The Album

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The Album
Studio album by ABBA
Released	December 12, 1977
Recorded	May 1977- November 1977
Genre	Pop
Length	44:00
Label	Polar (original release) PolyGram (1992 - 1997) Universal Music (1998 - )
Producer	Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link NME (7/10) link Rolling Stone (Favorable) link
ABBA chronology
Arrival (1976) The Album (1977) Voulez-Vous (1979)
Alternate cover
UK Edition.

The Album a.k.a. ABBA - The Album is the fifth album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1977 (see 1977 in music). It was released in conjunction with ABBA: The Movie. The Album was first released on CD in 1984. The album has been reissued in digitally remastered form by PolyGram/Universal Music four times; first in 1997, then in 2001, in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set and again in 2007 as a two disc 'Deluxe Edition'.

The original UK release of the LP featured a gatefold sleeve. The background on the front cover was blue, fading to white at the bottom. The official cover was white, and is the basis for current CD versions. Epic Records in the UK opted for the blue-ish sleeve for presumably commercial reasons. The back cover was altered, incorporating a similar photo of ABBA to that used elsewhere in the world for the inner sleeve, and referencing tracks included in ABBA: The Movie. The inner gatefold was designed to look like an air mail envelope, similar to the style later used for Gracias Por La Musica and even had a photo of ABBA incorporated into a stamp in the corner.

This was the first and only time that Epic radically broke away from the standard Polar Music design for an ABBA album. The UK design for "ABBA The Album" has only been issued in CD format once, as part of a limited edition boxed set released by the Japanese arm of Universal Music in 2004.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 CD re-issues, bonus tracks 3 Personnel 4 Production 5 Charts

[edit] Track listing

Side A:

1. "Eagle" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 5:53
2. "Take a Chance on Me" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:03
3. "One Man One Woman" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:37
4. "The Name of the Game" (Andersson, Stig Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 4:53 (3:55 on first pressing of 1997 CD)

Side B:

1. "Move On" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 4:45
2. "Hole In Your Soul" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:43

The Girl With The Golden Hair - 3 scenes from a mini-musical -

3. "Thank You for the Music" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:51
4. "I Wonder (Departure)" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 4:34
5. "I'm a Marionette" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:05

[edit] CD re-issues, bonus tracks

The Album was remastered and reissued in 1997 with no bonus tracks.

The Album was remastered and reissued in 2001 with one bonus track:

10. "Thank You For The Music (Doris Day Version)" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:03

The Album was remastered and reissued again in 2005 as part of the The Complete Studio Recordings box set with following bonus tracks:

10. "Al Andar" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, Buddy McCluskey, Mary McCluskey) – 4:43
    • Spanish version of "Move On".
11. "Gracias Por La Música" (Andersson, Ulvaeus, B. McCluskey, M. McCluskey) – 3:49
    • Spanish version of "Thank You for the Music".

Tracks 10–11, vocals recorded January 1980. These two songs are from the album Gracias Por La Música (Septima SRLM 1, June 23, 1980).

The Album was reissued again in 2007 (October 15) as a 30th Anniversary of the original release, called the 'Deluxe Edition'. This features the same track listing as the 2005 release along with four additional tracks;

10. "Eagle" (Single Edit) - 4:25
11. "Take A Chance On Me" (Live Version; Alternate Mix) - 4:25
    • Originally released as B-side of 1979 single "I Have A Dream"
12. "Thank You For The Music" (Doris Day Version) - 4:03
13. "Al Andar" – 4:43
14. "I Wonder (Departure)" (Live Version) - 4:27
    • Originally released as B-side of 1977 single "The Name Of The Game"
15. "Gracias Por La Música" – 3:49

The 'Deluxe Edition' reissue also came along with a bonus DVD with the following clips:

1. "Eagle/Thank You For The Music" (Star Parade, ZDF)
   
2. "Take A Chance On Me" (Am Laufenden Band, Radio Bremen)
   
3. "The Name Of The Game" (ABBA Special, TBS)
   
4. "Thank You For The Music" (Mike Yarwood’s Christmas Show, BBC)
   
5. "Take A Chance On Me" (Star Parade, ZDF)
   
6. "ABBA on tour in 1977" (Rapport, SVT)
   
