The Definitive Collection (ABBA album)

The Definitive Collection
Greatest hits album by ABBA
Released 2 November 2001
Genre Pop
Length 147:38
Label Universal Music Group
ABBA chronology
Thank You for the Music
(1983)		 The Definitive Collection
(2001)		 18 Hits
(2005)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

The Definitive Collection is a 2001 greatest hits compilation album of all the singles released by Swedish pop group ABBA. It consisted of two discs: the first featuring the singles from 1972–79 ("People Need Love" to "Does Your Mother Know"), and the second including the singles from 1979–82 ("Voulez-Vous" to "Under Attack"), with the tracks being listed in chronological order. The main exception is the track "Thank You for the Music", which, despite being written and recorded in 1977, was in fact released as a single (primarily in the UK) in 1983 after the band had split up. It appears on disc two, along with two bonus tracks, "Ring Ring" (1974 UK single remix), and "Voulez-Vous" (1979 US promo extended remix). The Australian version of The Definitive Collection adds a further two bonus tracks: "Rock Me" and "Hasta Mañana". The 1974 remix of "Ring Ring" is the first appearance on CD of this version mastered from the original master tape, after the UK single master tapes had been returned to Polar Music by the former UK licensees, Epic Records. The track's previous appearance on CD, in a 1999 singles boxed set, was mastered from a vinyl single.

The Definitive Collection is the only ABBA compilation to include all the UK single releases from 1973 to 1983. The four "unofficial" UK ABBA singles are included, these being the 1974 remix of "Ring Ring", "Angeleyes", "Lay All Your Love on Me" and "Thank You for the Music". An "unofficial single" is one that was not released by ABBA's record label, Polar Music, in any Scandinavian country.

The Definitive Collection replaced an old collection of ABBA's singles titled The Singles: The First Ten Years, released in 1982.

A DVD also called The Definitive Collection was released in 2002, and features all of ABBA's videos, as well as five bonus videos and a picture gallery. In the US the 2-CD set was bundled with the DVD.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 179 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [2]

The album was re-released in 2012 as The Essential Collection with different artwork. This version removed both bonus tracks but added four tracks for which there were promotional videos: "Bang-A-Boomerang", "That's Me", "One Man, One Woman" and "Happy New Year". These tracks were included chronologically, and additionally "Thank You for the Music" was moved from the end of the album to its chronological place after "Eagle". The collection was released as a two-CD set, a DVD, and a three-disc set including the DVD and both CDs.

Track listing

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

Disc one

No.TitlePlace of OriginLength
1."People Need Love"  Ring Ring, 1973; first released as a single the previous year2:45
2."He Is Your Brother"  Ring Ring; first released as a single the previous year3:18
3."Ring Ring" (Andersson, Stig Anderson, Ulvaeus, Neil Sedaka, Phil Cody)Ring Ring3:04
4."Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)"  Ring Ring2:53
5."Waterloo" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)Waterloo, 19742:47
6."Honey, Honey" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)Waterloo2:55
7."So Long"  ABBA, 1975; released as a single the previous year3:05
8."I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)ABBA3:16
9."SOS" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)ABBA3:20
10."Mamma Mia" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)ABBA3:32
11."Fernando"  Non-album single, 1976; later released on later releases of Greatest Hits, 19754:14
12."Dancing Queen" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)Arrival, 19763:51
13."Money, Money, Money"  Arrival3:05
14."Knowing Me, Knowing You" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)Arrival; released as a single the following year4:01
15."The Name of the Game" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus)ABBA: The Album, 19774:52
16."Take a Chance on Me"  ABBA: The Album4:05
17."Eagle" (Single version)ABBA: The Album; released as a single the following year4:27
18."Summer Night City" (Single version)Non-album single, 19783:35
19."Chiquitita"  Voulez-Vous, 19795:24
20."Does Your Mother Know"  Voulez-Vous3:13
21."Rock Me" (Australian bonus track)ABBA; released as a single the following year3:08
22."Hasta Mañana" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus; Australian bonus track)Waterloo3:11

Disc two

No.TitlePlace of OriginLength
1."Voulez-Vous"  Voulez-Vous5:08
2."Angeleyes"  Voulez-Vous4:19
3."Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"  Greatest Hits Vol. 2, 19794:50
4."I Have a Dream"  Voulez-Vous4:42
5."The Winner Takes It All"  Super Trouper, 19804:56
6."Super Trouper"  Super Trouper4:13
7."On and On and On"  Super Trouper3:42
8."Lay All Your Love on Me"  Super Trouper4:34
9."One of Us"  The Visitors, 19813:56
10."When All Is Said and Done"  The Visitors3:17
11."Head over Heels"  The Visitors3:47
12."The Visitors (Crackin' Up)"  The Visitors5:46
13."The Day Before You Came"  The Singles: The First Ten Years, 19825:51
14."Under Attack"  The Singles: The First Ten Years3:47
15."Thank You for the Music"  ABBA: The Album; released as a single in support of Thank You for the Music, 19833:51
16."Ring Ring" (1974 UK single remix; Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, Sedaka, Cody; bonus track)Previously unissued on CD, 20013:10
17."Voulez-Vous" (1979 US promo extended remix; bonus track)Previously unissued on CD6:07

DVD

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

Charts and certifications

Album charts
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[3] 38
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[4] 29
Irish Albums (IRMA)[5] 33
Italian Albums (FIMI)[6] 10
UK Albums (OCC)[7] 17
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 10
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[9] 9
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[10] 39
Chart (2004) Peak
position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[11] 3
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] 8
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 26
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 34
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 28
Chart (2011) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[16] 35
Certifications
Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[17] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Brazil (ABPD)[18] Gold 50,000*
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[19] Gold 25,000^
France (SNEP)[20] Gold 50,000*
Germany (BVMI)[21] Platinum 300,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[22] Gold 10,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[23] Gold 7,500^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[24] Gold 20,000^
United States (RIAA)[25] 342,000[26]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r559219
  2. ↑ "#179 The Definitive Collection". Rolling Stone. 1 November 2003. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  3. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – ABBA – The Definitive Collection" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  4. ↑ "Ultratop.be – ABBA – The Definitive Collection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 44, 2001". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  8. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  9. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  10. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – ABBA – The Definitive Collection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  11. ↑ "Top 40 Albums - 22 / 2004". Tracklisten. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  12. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  13. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  14. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  15. ↑ "ABBA: The Definitive Collection" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  16. ↑ "Lescharts.com – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  17. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  18. ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – ABBA – The Definitive Collection" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  19. ↑ "Danish album certifications – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 28 December 2012. Click on næste to go to page 31 if certification from official website
  20. ↑ "French album certifications – ABBA – The Definitive Collection" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  21. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (ABBA; 'The Definitive Collection')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  22. ↑ "Platinum Awards". Archived from the original on July 2, 2012.
  23. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  24. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (ABBA; 'Definitive Collection')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  25. ↑ "American album certifications – Abba". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  26. ↑ Trust, Gary (23 January 2009). "Ask Billboard: Mariah Carey, Abba, Oasis, The Verve". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
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