990-1992.
Salma & Sabina - ABBA in Hindi 1992 CD Indian release and other territories
ABBA has been covered in a number of languages this is a rare Asian cover album.
Tracks include
Abhilasha (Chiquitita)
Hay Ye Pyar Ghazeb (The Name Of The Game)
Ho Jayegi Badnami (Money money money)
Hum Rahi (Fernando)
Kabhi Kabhi (Honey Honey)
Mitha Maze Dar (Dancing Queen)
Pehli Pehli Preet (Super Trouper)
Toba toba (Mamma mia)
Hootenanny Singers-Polar Swedish Cd reissues May 1992
Three more Hootz Cd, though only the BELLMAN PA VART SATT Cd seems to be currently available..One source says Sjunger Tauber was released in 1990.These cd's did not feature any bonus tracks..
HOOTENANNY SINGERS-SJUNGER TAUBER 1965
HOOTENANNY SINGERS-Skilling tryck 1970
HOOTENANNY SINGERS-BELLMAN PA VART SATT, 1967
Erasure-- ABBA-esque May 1992 Ep CD Available worldwide on Cd
This four song Extended Play Cd was one of
the key factors in the first big ABBA resurgence in the early
1990's.
Erasure, a British synth pop group were the first male singers
to convincingly cover an ABBA song.
Erasure's version of "Take A Chance on me " was a major British hit .This CD did well in many markets even in the US.
Benny 's song for 1992 European soccer Championships....(not commerically released) Premiered June 1992
In 1992 Benny wrote a instrumental song for the European Soccer Championships. These were held in June 1992 in Gothenberg, Sweden.,.. This song was not released commercially, but it continued Benny's small side business of of writing obscure theme songs for sporting events...
I read somewhere that the song was was called "More Than a game" but that appears to another song written by others that was the official song used for the game....
Artister for Miljo (featuring Frida) -Anglamark/ Saltwater Swedish Single July 1992
Frida sang on this environmentally themed single , her first recording in five years .
The a-side is cover of a song written by Dan Andersson, the famous Swedish folk song writer...
The b-side is a song written by Julian Lennon, the famous son. of John Winston Ono Lennon..
"Saltwater" is is actually an unusually good choice of material.
The single was followed up by an appearence by Frida, Marie Frediksson and others at a concert hosted by the King of Sweden in August 1992.. Frida and Marie sang a duet of the Sam Cooke song-"What A Wonderful World This Would Be"..
None of this stuff is easily available!
Edelweiss-The Wonderful World of Edelweiss 1992 International release Out of Print.
This Austrian novelty yodeling group used the the melody from ABBA's song SOS on their hit-"Bring Me Edelweiss" The hit came actually became big in early 1989....But it took a long while for this album to come out-? Apparently this got ABBA manager Stig Anderson, in trouble with Bjorn and Benny, because Stig approved the use of the song, and B&B were shocked, shocked! when they found out..
ABBA GOLD released September 1992 available Worldwide on CD
This is the biggest selling ABBA album. GOLD has been certified to have sold at least 20 million copies worldwide. And I have heard that as of 2004 this disc may have sold as many as 30 million copies. Such figures make the record among the most successful record releases of all time... It is the only internationally available single CD collection of all the group's most successful hits. It was released after Polydor bought the worldwide rights to ABBA's music & Polar Music itself from Stig Anderson for 300 million Krona. Polydor got lucky since a second wave of interest in ABBA was occuring right when they released the collection.. Of course, considering how popular ABBA was originally, it would be surprising if they couldn't sell a lot of copies of a well markerted single disc greatest hits album . Even the USA has warmed to this CD to the tune of six million copies. GOLD received a belated release in the US in 1993.
ABBA GOLD had it's own second
wave of sales during 1999's 25th year since Waterloo celebrations.
Remarkably, in 1999 the album hit No 1 for second time in Britain
and other territories seven years after its release. ABBA Gold
continues to sell well, partly, perhaps due to the musical Mamma
Mia, which has been a big sales tool for ABBA GOLD since
almost all the songs in Mamma Mia can be found on ABBA
Gold and visa versa....
The observant will notice that on the original cover of this CD that the fontsize and placement of the letters in ABBA's trademark logo has been subtly altered.The use of the crown over the logo was a bit of added touch , that aimed to imply that ABBA was a classy, regal majestic band, and not a chessy, tasteless, commercial band.
Oh, and by the way, how is this as an album? This is really a CD designed for the casual ABBA fan.. It's a good but not very interesting compilation of all of ABBA worldwide number one songs and other top ten hits.., only "Thank Your For The music" was not a major hit,. With a total 19 songs the collection is fairly generous .The emphasis on this CD is a bit overly much on the 1976 -1980 middle period, all but 4 of the 19 songs come from this time, The main objection to this album is it tends to further the misnomer that ABBA was solely a singles group. ABBA experts also tended to not care much for the original John Tobler liner notes or the design .The recent remastered versions now feature more authoritative notes by Carl Magnus Palm.
It is interesting to note that originally in 1992 this album was actually also released on a 2Lp set in some territories where Lp's had not totally disappeared.
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Tracks listed with year and source album of earliest release... 1. Dancing Queen ,1976, ARRIVAL 2. Knowing Me, Knowing You ,1976, ARRIVAL 3. Take a Chance on Me 1977, THE ALBUM 4. Mamma Mia,1975, ABBA 5. Lay All Your Love on Me , 1980, SUPER TROUPER 6. Super Trouper, 1980, SUPER TROUPER 7. I Have a Dream,1979, VOULEZ-VOUS 8. The Winner Takes It All ,1980, SUPER TROUPER 9. Money, Money, Money, 1977, ARRIVAL |
10. S.O.S. , 1975, ABBA 11. Chiquitita , 1979, VOULEZ-VOUS 12. Fernando, 1976, GREATEST HITS 13. Voulez-Vous, 1979, VOULEZ-VOUS 14. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), 1979 GREATEST HITS 2 15. Does Your Mother Know, 1979 VOULEZ-VOUS 16. One of Us, 1981 THE VISITORS 17. The Name of the Game , 1977, THE ALBUM 18. Thank You for the Music, 1977, THE ALBUM 19. Waterloo, 1974, WATERLOO |
ABBA -ORO (original version) Late 1992 Available on CD in many markerts
Seemingly by the cover you would think this was , the Spanish version of ABBA Gold. After all, in Spanish ORO means Gold).
