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ABBA Chart Positions

Discussion in 'A Small Circle of Friends: The Music Forum' started by newvillefan, Jan 9, 2012.

  1. newvillefan Member

    Not to get off the beaten track too much, but it's interesting how ABBA had nine #1s in the UK, and the same tracks all failed to hit the top spot in America, with the notable exception of Dancing Queen. I'm not sure why that is really, taste accounts for part of it maybe. I think it's also partly to do with the fact that the Billboard charts had at that time many more acts from many more genres all jostling for position and trying to reach a much larger US audience. Here's the chart listings from wikipedia for those nine singles pulled:

    [IMG]

    Interestingly, Benny and Bjorn have often said their only outlet to international music in early 1970s in Sweden was listening through the UK, so what they were hearing obviously influenced them and this struck a chord with UK audiences, particularly I guess the 'schlager' type songs that dominated that era and Eurovision Song Contest entries (think Olivia 'Long Live Love', Brotherhood Of Man 'Save Your Kisses For Me'). This sound is heard in many of ABBA's early tracks like 'Money, Money, Money', 'Fernando', 'Hasta Manana', 'Bang A Boomerang' and 'I Do, I Do, I Do'.

    Anyway, back to Carpenters...if you look at the acts on Top Of The Pops during the 70s (the main engine behind chart sales and the music show of the week), they were mainly European acts. Rarely did you see American artists on there. Carpenters only performed on there once, and never came back! I always thought that a shame, considering they were at their peak in UK album sales terms for the two year period spanning 1973 to 1975 (but then again, it was a singles-based show I suppose :) ).
    newvillefan, Jan 9, 2012
    #1 Share

  2. Harry Administrator

    Stephen - great information. Thank you.

    I moved this to its own thread in the general music forum as we're trying to keep the "Offiicial Review" threads about their subject matter - in this case, OFFERING.

    I recall ABBA having a bit of a stigma attached to them in the '70s. The radio station I worked for here in the States played "Waterloo", but then was reluctant to add anything else by them to the rotation. ABBA had a somewhat of an "uncool" reputation about them. In an interview, Bjorn referred to this as the "dumb Swedes" syndrome.

    Harry
    Harry, Jan 9, 2012
    #2 Share

  3. Mike Blakesley Administrator

    I do remember ABBA having the "uncool" stigma attached to them. My theory is, they were too smiley at a time when pop groups were all serious. (Take a look at a Fleetwood Mac photo from the same era...you'll hardly see a smile anywhere unless they are laughing about something.) I think Richard Carpenter tuned into this...we all know how he hated smiling on their album covers.
    Mike Blakesley, Jan 10, 2012
    #3 Share

  4. A&Mguyfromwayback Member

    I don't remember people in America being much into ABBA at all, except for "Dancing Queen", "Take A Chance On Me" and maybe "Fernando"....yet now, after "Mamma Mia", everyone acts like they always knew all these songs - songs that barely charted (or actually didn't). Selective memory?
    A&Mguyfromwayback, Jan 10, 2012
    #4 Share

  5. Harry Administrator

    It always appeared to me that people in the US became fans of some of ABBA's songs - not the group itself. Whereas, if you watch documentaries of the period, fans in other countries were very into the group and its individual members, as well as the songs.

    Most of their songs got airplay as I recall - they just never reached the lofty, upper echelons of the charts like they did in the UK and Australia in particular.

    I assembled quite a stash of ABBA's Atlantic singles on 45 from the radio station with the majority of their hit singles. I had enough that when GOLD was first released, I really didn't feel I needed it as I had all of these singles. Later on, as my collector mentality took over, I've added quite a few ABBA CDs with lots of redundant copies of their music. And I've really enjoyed the MAMMA MIA! show and various tribute bands I've seen. And so do the crowds apparently - there's always a lot of singing along at these affairs, so somehow, someway, everyone know these songs.

    Harry
    Harry, Jan 11, 2012
    #5 Share

  6. Dave Active Member

    I've mostly preferred the later ABBA, the stuff that made up 'Greatest Hits, Volume, 2'... In fact, I've had the 2-Disc, ABBA 'Gold', and mostly listened to "Disc 2", while also disappointed that it went out of print...

    (And all along wish 'Greatest Hits, Volume 2' included "I Have A Dream", which my dad & I heard playing at a Big Boy restaurant, which he instantly recognized & I expressed how puzzled at what a good song it was but my "one ABBA album that I thought had "everything" lacked", but it at least prompted me to buy ARRIVAL, THE ALBUM and VOULEZ VOUZ)...

