1977 studio album by ABBA
This article is about the 1977 album. Not to be confused with the 1975 album
ABBA (album)
.
ABBA: The Album
(also known as simply
The Album
) is the fifth studio album by the Swedish
pop
group
ABBA
. It was released in Scandinavia on 12 December 1977 through
Polar Music
, but due to the massive pre-orders the UK pressing plants were not able to press sufficient copies before Christmas 1977 and so it was not released in the UK until January 1978. The album was released in conjunction with
ABBA: The Movie
, with several of the songs featured in the film. Altogether the album contains nine songs.
The album contained two UK number-one singles, "
Take a Chance on Me
" and "
The Name of the Game
", as well as European hits "
Eagle
" and "
Thank You for the Music
".
[4]
Background and production
[
edit
]
The album includes three songs from ABBA's 1977 tour mini-musical
The Girl with the Golden Hair
performed during each of their European and Australian shows in 1977. Andersson and Ulvaeus wanted to offer more than "a run through of their hits and assorted album tracks" for their concerts.
[5]
Although the songs received a "less-than-tumultuous" reception during the first performances of the mini-musical, three of the tracks ("
Thank You for the Music
", "
I Wonder (Departure)
" and "
I'm a Marionette
") were included on the new album. A fourth song written for the musical, "Get on the Carousel", was rewritten as the up-tempo track "Hole in Your Soul" with "a substantial part of the melody [being] incorporated into [its] middle eight". Parts of "Get on the Carousel" appeared in
ABBA: The Movie
.
[6]
The "25-minute opus" had storyline about a talented "small-town girl leaving her hometown" on her "quest for stardom",
[5]
with each song representing a different part of her personality. Faltskog and Lyngstad shared the lead-role and wore matching blonde wigs and costumes "for optimum dramatic effect".
[6]
Release
[
edit
]
ABBA: The Album
was released in Scandinavia on 12 December 1977.
ABBA: The Album
was first released on CD in 1984. The album has been reissued in the format by PolyGram (later 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'.
On 3 November 2017, the album was released as a double vinyl mastered at
Abbey Road Studios
using half speed mastering.
Cover artwork
[
edit
]
Polar's official cover made by art director Rune Soderqvist featured an entirely white background, and is the basis for current CD versions. However,
Epic Records
' original UK release of the LP featured a blue background on the front cover, fading to white at the bottom. It also featured a
gatefold
sleeve. 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 re-issued on LP format once, in the 2008 European reissue.
[7]
Critical reception
[
edit
]
The Album
received positive reviews from
music critics
. Bruce Eder from
AllMusic
wrote that the album marked a "step forward for the group" since they "absorb and assimilate some of the influences around them, particularly the laid-back
California
sound of
Fleetwood Mac
(...) as well as some of the attributes of progressive rock" but "without compromising their essential virtues as a pop ensemble".
[8]
John Rockwell from
Rolling Stone
gave the album a favorable review and wrote that
The Album
represents an interesting departure from their past formulas like "innocently superficial lyrics, bouncy Europop music, rock energy and amplification, soaring melodies" to a more mature and intelligent record.
[12]
NME
wrote a short review to the album when it turned 30 years old, and wrote that the album "still sounds pleasantly nostalgic" and had "some delicious pop nuggets from their Swedish hatch".
[1]
Commercial performance
[
edit
]
ABBA: The Album
reached No. 1 in many territories. In the UK it debuted at the top and remained there for seven weeks,
[13]
ending up as the third biggest selling album of the year (behind the movie soundtrack LPs of
Saturday Night Fever
and
Grease
). In the US it became their highest charting album during their original run, where during 1978 ABBA undertook a big promotional campaign.
[4]
Track listing
[
edit
]
All tracks written by
Benny Andersson
and
Bjorn Ulvaeus
except where noted.
[14]
CD edition
Title
|
---|
1.
| "Eagle"
| 5:50
|
---|
2.
| "Take a Chance on Me"
| 4:07
|
---|
3.
| "One Man, One Woman"
| 4:34
|
---|
4.
| "The Name of the Game"
| 4:54
|
---|
5.
| "Move On"
| 4:43
|
---|
6.
| "Hole in Your Soul"
| 3:41
|
---|
7.
| "Thank You for the Music"
| 3:50
|
---|
8.
| "I Wonder (Departure)"
| 4:34
|
---|
9.
| "I'm a Marionette"
| 4:09
|
---|
Total length:
| 40:22
|
---|
2001 CD edition bonus track
Title
|
---|
10.
| "Thank You for the Music" (
Doris Day
version)
| 4:03
|
---|
The Complete Studio Recordings
bonus tracks
Title
| Writer(s)
|
---|
10.
| "Al Andar" (Spanish version of "Move On")
| - Andersson
- Anderson
- Ulvaeus
- Buddy McCluskey
- Mary McCluskey
| 4:43
|
---|
11.
| "Gracias por la musica" (Spanish version of "Thank You for the Music")
| - Andersson
- Ulvaeus
- B. McCluskey
- M. McCluskey
| 3:49
|
---|
2007 deluxe edition (The Watershed Album) bonus tracks
Title
| Writer(s)
|
---|
10.