In reality, this is just a reissue with a different
cover of GRACIAS POR LA MUSICA. GRACIAS of course, didn't
include Spanish versions of allof ABBA's hits. The songs that
were chosen
were the ones that seemed to work best in Spanish. It appears
also that
an effort was made to pick tracks from each year. The ten tracks
are in a different
running order than on GRACIAS.
The cover is a slight variation on the ABBA GOLD design.The cover design is Gold & Black instead of Black and Gold. There are liner notes in Spanish by John Tobler which talk about ABBA's impact in LATIN AMERICA.
In November of 1999 this was reissued in Spain
and later in other places with the five tracks from MAS
ORO tacked on , as well as a new cover and remastered sound.
Original track listing prior to the reissue...
1. Fernando 2. Chiquitita 3. Gracias Por La Musica 4. La Reina Del Baile 5. Al Andar 6. Dame! Dame! Dame! 7. Estoy Sonando 8. Mamma Mia 9. Hasta Manana 10. Conociendome, Conociendote
Bjorn Again --Erasure-ish (EP Fall 1992 British Ep CD
Yes, it a cover of a cover album.....Really folks...
Hep Stars-Nastan Bara PA Svenska -1992 Swedish Cd
A cd compilation of the Hep Stars Swedish material.
1I Natt Jag Drömde 2:18/2.Mot Okänt Land 3:01/3 Sagan O Lilla Sofi 3:04/4 Tända På Varann 2:31/5 Är Det Inte Kärlek, Säg 4:24/6 I Sagans Land 2:30/ Bilden Av Dig 2:15/8 Precis Som Alla Andra 2:24/9 Någonting Har Hänt 3:15/10 Songs We Sang 3:31/11 Speleman 3:49/12 Let It Be Me 2:54/13 A Flower In My Garden 2:09/14 Speedy Gonzalez 2:26
Hep Stars-1964-69 November 1992 Released
on Swedish Cd.
Also known as -A-sidor B-sidor Lp-spår ...Cd reissiue of the Hep stars 1983 greatest hits 2lp set/. This CD is a good overview of the Hep Stars.....
Various Artists-ABBA-The Tribute November 1992 Available on Swedish CD
Released in late 1992 by Polar. The liner notes and songs are in English but most of the acts are Swedish. 12 songs are featured. This album is generally forgettable other than the chance to get hear a little of the Swedish music scene. Interestingly some rock bands (as opposed to just pop bands) did some of the covers here, Some non- hits songs were chosen to be covered such as the "King Kong Song", and"Dum Dum Diddle" The cover for the CD is well designed even if they do somewhat untastefully feature photos of actual jumpsuits used in live performance by ABBA. One of the songs is done by Mats Ronader who played live with ABBA as a guitarist.
1. Hasta Manana -Army of
Lovers)
2. Knowing Me Knowing You -Sanne Salomonsen
3. Does Your Mother Know -Pelle Almgren & Wow Liksom
4. The Winner Takes It All -Freda`)
5. Dancing Queen -Rob`n`Raz DLC
6. Eagle -Papa Dee
7. The Name of the Game -Irma
8. Ring Ring -Sator
9. SOS -Stonecake)
10. Dum Dum Diddle -Beagle
11. On and On and On -Mats Ronander
12. King Kong Song -Electric Boys
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1993 In 1993 Benny and Bjorn collaborated with Josefin Nilsson on SHAPES, their first pop album since 1987's Geminism. Also, the first previously unreleased ABBA song since 1983 was released on the album More ABBA Gold. Josefin Nilsson -Shapes March 1993 Available on Swedish CD and in some other territories, SONGS BY ANDERSSON-ULVAEUS MORE ABBA GOLD rel May 1993 worldwide ABBA-MAS ORO Mid 1993 Released on CD in many markerts,but phased out ABBA-The ABBA Collection 1993 4 Cd Australia & The Netherlands Various Artists-Hit Come Back 1962-1974 German Cd 1993 Various Artists-Die Deutche Single Hitparade 1974 German CD 1993 ABBA - The True Story (Show at the Berns Salonger venue in 1993) August 1993 CD Single Various Artists - Duetter 1993 Hard to find Swedish CD AINBUSK -FRAN NAR TILL FJARRAN October 1993 Available on Swedish CD. Produced by Benny andersson Frida-Tre Kvart från Nu 1993 Released on Swedish CD |
.
Josefin Nilsson -Shapes March 1993 Available on Swedish CD and in some other territories, SONGS BY ANDERSSON-ULVAEUS
This is the closest we get to a ABBA album
in the 1990's. Benny wrote the songs for the album with Björn
and produced the record. This is a pop record, there are no excursions
into accordion music, birdsong, or the works of Vilhem Moberg!
This is the solo debut album of Swedish singer
Josefin Nilsson , who is also a member of the
Swedish singing group called Ainbusk.
Her singing voice is generally high ,she sounds sort of like restrained
Bjork.
Benny and Björn interrupted their work
on their musical,
Kristina to write the songs for this album. Like the two
1980's albums by Gemini this is a pop/rock record. Unlike the
two Gemini albums, all the songs here were written by Benny and
Björn. It's not clear if Bjorn wrote any of the music here,the
songwriting credits doesn't specify... This was the first original
album since ABBA's THE VISITORS to have all the songs bear the
Andersson-Ulvaeus credit. Thus, this album is more cohesive sounding
album than either of the Gemini albums. SHAPES has some of rhythmic
sensibiltites of the second Gemini album. SHAPES occasionally
sounds like Gemini because Gemini's Anders Glenmark is the primary
background vocalist.
