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
(1994)		 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.

Disc one

  1. "People Need Love" – 2:45
  2. "He Is Your Brother" – 3:18
  3. "Ring Ring" (Andersson, Stig Anderson, Ulvaeus, Neil Sedaka, Phil Cody) – 3:04
  4. "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" – 2:53
  5. "Waterloo" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 2:47
  6. "Honey, Honey" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 2:55
  7. "So Long" – 3:05
  8. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 3:16
  9. "SOS" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 3:20
  10. "Mamma Mia" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 3:32
  11. "Fernando" – 4:14
  12. "Dancing Queen" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 3:51
  13. "Money, Money, Money" – 3:05
  14. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 4:01
  15. "The Name of the Game" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 4:52
  16. "Take a Chance on Me" – 4:05
  17. "Eagle" (Single version) – 4:27
  18. "Summer Night City" (Single version) – 3:35
  19. "Chiquitita" – 5:24
  20. "Does Your Mother Know" – 3:13
  21. "Rock Me" – 3:08 (Australian bonus track only)
  22. "Hasta Mañana" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 3:11 (Australian bonus track only)

Disc two

  1. "Voulez-Vous" – 5:08
  2. "Angeleyes" – 4:19
  3. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" – 4:50
  4. "I Have a Dream" – 4:42
  5. "The Winner Takes It All" – 4:56
  6. "Super Trouper" – 4:13
  7. "On and On and On" – 3:42
  8. "Lay All Your Love on Me" – 4:34
  9. "One of Us" – 3:56
  10. "When All Is Said and Done" – 3:17
  11. "Head over Heels" – 3:47
  12. "The Visitors" – 5:46
  13. "The Day Before You Came" – 5:51
  14. "Under Attack" – 3:47
  15. "Thank You for the Music" – 3:51
  16. "Ring Ring" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, Sedaka, Cody) (1974 UK single remix) – 3:10 (Bonus track)
  17. "Voulez-Vous" (1979 US promo extended remix) – 6:07 (Bonus track)

DVD

  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)

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 Sales/shipments
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^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[22] Gold 7,500^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[23] Gold 20,000x
United States (RIAA)[24] 342,000[25]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified 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. ↑ "2001-11-10 Top 40 UK Albums Archive". 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.
  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. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – ABBA – The Definitive Collection". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  23. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (ABBA; 'Definitive Collection')". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  24. ↑ "American album certifications – Abba". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  25. ↑ 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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