The Singles: The First Ten Years
The Singles: The First Ten Years | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | 8 November 1982 | |||
Recorded | January 1973 – August 1982 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 92:44 | |||
Label | Polar (Sweden) Epic (UK, Ireland, Spain and Italy) Atlantic (US and Canada) Polydor (Germany and Netherlands) Vogue (France) RCA (Australia and New Zealand) Sunshine (South Africa) | |||
Producer | ||||
ABBA chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from The Singles: The First Ten Years | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
Rolling Stone | [3] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 10/10[4] |
The Singles: The First Ten Years (re-released in 2024 as The Singles: The First Fifty Years) is a double compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released on November 8, 1982.[5][6] Issued as a double album of their most famous single A-sides, the collection included two new tracks: "The Day Before You Came" and "Under Attack".[7] Both songs were released as singles, with "Cassandra" and "You Owe Me One" as their respective B-sides.[7]
Background and release
In May 1982, ABBA started work on what was meant to be their ninth studio album ended up only completing three songs: "You Owe Me One", "I Am The City" and "Just Like That".[7] Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus were not happy with the tracks and shelved the project in favor of a greatest hits album: The Singles: The First Ten Years. Released in November 1982, it contained most of the band's hit singles from their ten years together as recording artists, and included two new tracks: "The Day Before You Came" and "Under Attack".[7]
The Singles: The First Ten Years was released on CD in Canada only by Atlantic Records in 1987, but was quickly deleted in 1988 when Atlantic's rights to the catalog expired.[8] In 2001, the album was replaced by The Definitive Collection. In the Spin Alternative Record Guide (1995), the compilation was ranked 80th on the book's list of the "Top 100 Alternative Albums".[9]
Richard Cook in the New Musical Express described the collection as a "documentation of the group who altered the course of pop more than anyone else. It resulted in a seam of unbroken, highly individual pop music that in lifespan terms is still unmatched."[10]
In September 2024, a new compilation was announced as an update to The Singles: The First Ten Years.[11] Titled The Singles: The First Fifty Years, the 38-track collection not only contains the singles from Voyage (ABBA's latest studio album), but also includes ten extra tracks from the 1972-1982 period that were not included on the 1982 compilation.[11][12] It was released on October 25, 2024, and issued as a 2CD set and a 4LP 180g vinyl package. Both formats feature an illustrated booklet with unseen band images and liner notes by Carl Magnus Palm.[12][13]
Track listing
Released as a double album, the compilation was divided into two records.
Record one
All tracks are written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Ring Ring" | Ring Ring | 3:00 | |
2. | "Waterloo" | Waterloo | 2:46 | |
3. | "So Long" |
| ABBA | 3:06 |
4. | "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" | ABBA | 3:15 | |
5. | "SOS" | ABBA | 3:22 | |
6. | "Mamma Mia" | ABBA | 3:32 | |
7. | "Fernando" | Greatest Hits | 4:15 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Dancing Queen" | Arrival | 3:51 | |
2. | "Money, Money, Money" |
| Arrival | 3:05 |
3. | "Knowing Me, Knowing You" | Arrival | 4:02 | |
4. | "The Name of the Game" | ABBA: The Album | 4:53 | |
5. | "Take a Chance on Me" |
| ABBA: The Album | 4:05 |
6. | "Summer Night City" |
| Non-album single (1978) | 3:34 |
Total length: | 46:46 |
Record two
All tracks are written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.
No. | Title | Original album | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Chiquitita" | Voulez-Vous | 5:26 |
2. | "Does Your Mother Know" | Voulez-Vous | 3:13 |
3. | "Voulez-Vous" | Voulez-Vous | 5:11 |
4. | "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" | Greatest Hits Vol. 2 | 4:45 |
5. | "I Have a Dream" | Voulez-Vous | 4:44 |
No. | Title | Original album | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Winner Takes It All" | Super Trouper | 4:56 |
2. | "Super Trouper" | Super Trouper | 4:13 |
3. | "One of Us" | The Visitors | 3:55 |
4. | "The Day Before You Came" | Previously unreleased | 5:50 |
5. | "Under Attack" | Previously unreleased | 3:45 |
Total length: | 45:58 |
Personnel
ABBA
- Agnetha Fältskog – lead vocals (5, 14, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23), co-lead vocals (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16), backing vocals
- Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead vocals (7, 9, 10, 18, 20), co-lead vocals (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16), backing vocals
- Björn Ulvaeus – steel-string, acoustic guitar, lead vocals (13, 15), backing vocals
- Benny Andersson – synthesizer, keyboards, backing vocals
Additional personnel
- Ulf Andersson – saxophone
- Ola Brunkert – drums
- Lars Carlsson – horn
- Christer Eklund – saxophone
- Malando Gassama – percussion
- Anders Glenmark – guitar
- Rutger Gunnarsson – bass
- Roger Palm – drums
- Janne Schaffer – guitar
- Åke Sundqvist – percussion
- Mike Watson – bass
- Lasse Wellander – guitar
Production
- Benny Andersson – producer, arranger
- Björn Ulvaeus – producer, arranger
- Michael B. Tretow – engineer
- Lars Larsson – cover photo
- Anders Hanser, Ola Lager, Lars Larsson – inner sleeve photo
- Rune Söderqvist – art director
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[34] | Gold | 20,000^ |
Germany (BVMI)[35] | Gold | 250,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ William Ruhlmann. "The Singles: The First Ten Years". Allmusic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
- ^ [1] Archived December 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 3.
- ^ Ruhlmann, Willam. "The Singles: The First Ten Years - ABBA | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
- ^ Palm, Carl Magnus (2009-10-28). Bright Lights, Dark Shadows: The Real Story of ABBA. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857120571.
- ^ a b c d "In focus: ABBA For The Last Time". ABBA. 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
- ^ "The Singles: The First Ten Years". Abba on CD. 2009-03-30. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
- ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Cook, Richard (4 December 1982). "Abba: The Singles, The First Ten Years (Epic)". www.rocksbackpages.com. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
- ^ a b Sinclair, Paul (2024-09-05). "ABBA / The Singles: The First Fifty Years – SuperDeluxeEdition". Retrieved 2024-09-06.
- ^ a b Armstrong, Sam (2024-09-04). "ABBA Announce New Box Set, 'The Singles – The First Fifty Years'". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
- ^ "The Singles – The First Fifty Years (4LP)". Polar Music. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
- ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970 – 1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – ABBA – The Singles - The First Ten Years" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "ABBA". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 8. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ "Charts.nz – ABBA – The Singles - The First Ten Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – ABBA – The Singles - The First Ten Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – ABBA – The Singles - The First Ten Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ "ABBA | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ "ABBA Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 4 November 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – ABBA – The Singles - The First Fifty Years" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – ABBA – The Singles - The First Fifty Years" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – ABBA – The Singles - The First Fifty Years" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – ABBA – The Singles - The First Fifty Years" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Top Albums (Week 44, 2024)". SNEP. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
- ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
- ^ "Veckolista Album Fysiskt, vecka 44". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – ABBA – The Singles - The First Fifty Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
- ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1983. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ^ "Kent Music Report No 453 – 28 February 1983 > Platinum Albums 1982 (Continued)". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via Imgur.com.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (ABBA; 'The Singles – The First Ten Years')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ^ "British album certifications – ABBA – The Singles: The First Ten Years". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 August 2021.