What's left of the ABBA band-Benny, Per Lindvall,
Lasse Wallender and ever faithful Rutger Gunnarson play on SHAPES,
(but there is no sign of Björn's voice or guitar). This is
a surprisingly percussive album for
two old fat guys to have put together.
Benny even has started to use a synthbass
on the some of the tracks (leaving poor Rutger
out in the cold). The lyrics are hit or miss-occasionally good,
occasionally only so-so.
The album opens strongly with the energetic
&
rhythmic "Surprise, Surprise". There are some
great grooves to be found on "Midnight Dancer"
and "Now You See Him , Now You don't"
which also, has some highly
original backing vocals (some of which done are by Ainbusk) "Midnight
Dancer " has an annoying but memorable electric organ riff.
Josefin saves a stupid song "I Leave it to Love" with
a over-the top vocal performance, it's interesting how she sings
the later verses
progressively deeper and richer.
The boys have also come up with some great
ballads for Jo to sing, especially the evocative "Where the
Whales I have ceased to sing" and "The film I'd like
to see".
"Film" closes the album somewhat bombastically
but the lyric is surprisingly tender.
This CD is a must have for fans of the songwriting of Andersson-Ulvaeus.
1. Surprise, Surprise/2. Heaven and Hell/3. We Won't Be Going No Anywhere
4. Where The Whales Have Ceased To Sing/5. High Hopes and Heartaches /6. Midnight Dancer
7. Leave It to Love/8. When I Watch You In Your Sleep/9. Now You See Him, Now You Don't
10. The Film I'd Like To See
MORE ABBA GOLD rel May 1993 worldwide
Here are the hits that didn't
fit on ABBA Gold,
a few interesting ABBA album tracks, some B-sides,and one never
before released track -I Am the City (rccorded in 1982). This
has four of ABBA's six 1982 recordings on it. Still this is a
very listenable collection. It went out of print
in some territories but has been reissued in
1999 in some territories ,with a different song lineup, new liner
notes and some longer song edits. It has a white cover in contrast
to ABBA
GOLD 's black cover. The Spanish album MAS ORO has
a similar color scheme to
More ABBA Gold but obviously a different
song lineup . The original version of this CD had liner notes
by UK ABBA press officer John Tobler, but the recent remastered
editions has liner notes by Carl Magnus Palm.
The new Australian edition bizarrely throws
out "Cassandra" and "Lovelight".
This album was originally going to be more of a rarities/fan request project,that would feature B-sides and unreleased tracks such as"Just Like That'. But Polygram apparently decided to go instead with track lineup with more familiar tracks. As it is, there has never been a ABBA rarities/B-sides album other than ABBA's Box set.
The previously unreleased track here, "I am the City", is not surprisingly , a perfectly good song featuring Agnetha and Frida on vocals, some worthwhile lyrics and great synthesiser work.
Word has it this may be going out of print again- If that's the case-"I am The City," will no longer be available since it can found nowhere else.
| 1.
Summer Night City,1979 GREATEST HITS 2 2. Angeleyes, 1979 VOULEZ_VOUS 3. The Day Before You Came,1982 THE SINGLES 4. Eagle 1977, THE ALBUM 5. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, 1975, ABBA 6. So Long, 1975, ABBA 7. Honey, Honey, 1974, WATERLOO 8. The Visitors, 1979 , THE VISITORS 9. Our Last Summer, 1980, SUPER TROUPER 10. On and on and On, 1980, SUPER TROUPER |
11. Ring
Ring, 1973 RING RING 12. I Wonder (Departure) 1977 THE ALBUM 13. Lovelight 1979 ,B-side 14. Head over Heels, 1981 , THE VISITORS 15. When I Kissed the Teacher, 1976 16. I Am the City (previously unreleased), 1982 17. Cassandra 1982 , B-side 18. Under Attack, 1982 THE SINGLES 19. When All Is Said and Done, 1981, THE VISITORS 20. The Way Old Friends Do, 1980 SUPER TROUPER |
ABBA-MAS ORO Mid 1993 Released on CD in many markerts,but phased out
This features the remaining five Spanish
language tracks ("Ring Ring"," Slipping Through
My Fingers','Happy New Year' 'Andante,Andante' and 'When All Is
Said and
Done").
The vocals for the latter four tracks were
recorded as part of the work for the SUPER TROUPER,
and THE VISITORS albums.
The Spanish vocals for "Ring Ring' were supposedly recorded
in 1973 (according to the PALM book). That somebody was thoughtful
enough to dig up the Spanish "Ring Ring" (which had
never been released) showed a rare thoroughness on the part of
Polydor.
It does seem a little strange that no Spanish
recordings were made for the biggest 1980's hits-"Super Trouper',
"One of Us",
or "The Winner Takes It All'. You get the feeling almost
that ABBA did not care about being commerical anymore.Perhaps
ABBA's most Spanish sounding song -was the 1980 unreleased track
"Put on Your White Sombreo" which probably would been
-the absolute bomb in Spanish! But it was only recorded in English.//
All five Spanish tracks on Mas Oro were actually recorded close to the time of their English counterparts. (The tracks on ORO except for "Chiquitita and "I have a Dream' had all been recorded well after the English versions .)
ABBA's total Spanish repertoire is found
on the original versions of ORO and MAS ORO.
We find we end up with 15 Spanish versions
of ABBA songs . All of ABBA''s original albums were represented
in the 15 songs except for ABBA-THE SINGLES-The First Ten Years.
To fill up the rest of the CD space on
MAS ORO Polydor included English versions of five other songs
that had been available in Spanish versions on ORO. .
