The Singles: The First Ten Years

The Singles: The First Ten Years
Compilation album by ABBA
Released November 8, 1982
Recorded March 1972 - August 1982
Genre Pop
Length 92:48
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 Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA chronology
The Visitors
(1981)		 The Singles: The First Ten Years
(1982)		 Thank You for the Music
(1983)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone[2]

The Singles: The First Ten Years is a double compilation album by the Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1982.

History

1982 was ABBA’s final year together as a group. They had originally intended to record a new studio album, like they had done almost every year since they first came together. But as the four members felt the energy run out of the group, they shelved these plans and instead decided to release a double album collection of their singles from 1972 to 1982.

The album 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". The Singles: The First Ten Years was released on CD in Canada only (no US release) by Atlantic Records in 1987, but was quickly deleted in 1988 when Atlantic's rights to the catalog expired.[3] In 2001, the album was replaced by The Definitive Collection. The Singles: The First Ten Years does not include non-UK singles such as "Honey, Honey", "Eagle" or "When All Is Said and Done", and it also excludes several of ABBA's UK single hits including the 1974 remix of "Ring Ring", "Angeleyes", "Head over Heels", and the 12" single hit "Lay All Your Love on Me". The album features a 3:58 edited version of "The Name of the Game" instead of the full 4:51 version; this edit (which omits the second verse) was released as a promotional single in the USA in 1977, and was mistakenly included on this compilation.[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, except where noted.

Disc 01

Side A

  1. "Ring Ring" (written by Andersson, Stig Anderson, Ulvaeus, Neil Sedaka, Phil Cody) – 3:04
  2. "Waterloo" (written by Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 2:42
  3. "So Long" – 3:05
  4. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (written by Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 3:16
  5. "SOS" (written by Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 3:22
  6. "Mamma Mia" (written by Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 3:31
  7. "Fernando" (written by Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 4:12

Side B

  1. "Dancing Queen" (written by Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 3:50
  2. "Money, Money, Money" – 3:06
  3. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (written by Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 4:02
  4. "The Name of the Game" (Single version) (written by Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 3:58
  5. "Take a Chance on Me" – 4:06
  6. "Summer Night City" – 3:34

Disc 02

Side A

  1. "Chiquitita" – 5:26
  2. "Does Your Mother Know" – 3:14
  3. "Voulez-Vous" – 5:08
  4. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" – 4:49
  5. "I Have a Dream" – 4:44

Side B

  1. "The Winner Takes It All" – 4:55
  2. "Super Trouper" – 4:13
  3. "One of Us" – 3:55
  4. "The Day Before You Came" – 5:50
  5. "Under Attack" – 3:47

Personnel

ABBA

Additional Personnel

Production

Reviews

Rolling Stone: "This twenty-three song collection (singles plus two new cuts) confirms what a lucky few in the US have known for some time - ABBA is the greatest pop band of the last ten years. There are more infectious melodies, grabby hooks, and danceable drum beats on one side of this two-disc set than in most artists' entire catalogs... The Singles provides an ideal introduction to this talented and highly influential band".

Los Angeles Times: "Special-merit release... ABBA create seductive, richly emotional records that put openly sentimental melodies against a nagging instrumental tension...The group's best tracks are mini - masterpieces of the pop form."

New Musical Express: "This isn't the entire history of pop over the last ten years, but its documentation of the group who altered the course of pop more than anyone else - anyone - is flawless... It resulted in a seam of unbroken, highly individual pop music that in lifespan terms is still unmatched by any rival..."

New York Times: "Abba - The Singles" is a testament to the unstoppable power of the catchy tune"

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australia Albums (Kent Music Report)[5] 18
Belgium 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[6] 5
France 6
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 5
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[8] 5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[9] 33
South Africa 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 29
Switzerland 4
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 1
US Billboard 200[12] 62

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Germany (BVMI)[13] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Platinum 300,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ William Ruhlmann. "The Singles: The First Ten Years". Allmusic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  2. ↑ Archived December 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ https://abbaoncd.wordpress.com/north-american-cds/canadian-cds/
  4. ↑ The Name of the Game
  5. ↑ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970 - 1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – ABBA – The Singles - The First Ten Years" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – ABBA – The Singles - The First Ten Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – ABBA – The Singles - The First Ten Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – ABBA – The Singles - The First Ten Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  11. ↑ "ABBA | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  12. ↑ "ABBA – Chart history" Billboard 200 for ABBA. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (ABBA; 'The Singles - The First Ten Years')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  14. ↑ "British album certifications – ABBA – The Singles: The First Ten Years". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Singles: The First Ten Years in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
Preceded by
The Kids from "Fame" by The Kids from "Fame"		 UK Albums Chart number one album
November 27, 1982 – December 3, 1982 		Succeeded by
The John Lennon Collection by John Lennon
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