    And I once owned that "Complete Works" 4 CD set, too...! --Which made me appreciate the earlier stuff from ABBA and WATERLOO, though the 'Rare & Unreleased Stuff' on the last disc could get ludicrous & weird...! (And I wish, now, with it having "every note recorded to date", that I hadn't sold it...)


    -- Dave
    Dave, Jan 11, 2012
    #6 Share

  7. Harry Administrator

    "I Have A Dream" is on VOULEZ-VOUS, ABBA GOLD, the THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC 4-CD box set, the 2-CD DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, the recent (2006) compilation called NUMBER ONES, and on various Spanish compilations as "Estoy Soñando". In fact, ABBA has had so many hits compilations that it's hard to find one on which the song ISN'T. But, as Mr. Dave says, it's not on either GREATEST HITS VOLUME 1 or GREATEST HITS VOLUME 2.

    By the way, ABBA's recordings have been the subject of a lot of audiophile criticism as many CDs are criticized as too loud, overly compressed, using the wrong masters, etc.
    One thing that's generally agreed upon is that the older the CD release, generally the better the sound. So it turns out that the ancient early CDs from Atlantic in the US are praised very highly as they aren't loud or compressed, and sound fairly natural. These include GREATEST HITS 1 and 2 and SUPER TROUPER. Other early CDs of the albums from Polar in Sweden get pretty high marks too.

    As you get into the '90s, the original pressings of GOLD and MORE ABBA GOLD are considered decent, perhaps a bit on the bright side, but a couple of tracks use the wrong masters. Later issues of GOLD and MORE ABBA GOLD were mastered by John Astley and are considered too overly noised-reduced and are fatiguing to listen to, but they got the versions correct.

    The four-CD THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC set is also considered pretty decent in terms of sound. Again, a couple of wrong mixes got used for songs like "The Name Of The Game".

    The 2-CD DEFINITIVE COLLECTION has a great track selection, but its mastering by John Astley makes it a noise-reduction-fest that becomes fatiguing on the ears.

    The huge COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS box set is a bit of an enigma. The tracks used are for the most part correct, and though the mastering is extremely loud, it still manages to sound pretty good. Henrik Jonsson did the mastering on that one. So even though it's loud, it's still fairly sought after by fans for its completeness in both CDs and DVDs.

    The recent set of DELUXE EDITIONS from WATERLOO through VOULEZ-VOUS use the Henrik Jonsson masterings, and the latest, SUPER TROUPER has an even better, more modern mastering by Henrik Jonsson that rivals the old Atlantic version of the album.

    Harry
    Harry, Jan 11, 2012
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  8. Harry Administrator

    THE VISITORS from ABBA gets a Deluxe Edition:
    ________

    April 23 sees the release of The Visitors Deluxe Edition. As with previous releases in the Deluxe Edition series, this version of ABBA’s final album offers a DVD of archive material along with CD bonus tracks – including the demo medley ‘From A Twinkling Star To A Passing Angel’, the first previously unreleased ABBA recordings since 1994!

    [IMG]
    The Deluxe Edition of The Visitors, ABBA’s eighth and final studio album, will be released on April 23, 2012. Originally released in 1981, the album features single hits such as ‘One Of Us’, ‘Head Over Heels’ and ‘When All Is Said And Done’, along with ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’, which is highlighted in one of the more poignant moments in the Mamma Mia! musical.

    Like the previous Deluxe Editions of ABBA’s albums, The Visitors will feature several bonus selections along with a DVD of rare and previously unreleased material from the archives.

    For ABBA fans, the most sensational inclusion in the package will be the previously unreleased track, ‘From A Twinkling Star To A Passing Angel (demos)’. This is the first time since the Thank You For The Music box set in 1994 that ABBA have opened the doors to the tape vaults to release previously unheard music from the group’s heyday.

    Watch this space for more information about the track list and the previously unreleased recording.