The cover for MAS ORO is similiar to MORE ABBA GOLD. However unlike More ABBA Gold or ORO there are is no liner commentary.MAS ORO became obsolete when the revamped fifteen track ORO was issued in most Spanish speaking markerts.. In the reissue -ORO now includes the five Spanish tracks included here.
1.Chiquitita 2..Fernando 3. Dancing Queen 4. Knowing Me, Knowing You 5. Mamma Mia -all English versions
6.Felicdad 7. Andate 8. Se Me Esta Escapando 9. No Hay a Quien Culpar 10.Ring Ring (all Spanish versions)
Various Artists - Duetter 1993 Hard to find Swedish CD
This album is a good place to get three rare Agnetha and Frida tracks and sample some of Swedish artists at the same time. Also included are Anders Glenmark, Roxette and former Hollies singer- Mikael Rickfors. Two Agnetha duets are included- Agnetha Fältskog & Tomas Ledin's "Never again", and , Agnetha Fältskog & Ola Håkansson"s "The way you are". One of Frida's duet's is included t he 1987 track ,, Så länge vi har varann, done as a duet with Ra ta ta. The Roxette track is called " From One Heart To Another."
ABBA-The ABBA Collection 1993 4 Cd Australia & The Netherlands
Readers Digest put out this. This was the first 4cd ABBA box set-though all the tracks were widely available elsewhere...
The same album was repackaged in 2004 as the ULTIMATE COLLECTION...
Various Artists-Hit Come Back 1962-1974 German Cd 1993
Various Artists-Die Deutche Single Hitparade 1974 German CD 1993
These two various artists albums were the first place you could find the German version of "Waterloo" on CD..They are very hard to find-although these German tracks have released on other albums since then.
ABBA - The True Story (Show at the Berns Salonger venue in 1993) August 1993 CD Single
This was a comic musical that played in Stockholm in 1993-1994
, which Benny liked and so he had Mono Records release a single
featuring songs from the musical...
The Winner Takes It All ( duet witj Gladys del Pilar and Dave
Nerge) c/w
Abba MedleyMAMMA MIA /, DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW /MY LOVE, MY LIFE
/KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU and TIGER ( performed by Sussie Eriksson,
Gladys del Pilar, Peter Gröning, Ia Gustavsson, Mats Hellgren,
Annika Metsä, Dave Nerge, Anna Norberg).
The star of the musical Gladys del Pilar was actually born in Ecuador and was also a member of the Swedish singing group Afro-dite...Anotherof the actresses - Sussie Eriksson is a member of Alcazar.
AINBUSK -FRAN NAR TILL FJARRAN October 1993 Available on Swedish CD. Produced by Benny andersson
Benny Andersson first saw Ainbusk ,a Swedish
the singing/ theatrical quartet in the late 1980's. By 1992 Benny
would produce this CD and cowrite three of the songs with Marie
Nilson. Ainbusk's resident comedian and pianist. (Björn had
no involvement!). The three songs Benny cowrote are "Drommarnas
Golv", "Alska Mej " and "Lassie". "Lassie"
was a Swedish hit.when it was released as a single in 1990. And
yes, "Lassie" is a song about a dog! All four Ainbusk
members sing,most notably
Josefin Nilsson, who would record her solo debut album under Benny's
direction.
This album appears to have been drawn from their stage shows,Apparently,
some of the songs date from a couple years before. Although most
of the songs are in Swedish this is a very entertaining album,
even the songs not written by Benny are worthwhile for ABBA fans,
largely due to Ainbusk's inate charm.
Frida-Tre Kvart från Nu, EMI CMCD 6082, 1993 Released on Swedish CD
Another compilation Cd of pre-ABBA material that had been previously released on vinyl but not on CD at the time. The title means" Three Quarters of Hour from Now" or something like that....The title track was a track off Frida first solo studio album....
Eight tracks (including the title track) come from the revised 1971 Frida solo studio album album, four are drawn from the early 70's Frida compilation and one song makes it's album debut here -"Du Betonar Karlek Lite Fel'. Frida's hit" Min Egan Stad" puts in it's usual appearence here (it appears on five of Frida's albums) but otherwise none of the songs from "PA EGAN HAND are repeated here. All of the songs featured here are available on the later FRIDA 1967-1972 2CD set.
The cover of uses a Frida photo with a green background , Green seems to be another favorite Frida color choice....
1. Tre kvart från nu 3:14
2. En ledig dag 2:55
3. Peter kom tillbaka 3:06
4. Sen dess har jag inte sett *en 2:08
5. Suzanne 3:07
6. Jag är beredd 2:38
7. Telegram till fullmånen 1:59
8. Barnen sover 3:35
9. En ton av tystnad 4:00
10. Du betonar kärlek lite fel 2:29
11. Härlig är vår jord 2:40
12. En liten sång om kärlek 2:25
13. Räkna de lyckliga stunderna blott 2:58
|
1994 1994 finally brought the release of the official ABBA box set, as well as a number of other interesting compilations such as Pa Svenska, Julens Musik and Geh Mit Got. Indeed ,This was perhaps the best year ever for Swedish releases of ABBA and ABBA solo compilations albums.. Agnetha & Frida- The Voice Of Abba March 1994 Available worldwide on CD.
|
Various Artists Single from I FRU VENNERMANS FALL. March 1994 Swedish single release.
FRU VENNERMANS SÅNG/DUO JAG Mono single release
These two songs (the first cowritten by Benny , the second written soley by Benny) were released as a single. The A- side was performed by Kent Andersson, Gösta Ekman, Dan Ekborg, Johannes Brost and Lakke Magnusson. The A-side was used in a comedic play by Marie-Louise Ekman and the b-side was used as an instrumental from a TV version of I FRU VENNERMANS FALL. This is one of the most obscure of Benny 's recordings.
Agnetha & Frida- The Voice Of Abba March 1994 Available worldwide on CD.
