Happy Nation is the debut studio album by Swedish pop group Ace of Base. It was initially released in Denmark on 2 November 1992 by Mega Records. During development of the record, the group was heavily influenced by a Jamaican reggae band residing in a nearby studio.[5] For a release in North America, Japan and some Latin American countries, the album was retitled The Sign with a heavily revised track listing and three new tracks. To coincide with this, Happy Nation was reissued with the new tracks in other territories as Happy Nation (U.S. Version). In 1995, Guinness Book of World Records named the LP the best-selling debut studio effort in music history, at more than 19 million copies sold worldwide.[6] By 1998, Happy Nation/The Sign had sold approximately 21 million units including 9 million in the US alone.[7] Happy Nation/The Sign is one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Happy Nation | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2 November 1992 | |||
Recorded | January-May 1992 | |||
Genre | Dance-pop,[1] reggae-pop | |||
Length | 49:21 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Ace of Base chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from Happy Nation | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
The Guardian | (favorable)[3] |
Music Week | [4] |
Speaking with Music & Media magazine about the album, Metronome Records managing director Albert Slendebroek said of the album:
Everything was being driven by grunge or techno, then suddenly these people arrived and did something which was completely different and happy and simple. I just think they write brilliant pop tunes and it hit a nerve at the time. (...) I think they've developed their own style. If you listen to the radio and you hear a record, you immediately recognise that it's Ace of Base.
— Albert Slendebroek, [8]
Following its initial release in Denmark in November 1992, Happy Nation was gradually released across Europe throughout 1993; first in Norway in January, then in Sweden and Germany in February, and in the UK in June. It would also be released in Africa, and Latin America, and reached the number one position in at least 10 countries.
Happy Nation (U.S. Version) came on 22 November 1993 to coincide with the album's release in North America under the title The Sign. This edition included the new tracks "The Sign", "Living in Danger", and the Tina Turner cover "Don't Turn Around", along with a remix of "Waiting for Magic" and a version of "Voulez-Vous Danser" with revised vocals. It also included the new track "Hear Me Calling", which did not appear on The Sign. The songs "Münchhausen (Just Chaos)" and "Dimension of Depth" from the original album were removed altogether. The new version of the album was released in the UK on 14 March 1994, and climbed to number 1 on the UK Albums Chart on 26 June, beating the number 21 peak of the original release.
In 2016, Russian label Mirumir released an "Ultimate Edition" on vinyl containing the original track list from the 1992 release, the additional tracks from The Sign/Happy Nation (U.S. Version) releases and the iTunes bonuses from the three releases.
Alan Jones from Music Week viewed it as a "diverse but largely dance-orientated album. It includes more gentle reggae stuff but also some techno and house." He felt that "nothing here compares favourably" with "All That She Wants", "though if the right tracks are picked and remixed there are more hits."[4]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Voulez-Vous Danser" |
|
| 3:17 | |
2. | "All That She Wants" |
|
|
| 3:30 |
3. | "Münchhausen (Just Chaos)" |
|
|
| 3:27 |
4. | "Happy Nation" |
|
|
| 4:11 |
5. | "Waiting for Magic" |
|
|
| 5:17 |
6. | "Fashion Party" | Joker | Joker | 4:10 | |
7. | "Wheel of Fortune" |
|
|
| 3:52 |
8. | "Dancer in a Daydream" |
|
|
| 3:37 |
9. | "My Mind" (mindless mix) |
|
|
| 4:09 |
10. | "Wheel of Fortune" (original club mix) |
|
|
| 3:58 |
11. | "Dimension of Depth" | N/A | Joker |
| 1:45 |
12. | "Young and Proud" |
|
|
| 3:54 |
13. | "All That She Wants" (Banghra version) |
|
|
| 4:14 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
14. | "Moogoperator" | 3:31 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "All That She Wants" |
|
|
| 3:30 |
2. | "Don't Turn Around" |
|
| 3:48 | |
3. | "Young and Proud" |
|
|
| 3:56 |
4. | "The Sign" |
| Joker |
| 3:08 |
5. | "Living in Danger" |
|
|
| 3:41 |
6. | "Voulez-Vous Danser" |
|
|
| 3:17 |
7. | "Happy Nation" |
|
|
| 4:13 |
8. | "Hear Me Calling" |
| 3:48 | ||
9. | "Waiting for Magic" (total remix 7") |
|
|
| 3:50 |
10. | "Fashion Party" |
|
| Joker | 4:10 |
11. | "Wheel of Fortune" |
|
|
| 3:52 |
12. | "Dancer in a Daydream" |
|
|
| 3:37 |
13. | "My Mind" (mindless mix) |
|
|
| 4:08 |
14. | "All That She Wants" (Banghra version) |
|
|
| 4:14 |
15. | "Happy Nation" (Remix) |
|
| 3:45 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
16. | "Giving It Up" (Ace Version) | 3:29 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "All That She Wants" | 3:30 |
2. | "Happy Nation" | 4:11 |
3. | "Wheel of Fortune" (original club mix) | 3:58 |
4. | "Voulez-Vous Danser" | 3:17 |
5. | "Young and Proud" | 3:54 |
6. | "Dancer in a Daydream" | 3:37 |
7. | "Wheel of Fortune" | 3:52 |
8. | "Waiting for Magic" | 5:17 |
9. | "My Mind" (mindless mix) | 4:09 |
10. | "Fashion Party" | 4:10 |
11. | "All That She Wants" (Banghra version) | 4:14 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
14. | "All That She Wants" (Banghra version) | 4:14 |
Notes
Region | Date | Label |
---|---|---|
Denmark | 2 November 1992 | Mega |
Germany | 22 February 1993 | PolyGram |
United Kingdom | 7 June 1993 | London Records 90 |
Europe (re-issue) | 22 November 1993 | Mega / PolyGram |
United Kingdom (re-issue) | 14 March 1994 | London Records 90 |
Weekly charts edit
|
Year-end charts edit
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[42] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[43] | Platinum | 50,000* |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[44] | 2× Platinum | 160,000^ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[45] | Gold | 82,715[45] |
France (SNEP)[46] | Diamond | 1,000,000* |
Germany (BVMI)[47] | 3× Platinum | 1,500,000^ |
Korea | — | 700,000[48] |
Netherlands (NVPI)[49] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
Mexico | — | 500,000[50] |
Malaysia | — | 200,000[48] |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[51] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[52] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[53] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
Sweden | — | 50,000[54] |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[55] Happy Nation (US version) |
Platinum | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] | 2× Platinum | 600,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 21,000,000[7] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
When Ace of Base scored a massive worldwide number 1 in 1993 with 'All That She Wants', the comparisons to fellow Swedish group, Abba, seemed obvious: Two female vocalists, one blonde, one brunette, and two male musicians, playing catchy dance pop.
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