Abba Voulez Vous

Abba took a risk by launching this 1975 album (their second) with "Mamma Mia." How do you possibly follow that up? Simple–wait two songs and then zoom into "SOS," one of the best pop songs ever written. The rest of the album does not quite reach those dizzying heights, but it's strong nevertheless. Abba is all over the map, as if the band was still putting the finishing touches on its identity. Some songs, most notably "Hey, Hey Helen" and "Rock Me," are sustained by classic glam, Gary Glitter-like riffs. There's also the neoclassical, quasiprog instrumental "Intermezzo No. 1." This CD's two bonus tracks include the rather banal "Crazy World" (the B-side of the "Money, Money, Money" single) and the downright bizarre "Pick a Bale of Cotton/On Top of Old Smokey/Midnight Special." The only cover Abba ever recorded, this medley was recorded in 1975 for a German charity album and was remixed in 1978 for the B-side of the "Summer Night City" single. ~ Elisabeth Vincentelli

"Gold: Greatest Hits" is a compilation album of recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA. Since 1992, Gold has been released several times, most notably in 2008 to coincide with the release of the film Mamma Mia! and most recently in 2014 to mark the group's 40th Anniversary of winning the Eurovision Song Contest. The 40th anniversary edition of ABBA Gold not only will have listeners singing along to the catchy tunes but will leave them sharing the admiration many fellow musicians have expressed for Björn and Benny’s songwriting skills and production talents. For fans of good pop music, this collection is indeed gold.

As part of the celebrations of the 40th Anniversary of ABBA wining the Eurovision Song Contest, Universal Music are proud to present a new 3CD 40th anniversary ABBA Gold release. Disc 1 and 2 is a comprehensive collection of ABBAs hits, including the likes of Waterloo, Dancing Queen and The Winner Takes It All; whilst disc 3 includes a selection of Golden rarities.