Together Again. Well not really!
Released on CD by the German
Karusell label but available in most
markerts.This was first compilation done of the
girls 1980's tracks. It features tracks from
Frida's SOMETHING GOING ON
and SHINE as well as Agnetha's
WRAP YOUR ARMS AROUND ME
and EYES OF A WOMAN albums.
This has seven songs by each of the girls.
This also features the first album appearance
of Frida's 1984 B-side "That's Tough"
as well as the first album appearance of
Agnetha's 1985 B-sides "Your There"
and "Turn The World Around".
"Turn The World Around" has a great
rythem track. This is the album to get
if you don't want to buy all four of A&F's
early Eighties solo albums. Indeed in many places
this is the only Agnetha or Frida solo Cd available!
The photo of the girls and the photo of the microphone are by Anders Hanser
| Track listing for The Voice of ABBA |
|
The Heat Is On (Wrap Your Arms Around Me -Agnetha) I know There is Something Going on (Something Going on-Frida) You're There (b-side -Agnetha) To Turn The Stone(Something Going on-Frida) Just One heart(Eyes of A Woman-Agnetha) That's Tough( B-side Frida) Turn The World Around (B-side-Agnetha) I Got Something(Something Going on-Frida) We Should Be Together (Eyes of A Woman-Agnetha) Shine( Shine-Frida) I Won't Let You Go (Eyes of A Woman-Agnetha) Here We'll Stay(Something Going on-Frida) Wrap Your Arms Around Me (Wrap Your Arms Around Me -Agnetha) Heart of the Country ( Shine-Frida) |
Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Frida-Pa Svenska April 1994 Swedish CD
This is as close as we get
to an ABBA Swedish language album.This 18 song compilation features
songs by Agnetha,Björn and Benny, Frida and ABBA. All of
the songs date from 1970 to 1976.
Although PA SVENSKA was first released in 1994 it is really the
only multiple artist compilation of the Pre- ABBA years .
Polar never tried to do anything like this in the 1970's
There are three ABBA songs
here-the Swedish versions of "Waterloo",
Ring Ring" and "Honey Honey' . Also,there
is Frida's solo Swedish version of "Fernando'and Agnetha's
solo version of "SOS". ABBA didn't do Swedish versions
of any of their later hits. A sixth song, "Ah Vilka
Tider' is also credited to Agnetha, Björn,
Benny, and Annifrid. This song like
Björn and Benny's "Att finnas till",and
"En Karusell" (a Swedish version of "Merry Go Round
are only available on this Cd.
There are four PRE-ABBA Agnetha song here, all of which are available
elsewhere
on CD. These songs all seem to have
at least one of the other ABBA members
on them-notice the ABBA sound on the
the chorus to "Drom ar Drom och Saga
Saga".
Two of Frida's solo songs are available on CD only here. These
would be both sides of Frida's 1972 single "Man Vill Leva
lite Dessmellan /"Ska Man Skratta Eller Grata" single
two songs seemingly written by Italians but translated by Stig.
This album is subtitled- Stikkan Anderson picks Polars Pearls.
So in theory ,Stig made the track selections.
Three songs were chosen from Frida's FRIDA ENSAM album these are
" Fernando" of course ",Som en Sparv" and
"Vill Du lana en man" (The Most Beautiful Girl/Guy
In the World ) . Why did Stig pick the worst song (The Most Beautiful
Girl...)from the FRIDA ENSAM and put it on this CD -the only reason
I can think of is that Stig wrote the lyrics and was after the
publishing royalties. Many of the songs on this album feature
lyric writing by Stg
The only problem with this
project is it leaves many of the PRE- ABBA Björn and Benny
tracks uncompiled ,and it really doesn't do
justice to the full depth of the pre-ABBA solo work -you would
really need two or three CD's to do that.
In 2006 the uncompiled Bjorn and Bennny tracks were reisiused
as bonus tracks on the 2006 version of the LYCKA CD.
Tracks listing for PA SVENSKA:All songs
sung in Swedish
ABBA-Waterloo
Björn & Benny-
Att Finnas Till
Agnetha- En Sang Och En
Saga
ABBA- Honey Honey
Frida-Ska Man Skratta Eller
Grata
Björn & Benny-Tank
Om Jorden Vore Ung
Agnetha-S.O.S.
Frida- Fernando
ABBA-Ah, Vilka Tider
Frida-Som En Sparv
Agnetha- En Sang Om Sorg
Och Gladje
Björn & Benny-
En Karusell
Agnetha- Drom At Drom,
Och Saga Saga
Frida-Man Vill Ju Leva
Lite Dessemellan
Björn & Benny-Hej
Gamle Man
ABBA-Ring Ring
Agnetha-Sa Glad Som Dina
Ogon
Frida-Vill Du Lana En Man
Agnetha Fältskog-Geh Mit Gott September 1994 Available on German Cd
Although it's is not widely known , Agnetha
apparently attempted to break into the West
German record markert particularly in 1968-1970.
She was aided in this attempt by her then
boyfriend ,Dieter Zimmerman (no relation
to Bob Dylan- but you knew that).
The effort seemed actually to stunt the growth of her Swedish career,because Dieter encouraged Agnetha to cover bad material as opposed to writiing her own songs..Agnetha eventually got tired of Dieter's bad career advice and they ended up breaking up....
Agnetha's next boyfriend (Bjorn Ulvaeus) would
prove
to be a bit more up to the task of breaking
Agnetha on the International markert.
Aggie released 8 singles for the German markert. Most of which
were actually recorded in German. She was not successful and gave
up recording in German in 1972,by which time ABBA was about to
break into the German markert.
No album was released at the time, but in 1994 this compilation
of the German tracks was put together by
ROYAL RECORDS of the German tracks,. The title track is a German
version of the Joan Baez song-"Here's To You'.