7. "Recording ABBA – The Album" (Gomorron Sverige, SVT)
   
8. "ABBA in London, February 1978" (Blue Peter, BBC)
   
9. "ABBA in America, May 1978" (Rapport, SVT)
   
10. "ABBA – The Album Television Commercial I" (UK)
    
11. "ABBA – The Album Television Commercial II" (AUSTRALIA)
    
12. "International Sleeve Gallery"
    

[edit] Personnel

ABBA

• Benny Andersson – keyboards, vocals
• Agnetha Fältskog – vocals
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad – vocals
• Björn Ulvaeus – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals

Additional personnel

• Ola Brunkert – drums
• Lars Carlsson – flute, saxophone
• Malando Gassama – percussion
• Rutger Gunnarsson – bass
• Roger Palm – drums
• Janne Schaffer – guitar
• Lasse Wellander – guitar

[edit] Production

• Producers: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
• Engineer: Michael B. Tretow
• Arranger: Rutger Gunnarsson
• Design: Rune Söderqvist
• Photography: Barry Levine
• Illustrations: Björn Andersson, Rune Söderqvist

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Country/Chart	Position
1978	UK/Album Chart	1 (7)
1978	USA/Billboard 200	14
1978	Canada/RPM Chart	8
1978	Canada/Cria Chart	7
1978	New Zealand	1 (5)
1978	Australia	4
1978	Austria	2
1978	Mexico/International Album Chart	1 (8)
1977/1978	Norway	1 (3)
1978	Sweden	1 (4)

Singles - UK

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1977	"The Name Of The Game"	UK Singles Chart	1 (4)
1978	"Take A Chance On Me"	UK Singles Chart	1 (3)

Singles - Norway

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1977	"The Name Of The Game"	Norway's Singles Chart	3
1978	"Take A Chance On Me"	Norway's Singles Chart	8

Singles - USA and Canada

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1977	"The Name Of The Game"	Billboard Hot 100 - USA	12
1978	"The Name Of The Game"	Billboard Adult Contemporary - USA	9
1978	"Take A Chance On Me"	Billboard Hot 100	3
1978	"Take A Chance On Me"	Adult Contemporary	9
1977	"The Name Of The Game"	RPM singles - Canada	14
1977	"The Name Of The Game"	RPM Adult Contemporary - Canada	12
1977	"The Name Of The Game"	CRIA singles - Canada	15
1977	"Take A Chance on Me"	RPM singles - Canada	3
1977	"Take A Chance on Me"	RPM Adult Contemporary - Canada	7
1977	"Take A Chance on Me"	CRIA singles - Canada	7

v • d • e ABBA Agnetha Fältskog • Björn Ulvaeus • Benny Andersson • Anni-Frid Lyngstad Studio albums Ring Ring • Waterloo • ABBA • Arrival • The Album • Voulez-Vous • Super Trouper • The Visitors Compilations Greatest Hits • Greatest Hits Vol. 2 • Gracias Por La Música • The Singles: The First Ten Years • ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits • More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits • ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos • Thank You for the Music • The Definitive Collection • The Complete Studio Recordings • Number Ones Hit singles "People Need Love" • "He Is Your Brother" • "Ring Ring" • "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" • "Waterloo" • "Honey, Honey" • "So Long" • "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" • "SOS" • "Mamma Mia" • "Fernando" • "Dancing Queen" • "Money, Money, Money" • "Knowing Me, Knowing You" • "The Name of the Game" • "Take a Chance on Me" • "Eagle" • "Summer Night City" • "Chiquitita" • "Does Your Mother Know" • "Voulez-Vous" • "Angeleyes" • "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" • "I Have a Dream" • "The Winner Takes It All" • "On and On and On" • "Super Trouper" • "Lay All Your Love on Me" • "One of Us" • "When All is Said and Done" • "Head over Heels" • "The Visitors" • "The Day Before You Came" • "Under Attack" • "Thank You for the Music" Related articles Discography • Unreleased songs • Eurovision Song Contest 1974 • Mamma Mia! (musical) • Mamma Mia! (film) • Congratulations • Music of Sweden • Stig Anderson • "Thank ABBA for the Music"