    THE VISITORS – DELUXE EDITION

    DISC 01: CD
    1. The Visitors
    2. Head Over Heels
    3. When All Is Said And Done
    4. Soldiers
    5. I Let The Music Speak
    6. One Of Us
    7. Two For The Price Of One
    8. Slipping Through My Fingers
    9. Like An Angel Passing Through My Room

    Bonus Tracks:
    10. Should I Laugh Or Cry
    11. I Am The City
    12. You Owe Me One
    13. Cassandra
    14. Under Attack
    15. The Day Before You Came

    Extra Bonus Track:
    16. From A Twinkling Star To A Passing Angel (demos)


    DISC 02: DVD:
    1. Two For The Price Of One (Dick Cavett Meets ABBA)
    2. Slipping Through My Fingers (Dick Cavett Meets ABBA)
    3. When All Is Said And Done (Original Promo Clip)
    4. ABBA In London, November 1982 (The Late Late Breakfast Show, BBC)
    5. ABBA In Stockholm, November 1982 (Nöjesmaskinen, SVT)
    6. The Visitors TV commercial I (UK)
    7. The Visitors TV commercial II (Australia)
    8. The Singles – The First Ten Years TV commercial I (UK)
    9. The Singles – The First Ten Years TV commercial II (Australia)
    10. International Sleeve Gallery
    ________

    abbasite.com/articles/news/the-visitors-deluxe-edition-released-in-april!



    Harry
    Harry, Jan 27, 2012
    #8 Share

  9. Chris-An Ordinary Fool Active Member

    I don't see this available to pre-order anywhere yet, too early? I absolutely love this album, it's one of my most favorite. The bonus tracks are some of the best, it's hard to believe they were not selected as the original tracks to this album. You Owe Me One and The Day Before You Came, Under Attack, I am the City, man I love all those. This is going to be pretty cool to hear a new ABBA track and the DVD listings sounds great too. I'm probably looking forward to this more than the other deluxe editions I own.

    I hope my concert in April of the Music of Abba (Arrival from Sweden) perform at least something from The Visitors.
    Chris-An Ordinary Fool, Jan 29, 2012
    #9 Share

  10. Harry Administrator

    Yeah, I think it's too early for pre-orders. It's not due out until late April.

    These Deluxe Editions tend not to be carried in the US, but may be orderable as an import. I'd look to European sites and order it from them directly, like Amazon.co.uk

    Harry
    Harry, Jan 29, 2012
    #10 Share

  11. Chris-An Ordinary Fool Active Member

    I ordered the other deluxe editions from the UK and delivery was impressive the shipping cost was even better too. I forget to mention that Head over Heels is also a favorite of mine. Whenever I play, I Let The Music Speak, I always imagine what Karen Carpenter would have sounded in her lower voice. I love the arrangement on that track.
    Chris-An Ordinary Fool, Jan 29, 2012
    #11 Share

  12. Chris-An Ordinary Fool Active Member

    I just placed my pre-order for ABBA, The Visitors Deluxe Edition CD/DVD, the total w/ shipping came to $21.00 US not bad for a CD/DVD combo, gotta love the UK. It appears Amazon US has this for over $34.00, feels like a saved a bundle, can't wait to get this new release w/ new lost recording. I've really enjoyed these other deluxe editions, especially the video footage. The CD's are mastered so much better and sound amazing.
    Chris-An Ordinary Fool, Feb 3, 2012
    #12 Share

  13. newvillefan Member

    Oh wow, I find myself out of my comfort zone of the Carpenters section :wave:

    Thanks Harry for redirecting my original post over to here.

    The big miss of course with this remaster is the still unreleased 'Just Like That', which the fans have begged Benny and Bjorn for, with petition signatures galore, but it's one which to this day they steadfastly refuse to release, arguing that its component parts have already seen release in other tracks. A shame, as the song was completed at the third go-around in May/June 1982 with a saxophone overdub by Ralph Ravencroft (of Gerry Rafferty 'Baker Street' fame).

    This song is the Holy Grail amongst ABBA fans and was remastered for More ABBA Gold but pulled at the last minute. Only 'I Am The City' made that release, and 'I Wonder (Departure) took the place of the former 1982 outtake.
    newvillefan, Feb 17, 2012
    #13 Share

  14. Chris-An Ordinary Fool Active Member

    Someone on here gave me the demo to Just Like That, it is over 5 mins. I liked this track so much that I always hated that they sandwiched it inside that long undeleted medley that appears on the box set Thank You for the Music 4 Disc set of which is the first time I ever heard it. It really deserves to be released as a stand alone track, I did not know it was remastered for More Abba Gold but was pulled.

    It's amazing how Abba's music still sells to this day right now on Amazon UK this release is #296 in bestsellers rank and it has not even been released, the price also dropped 1.00.
    Chris-An Ordinary Fool, Feb 18, 2012
    #14 Share

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