Various Artists -Polars Roliga Timme 1994 Swedish Cd out of print
Full of cool rarities.Features one Agnetha track, the rare song-"Ljuva sextital( Sweet Sixties)" a song supposedly recorded for Swedish radio in 1980 for tribute to Stig. This is the only B&B song other than "SOS" that Agnetha recorded outside of ABBA. " Ljuva Sexital" was originally recorded in 1969 by Brita Borg. The album also includes Annifrid Lyngstad's "Tango i det gröna" , Björn Ulvaeus's "Fröken Fredriksson" and thirteen other songs. Many by people I have never heard of. Though you can find two of ABBA managers' Stig Anderson's hard to find recordings here on this album, but hey maybe's it's some other Stikkan.
Frida- Tango i det gröna
/Björn Fröken Fredriksson /
Bernhard and Lindstedt- Oss fastrar emellan/
Nisses Suga-Håriga ben Various- Dagens bankrån /
Agnetha Fältskog-Ljuva sextital /
Rolf Bengtsson -Wit slafhandel/
Stikkan Andersson & Lillan -Baby Twist /
Rolf Bengtsson -Dagen efter kvällen före/
Brita Borg-Det kan dom inte förklara /
Stikkan Andersson & Bonnier-Ja, vi älskar dig ännu
vår Barbro /
Lindstedt & Ericks-Skjortbekymmer /
Borg and Bengtsson--Det är knas på vär nya magister/
Casino-gänget -Då tar vi tagelskjortan på /
Dahlström and others- Hål i gatan /
Nisses Stuga-Risotto
Various Artists- Sommar, Sommar, Sommar Mid 1994 Swedish CD Out of print
The title track is by Stig and Kontorskören,, this album also has a rare track by Benny and some Hootenanny tracks.
Various Artists-Pop -Favoriter 1994 Swedish CD Out of print
Another of Stig's POLAR Records compilations . Only one rarity here- ELAINE PAIGE's - Like an image passing by from ABBaCadabra, but lots of other ABBA related tracks...
AGNETHA FÄLTSKOG - The heat is on LUCAS - A partsman farm SVENNE & LOTTA - Do you want to dance or just look silly / RENEGADES - Cadillac / BIRGITTA WOLLGÅRD & SALUT - My whole damn silly world is falling down / TOMAS LEDIN - Not bad at all / FRIDA - Shine / 1984 8. TED GÄRDESTAD - Satellite HOOTENANNY SINGERS - Baby those are the rules / AGNETHA FÄLTSKOG - I won't let you go / LUCAS - Lover please / ABBA (medley) - Midnight Special- Pick a bale of cotton-On top of old smokey / FRIDA - I know there's something going on / TOMAS LEDIN - Right now /ELAINE PAIGE - Like an image passing by BJÖRN & BENNY - She's my kind of girl SVENNE & LOTTA - Dance while the music still goes on \ . TOMAS LEDIN & AGNETHA FÄLTSKOG - Never again
Various Artists-SVENSKTOPPAR 1 1994 Swedish CD Out of print
Another of Stig's POLAR Records compilations . Includes Hootennany tracks,Lena Andersson,, Ted Gardestad and Birgitta Wollgård as well Brita Borg's original version of B&B's Ljuva Sextital .
Various Artists-SVENSKTOPPAR 2 1994 Swedish CD Out of print
Yet, Another of Stig's POLAR Records compilations.. Includes Hootennany tracks,Lena Andersson,Tomas Ledin Ted Gardestad , also Ring Ring by Abba .
ABBA-Thank You For the Music 4cd set October 1994 Available worldwide
This long awaited official box set (or in actuality booklet set) was released after ABBA GOLD proved that were still a handful people (not many mind you, just a lucky few) willing to spend money on ABBA records.B&B ,( who always seem disdainful of their fans wishes) were skeptical that any one would want to buy a ABBA box set.
More significantly, B&B
were hesitant to release previously unreleased material. However,
a trip to the vaults reminded them that many of the unreleased
songs merited some kind of official release. So miraculously somebody
(Chris Griffin & Michael Tretow )was able to convince B&B
to put out a box set. So,
the typical box set formula was followed-
combine hits , album tracks , rarities into one big smorgasbord.
About half of ABBA's official output was compiled in this box
set.-66 tracks on four Cd's.
The track listings of the
first three CD's are chronological. All the songs on the first
three CD's had been released before in some form or the other
(though the version of "Summer Night City" that is presented
here includes the elegant intro that had been cut out prior to
release).Some of tracks notably "Lovelight" are presented
here in edited versions.
ABBA's non-album B-sides
are treated with relative
respect. Most of the B-sides can be found on the
box. They are spread throughout all four CD's.
The selection of the previously issued tracks
is fairly sane, there were no worldwide hits
left out, and all 8 of ABBA's studio albums are well representated,
with ARRIVAL drawing the highest rate of
selection with six songs.
The Box set's centerpiece is the 15 song "ABBA Undeleted Medley". B&B were wary of giving these songs official sanction 'cos they didn't regard them as finished, polished material. But here they are anyway..In a way, B&B are correct, some of the songs are unfinished, most have awkward lyrics.-but most of the songs are chock full of great ABBA hooks. So,It is not illogical to put unfinished songs in a medley format.
The biggest flaw with the medley approach is that the individual songs are not indexed on the CD , so it's hard to get to a particular song if want to listen to that song repeatedly.
Probably the best tune
on the medley is the lovely "Hamlet III", which is featured
in two versions. The first version was a fast instrumental, the
second a gentle ballad. Neither amounted to a finished song, but
it's still a great melody.
The song had actually saw it's initial release when
Benny dragged up the tune for his 1987 solo album and recorded
it as an accordion tune called "Lottis Schottis".
