The Singles: The First Ten Years

Summary

The Singles: The First Ten Years is a double compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in November 1982.[5][6]

The Singles: The First Ten Years
Compilation album by
Released8 November 1982
RecordedJanuary 1973 – August 1982
GenrePop
Length92:48
LabelPolar (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
The Visitors
(1981)
The Singles: The First Ten Years
(1982)
Thank You for the Music: A Collection of Love Songs
(1983)
Singles from The Singles: The First Ten Years
  1. "The Day Before You Came"
    Released: 18 October 1982
  2. "Under Attack"
    Released: 3 December 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Rolling Stone[3]
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10[4]

History edit

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".[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]

Track listing edit

All songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, except where noted. It was released as a 2 LP and double cassette. In 1983 a two CD version of the collection appeared on Polydor records, produced in West Germany.[11]

LP1
  1. "Ring Ring" – 3:04
  2. "Waterloo" - 2:42
  3. "So Long" – 3:05
  4. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" – 3:16
  5. "SOS" – 3:22
  6. "Mamma Mia" – 3:31
  7. "Fernando" – 4:12
  8. "Dancing Queen" – 3:50
  9. "Money, Money, Money" – 3:06
  10. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" – 4:02
  11. "The Name of the Game" – 4:53
  12. "Take a Chance on Me" – 4:06
  13. "Summer Night City" – 3:34
LP2
  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
  6. "The Winner Takes It All" – 4:55
  7. "Super Trouper" – 4:13
  8. "One of Us" – 3:55
  9. "The Day Before You Came" – 5:50
  10. "Under Attack" – 3:47

Personnel edit

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

Production

  • Benny Andersson – producer, arranger
  • Björn Ulvaeus – producer, arranger
  • Michael Tretow – engineer

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[22] Gold 20,000^
Germany (BVMI)[23] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Platinum 300,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ William Ruhlmann. "The Singles: The First Ten Years". Allmusic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
  3. ^ [1] Archived December 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 3.
  5. ^ Ruhlmann, Willam. "The Singles: The First Ten Years - ABBA | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  6. ^ Palm, Carl Magnus (2009-10-28). Bright Lights, Dark Shadows: The Real Story of ABBA. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857120571.
  7. ^ Ward, Daniel (2017-03-13). Agnetha Fältskog: The Girl with the Golden Hair. Fonthill Media.
  8. ^ "The Singles: The First Ten Years". Abba on CD. 2009-03-30. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  9. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  10. ^ Cook, Richard (4 December 1982). "Abba: The Singles, The First Ten Years (Epic)". www.rocksbackpages.com. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  11. ^ "ABBA - The Singles (The First Ten Years)". Discogs. 1983. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  12. ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970 – 1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – ABBA – The Singles – The First Ten Years" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  14. ^ 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 August 24, 2022.
  15. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – ABBA – The Singles – The First Ten Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  17. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – ABBA – The Singles – The First Ten Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – ABBA – The Singles – The First Ten Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  19. ^ "ABBA | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  20. ^ "ABBA Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  21. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1983. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  22. ^ "Kent Music Report No 453 – 28 February 1983 > Platinum Albums 1982 (Continued)". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via Imgur.com.
  23. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (ABBA; 'The Singles – The First Ten Years')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  24. ^ "British album certifications – ABBA – The Singles: The First Ten Years". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 August 2021.