Customer Reviews

The Collection

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a major fan of ABBA, but why was this collection necessary? It seems to be an all-too obvious attempt by Polygram to bilk more money out of the "completists" fans who have to buy every single compilation album by their favorite group, no matter how many times the songs have been re-released....(and released.....and released.....etc......) Everything on this CD has been included on SEVERAL other albums. Polygram would better serve ABBA's legion of fans by dipping into the vaults and finally releasing all the "missing" catalog tracks that have never seen the light of day except on bootleg albums. (" Just Like That", "Under My Sun", "Every Good Man", "I'm Still Alive", etc.....) One wonders just how much of a hand the members of ABBA really have in these repackaged things......

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 1998, and contains a nice selection of ABBA tunes.

Yes, considering the group broke up some sixteen years before this album came out there is nothing new here. But, that said, it is a nice album with lots of great ABBA tunes. Heck, I do not have a large CD collection, and as such was very glad to have access to tunes that I did not have before. In particular, I found the album's ending with The Way Old Friends Do to be quite poignant.

My thirteen-year-old daughter has now become an ABBA fan, and she enjoys this album as much as I do. We both recommend this CD to you!

A nice collection, but, as the editorial review says, it skews toward to the serious, big-production ballads, making for a rather one-dimensional picture of the group. I also judge the sound quality to be not as crisp and clear as it is on the recently-remastered individual albums. Finally, the booklet is blank except for song titles. Since there is nothing here even the most casual Abba fan probably doesn't already have in triplicate, this collection is easily passed over.

This was the first of many ABBA cd's that I have boughten and is truthfully the best, in my opinion. It is a "collection" of some of their best stuff...their best songs. I really enjoyed the simplisity of this album.

If you have to choose between ABBA cd's to get, choice #1 should be "ABBA The Album", and choice #2 is this one...Both 5 Starz!