At least two songs featured
in "ABBA Undeleted", "Just A Notion" and "Just
Like That" don't seem to benefit from being put in the medley-they
are too truncated compared to the unreleased versions-that some
fans may have heard on bootlegs. It's obvious listening to bootleg
versions that B&B were having problems with "Just Like
That" ,they tried different approaches to the song-and all
were good but none was just right. The version of JLT
found on the box set is a just snippet of a longer "Sax'
version. The full length Sax version doesn't seem to develop the
full potential of the song. The slower versions seem to make more
sense but they lack the "hit single energy" of the sax
version. B&B went back to "Just Like That' during the
CHESS sessions and again on The first Gemini
album where the finally finished the song. "Just
Like That" is usually regarded as the most sought after rare
or unreleased ABBA song. "Just A Notion" is not nearly
as original as "Just Like That'-but it probably merited a
full version release.
Two never before released songs were released in their entirety. "Dreamworld" (from 1979) is listenable but not overwhelming, whereas the Spanish sounding ,"Put On Your White Sombrero" is quite good. ,sung with character by Frida and has just some amazing vocals on the chorus. It seems strange that this song didn't make it least make it onto a B-side. "...Sombrero" was recorded during the Super Trouper sessions.
The rest of CD Four features 3 foreign language versions of famous ABBA songs, a b-side, and 4 songs originally released before the group was called ABBA. The fourth CD makes for uneven listening because of the jumping around from live to foreign language to unfinished to Early tracks ..
The key but apparently
intentional flaw with the boxset is certain key rarities are left
off-there is no sign of ABBA unreleased or barely released songs
such as "I am An A", Sang to Gorel, I am Still Alive"
, .Nationalsång,
Hovas Vittne ,Tiveds Hambo .Fanfare for Ice hockey World Championship
'81 and others. These tracks may never see official release.
The liner notes to the
box set are lengthly
and include essays by USA Billboard editor ,Fred Bronson and British
ABBA publicist John Tobler. ABBA memorabilia is pictured and some
of Björn's latterday original handwritten lyrics are reproduced.
The best part of the liner notes is easily Carl Magnus Palm's
liner notes to the actual songs. Among the interesting things
you learn in
Palm's notes is that "Dancing Queen was recorded in mid -1975,
at the same time as "Fernando."! (A full 20 months before
the DQ single hit number 1 in America).
As a whole the box set is pretty good, it could have been better, but it could have been far worse. If I want to listen to a ABBAcompilation I usually listen to the BOX Set......
The box set was compiled
by Chris Griffin,and remastered by Michael B. Tretow. The photograph
on the cover was originally
used on the Voulez-Vouz /Angeleyes single. The earliest printings
of this set in the UK were numbered individually.
Disc: 1 1. People Need Love 2. Another Town, Another Train 3. He Is Your Brother 4. Love Isn't Easy 5. Ring Ring 6. Waterloo 7. Hasta Mañana 8. Honey, Honey 9. Dance (While the Music Still Goes On) 10. So Long 11. I've Been Waiting for You 12. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do 13. S.O.S. 14. Mamma Mia 15. Fernando 16. Dancing Queen 17. That's Me 18. When I Kissed the Teacher 19. Money, Money, Money 20. Crazy World 21. My Love, My Life
Disc: 2 1. Knowing Me, Knowing You 2. Happy Hawaii 3. The Name of the Game 4. I Wonder (Departure) [Live] 5. Eagle 6. Take a Chance on Me 7. Thank You for the Music 8. Summer Night City 9. Chiquitita 10. Lovelight 11. Does You Mother Know 12. Voulez-Vous 13. Angeleyes 14. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! 15. I Have a Dream
Disc: 3 1. The Winner Takes All 2. Elaine 3. Super Trouper 4. Lay All Your Love on Me 5. On and on and On 6. Our Last Summer 7. The Way Old Friends Do 8. The Visitors 9. One of Us 10. Should I Laugh or Cry 11. Head over Heels 12. When All Is Said and Done 13. Like an Angel Passing Through My Room 14. The Day Before You Came 15. Cassandra 16. Under Attack
Disc: 4 1. Put on Your White Sombrero 2. Dream World 3. Thank You for the Music 4. Hej Gamle Man 5. Merry-Go-Round 6. Santa Rosa 7. She's My Kind of Girl 8. Pick a Bale of Cotton/On Top of Old Smoke/Midnight Special 9. You Owe Me One 10. Slipping Through My Fingers/Me and I 11. ABBA Undeleted-(Scaramouche / Summer Night City / Take A Chance On Me / Baby / Just A Notion / Rikky Rock 'n Roller / Burning My Bridges / Fernando / Here Comes Rubie Jamie / Hamlet III Parts 1 & 2 / Free As A Bumble Bee / Rubber Ball Man / Crying Over You / Just Like That / Givin' A Little Bit More) 12. Waterloo [French/Swedish]13. Ring Ring [Swedish/Spanish/German] 14. Honey, Honey [Swedish
Real Group-Varför Får Man Inte Bara Vara Som Man Är? Swedish CD November 1994
Frida's acapella duet version of "Dancing Queen " done with THE REAL GROUP is available on this ALBUM -Varför Får Man Inte Bara Vara Som Man Är? (1994) This track also was performed live with Frida before the Queen of Sweden...
Chess-In Concert 2CD set November 1994 Available on Swedish Cd.
Chess since it's release has often been performed
as a concert piece.
This 2cd set was released in in Sweden by Benny's label MONO.
This set was drawn from
concerts held in Gothenberg,Sweden in 8-94.
This set features a all Swedish cast of Tommy Korberg as the Russian.
Anders Glenmark as The American, Karin Glenmark as Florence,and
Lena Ericsson as Sveltana.
Benny produced the album and played Grand Piano and Accordian.
Abba band members Rutger Gunnarsson, Lasse Wallender and Per Lindvall
(all of whom played on the original Chess album,)
also play here and for the first time are actually pictured in
the liner notes. Björn does not seem to be present here but
Tim Rice rather kindly wrote some introductory notes.