| "Eagle" (single edit)
|
| 4:25
|
---|
11.
| "Take a Chance on Me" (live version; alternate mix)
|
| 4:25
|
---|
12.
| "Thank You for the Music" (Doris Day version)
|
| 4:03
|
---|
13.
| "Al Andar" (Spanish version of "Move On")
| - Andersson
- Anderson
- Ulvaeus
- B. McCluskey
- M. McCluskey
| 4:43
|
---|
14.
| "I Wonder (Departure)" (live version)
| - Andersson
- Anderson
- Ulvaeus
| 4:27
|
---|
15.
| "Gracias por la musica" (Spanish version of "Thank You for the Music")
| - Andersson
- Ulvaeus
- B. McCluskey
- M. McCluskey
| 3:49
|
---|
2007 deluxe edition DVD
Title
|
---|
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"
|
|
---|
Personnel
[
edit
]
Cited from liner notes.
[15]
ABBA
- Agnetha Faltskog
? Lead Vocals (5, 7) Co-Lead Vocals (1, 2, 4, 6, 9) Backing vocals
- Anni-Frid Lyngstad
? Lead Vocals (3, 8) Co-Lead Vocals (1, 2, 4, 6, 9) backing vocals
- Bjorn Ulvaeus
Backing Vocals, Spoken Intro (5),
acoustic guitar
- Benny Andersson
? backing vocals, keyboards, synthesizers
Additional musicians
[
edit
]
- Lasse Wellander
? electric lead guitar, acoustic and electric rhythm guitars
- Janne Schaffer
? additional electric guitar on "Eagle"
- Rutger Gunnarsson
? bass, string arrangements
- Ola Brunkert
? drums
- Roger Palm ? drums (on "Take a Chance on Me",
[16]
"One Man, One Woman", and "Thank You for the Music"), tambourine on "Take a chance on me" and "Thank you for the music"
- Lars O. Carlsson ? recorders on "Eagle" and "Move on"
- Malando Gassama
? percussion
Production
[
edit
]
- Benny Andersson
? producer, arranger
- Bjorn Ulvaeus
? producer, arranger
- Michael B. Tretow
?
engineer
- Rune Soderqvist ? design
- Barry Levine ? photography
- Bjorn Andersson ? illustrations
- Rune Soderqvist ? illustrations
- Jon Astley ? remastering (1997 re-issue, 2001 re-issue)
- Tim Young ? remastering (1997 re-issue)
- Michael B. Tretow ? remastering (1997 re-issue, 2001 re-issue)
- Henrik Jonsson ? remastering (
The Complete Studio Recordings
box set)
Charts
[
edit
]
Weekly charts
[
edit
]
|
Year-end charts
[
edit
]
|
Certifications and sales
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"NME Album Reviews ? Abba"
.
NME
. UK. 23 November 2007
. Retrieved
19 November
2011
.
- ^
Sheffield, Rob (11 August 2018).
"The 25 Best ABBA Songs, Ranked"
.
Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
10 November
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Weisbard, Eric
; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995).
Spin Alternative Record Guide
. New York:
Vintage Books
. p. 4.
ISBN
0-679-75574-8
.
- ^
a
b
Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991).
Guinness Book of Rock Stars
. Enfield: Guinness Publishing Ltd. p. 1.
ISBN
0-85112-971-4
.
- ^
a
b
Palm, Carl Magnus (1 September 2008).
Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of Abba
. Omnibus Press.
ISBN
9781847724199
.
- ^
a
b
Tesch, Christopher Patrick (2008).
ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup
(1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. pp. 43?45.
ISBN
9780646496764
.
- ^
"ABBA ? The Album (2008, 180g, Gatefold,, Vinyl)"
.
Discogs.com
. Retrieved
20 December
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Eder, Bruce.
"The Album - ABBA | Songs, Reviews, Credits"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
10 November
2020
.
- ^
Larkin, Colin (2007).
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
(5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 31.
ISBN
978-1-84609-856-7
.
- ^
Cross, Charles R.
(2004). "ABBA". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.).
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide
(4th ed.).
Simon & Schuster
. pp.
1
.
ISBN
0-7432-0169-8
.
- ^
Spin Alternative Record Guide
. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 3, 4.
- ^
Rockwell, John (23 March 1978).
"ABBA: The Album : Music Reviews"
.
Rolling Stone
. Archived from
the original
on 14 January 2009
. Retrieved
19 November
2011
.
- ^
"Official Charts Company"
.
www.officialcharts.com
. Retrieved
9 May
2018
.
- ^
"Album the-album ≪ ABBA ? The Album | Albums | ABBA"
. Archived from
the original
on 21 May 2017
. Retrieved
8 June
2013
.
- ^
ABBA: The Album
(booklet).
ABBA
. New York:
Atlantic Records
. 1977.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
Palm, Carl Magnus (2005).
Abba : the complete guide to their music
. London: Omnibus Press. pp. 44?50.