The track listing is basically similar to the
original studio album but includes "Someone
Else's Story" and "The Soviet Machine"
(a song not available on record previously).
I found Karin Glenmark a little dissapointiing
as Florence and some of the songs less powerful than expected
but otherwise it's listenable,
PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT November 1994 internationally released Soundtrack CD.
This dramatic comedy about a intinerent troop of Austrailian drag queens is a charming film that incorporates the music of ABBA. The music of ABBA plays a slightly lesser role than it does in Muriel's Wedding. The music in the movie is memorable and the soundtrack has most of the songs that were in the movie.
SOUNDTRACK TRACK LISTING
1.I've Never Been To Me - Charlene
2. Go West - Village People
3. Billy Don't Be A Hero - Paper Lace
4. My Baby Loves Lovin' - White Plains
5. I Love The Nightlife (Disco 'Round) (Phillip Dami) - Alicia
Bridges
6. Can't Help Lovin' That Man - Trudy Richards
7. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
8. A Fine Romance - Lena Horne
9. Shake Your Groove Thing (Original Mix) - Peaches And Herb
10. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine - Patti Page
11. Finally (7' Choice Mix) - Ce Ce Peniston
12. Take A Letter Maria - R.B. Greaves
13. Mamma Mia - Abba
14. Save The Best For Last - Vanessa Williams
15. I Love The Nightlife (Disco 'Round) (Real Rapino 7') - Alicia
Bridges
16. Go West (Original 12' Mix) - The Village People
17. I Will Survive (1993 Phil Kelsey Classic 12' Mix) - Gloria
Gaynor
18. Shake Your Groove Thing (Original 12' Mix) - Peaches And Herb
Various Artists -Julens Musik Late 1994 Swedish CD (officially referred to as STIKKAN ANDERSON VALJER POLARSPARLOR-JULENS MUSIK)
This CD released by Polar couples
Agnetha & Linda's NU TANDAS
TUSEN JULEJUS 1980 Christmas album with Polar's 1972 Christmas
LP called NAR JULDAGSMORGAN GLIMMAR which has Christmas songs
by various Polar artists. The second part of the CD is
far better.
Polar's 1972 Christmas music
album had tracks by Annifrid Lyngstad, Lena Anderson,Svenne Hudlund,Arne
Lambert,Sonja Stjernqvist and the Hootenanny Singers .The Hootz
do "Gå Sion, din Konung att möta" and "Nu
Tandas Tusen Juleljus" . The songs Frida did are "Nar
Det Lider Mot" and "Glans Over Sjo Och Strand"
The original Lp is no longer available, NAR JULDAGSMORGAN GLIMMAR
is easily better part of the JULENS MUSIK collection.
JULENS MUSIK is the closest thing we have to an ABBA Christmas
album. (ABBA never recorded any Christmas music).
TRACK LISTING-JULENS MUSIK
Nej se dat snöar/Bjällerklang/ Nu tändas tusen juleljus/ Två små röda luvor/ Nu står jul vid snöig port/ Jag såg mamma kyssa tomten/ När juldagsmorgen glimmar/ Potpurri/ Mej mitt vinterland/ Så mitt lyser stjärnan/ Mössens julafton/ När det lider mot jul-AGNETHA & LINDA
Stilla Natt -
Lena Andersson
Nu Tändas Tusen Juleljus - Hootenanny Singers
När Det Lider Mot Jul - Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Dotter Sion, Fröjda Dig- Svenne Hedlund
O Du Saliga - Sonja Stjernqvist
Gläns Över Sjö Och Strand - Anni-Frid Lyngstad
När Juldagsmorgon Glimmar - Svenne Hedlund
Bereden Väg För Herran - Arne Lamberth
Hosianna - Sonja Stjernqvist
Gå Sion, Din Konung Att Möta- Hootenanny Singers
Härlig Är Jorden - Lena Andersson
Var Hälsad Sköna Morgonstund - Arne Lamberth
MURIEL's WEDDING 1994 Internationally released soundtrack CD. The movie had it 's world premiere in late 2004 but the soundtrack came out in April 1995 in most places...
This music of ABBA is intregal to this movie. The main character of Muriel played by Toni Collette is among other things an ABBA fan, and at leastfour ABBA songs are featured in the movie. ABBA is not entirely portrayed in a posiitve light. The movie sort of implies that losers listen to ABBA.The soundtrack leaves out "Fernando" and Mamma Mia" both of which are featured prominently in the movie.
SOUNDTRACK TRACK LISTING
Bridal Dancing Queen (Edited Orchestra Score) - The Wedding
Band
2. Sugar Baby Love - The Rubettes
3. We've Only Just Begun - The Carpenters
4. Lonely Hearts - The Wedding Band
5. The Tide Is High - Blondie
6. Waterloo - ABBA
7. I Go To Rio - Peter Allen
8. Bean Bag - The Wedding Band
9. T-Shirts & Jeans - Razorbrain
10. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself - Dusty Springfield
11. Bridal Dancing Queen (Full Orchestra Score) - The Wedding
Band
12. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do - ABBA
13. Happy Together - The Turtles
14. Muriel's Wedding - The Wedding Band
15. Dancing Queen - ABBA).
To read more reviews click below!
* ABBA-THE ALBUMSMontief's handy guide to ABBA the Albums
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| MONTIEF'S HANDY GUIDE TO ABBA THE ALBUMS!!! |
| ABBA THE ALBUMS -SITE INDEX -REVIEWS OF ALBUMS SORTED BY ARTIST |
|
ABBA THE ALBUMS - GROUP & SOLO ALBUM REVIEWS LISTED IN ODER OF YEAR OF RELEASE Chart revised July 2006 by Montief OR SOMEONE WHO LOOKS LIKE HIM... |
This is just a few words about peace, love and understanding....and the search for a large milkshake....