ISBN
1-84449-505-1
.
OCLC
60589495
.
- ^
Kent, David
(1993).
Australian Chart Book 1970-1992
.
St Ives
, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 10.
ISBN
0-646-11917-6
.
- ^
"Austriancharts.at ? ABBA ? The Album"
(in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^
"Top RPM Albums: Issue 4628a"
.
RPM
.
Library and Archives Canada
. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^
"Dutchcharts.nl ? ABBA ? The Album"
(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^
Pennanen, Timo (2021). "ABBA".
Sisaltaa hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960?30.6.2021
(PDF)
(in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava. p. 8
. Retrieved
24 August
2022
.
- ^
"Offiziellecharts.de ? ABBA ? The Album"
(in German).
GfK Entertainment Charts
. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^
Racca, Guido (2019).
M&D Borsa Album 1964?2019
(in Italian). Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp Print Us.
ISBN
9781094705002
.
- ^
Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005
.
Roppongi
,
Tokyo
: Oricon Entertainment. 2006.
ISBN
4-87131-077-9
.
- ^
"Charts.nz ? ABBA ? The Album"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^
"Norwegiancharts.com ? ABBA ? The Album"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^
a
b
"Swedishcharts.com ? ABBA ? The Album"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^
"Official Albums Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^
"ABBA Chart History (
Billboard
200)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^
"Official IFPI Charts ? Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Combined) ? Week: 45/2021"
.
IFPI Greece
. Archived from
the original
on 22 November 2021
. Retrieved
29 November
2021
.
- ^
"Jahreshitparade Alben 1978"
(in German). Hung Medien
. Retrieved
20 October
2021
.
- ^
"Top 100 Albums of '78"
.
RPM
.
Library and Archives Canada
. Retrieved
20 October
2021
.
- ^
"Jaaroverzichten ? Album 1978"
(in Dutch).
Dutch Charts
. Retrieved
20 October
2021
.
- ^
"Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts"
(in German).
GfK Entertainment Charts
. Retrieved
20 October
2021
.
- ^
"Top Selling Albums of 1978 ? The Official New Zealand Music Chart"
.
Recorded Music New Zealand
. Retrieved
20 October
2021
.
- ^
"1970s Albums Chart Archive"
.
everyhit.com
.
The Official Charts Company
. Archived from
the original
on 6 October 2009
. Retrieved
20 October
2021
.
- ^
"Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
12 October
2021
.
- ^
"CashBox Magazine"
(PDF)
.
Billboard
. 16 September 1978. p. 50
. Retrieved
13 November
2021
– via World Radio History.
- ^
"Canadian album certifications ? Abba ? The Album"
.
Music Canada
. Retrieved
28 August
2013
.
- ^
"Abba The World - Czechoslovakia"
.
Billboard
. 8 September 1979. p. ABBA-8.
- ^
Orsted, Knud (3 June 1978).
"Sales in Denmark Hit New High At $64 Mil; Imports Bite Reduced"
(PDF)
.
Billboard
. p. 98 – via American Radio History.
- ^
a
b
"Abba"
(in Finnish).
Musiikkituottajat ? IFPI Finland
. Retrieved
28 August
2013
.
- ^
Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique
(SNEP). Fabrice Ferment (ed.).
"TOP ? 1978"
.
40 ans de tubes : 1960?2000 : les meilleures ventes de 45 tours & CD singles
(in French).
OCLC
469523661
. Archived from
the original
on 19 October 2020
. Retrieved
23 March
2022
– via Top-France.fr.
- ^
"Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Abba;
'
The Album
'
)"
(in German).
Bundesverband Musikindustrie
. Retrieved
28 August
2013
.
- ^
"IFPIHK Gold Disc Award ? 1979"
.
IFPI
Hong Kong
. Retrieved
8 January
2016
.
- ^
"ABBA Cracks Japan Mart; Sales Surge"
.
Billboard
. 10 March 1979. p. 76.
- ^
"Dutch album certifications ? ABBA ? The Album"
(in Dutch).
Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers
. Retrieved
5 August
2018
.
Enter
The Album
in the "Artiest of titel" box.
Select
1978
in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen"
.
- ^
Hultin, Randi (8 September 1979).
"Abba The World"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
Schulman, Leif (8 September 1979).
"Abba The World"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
"ABBA Million"
.
Billboard
.
90
(30): 70. 29 July 1978.
ISSN
0006-2510
. Retrieved
31 May
2022
– via Google Books.
- ^
"British album certifications ? ABBA ? The Album"
.
British Phonographic Industry
.
- ^
Schulman, Leif (5 May 1979).
"ABBA LP Sets Scene For Foreign Touring"
.
Billboard
. p. 38
. Retrieved
4 November
2020
– via Google books.
- ^
"American album certifications ? Abba ? The Album"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
.
|
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|
Studio albums
| |
---|
Compilation albums
| |
---|
Live albums
| |
---|
Box sets
| |
---|
Concerts and tours
| |
---|
Films and musicals
| |
---|
TV specials
| |
---|
Video games
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
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Related individuals
| |
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|