ABBA Album: “Singles Collection 1972-82”

more than just a bunch of singles lumped in one tin box, this set chronicles how the songwriting of benny and bjorn evolved from the carefree people need love to the funereal the day before you came. from its tacky costumes (check out the sleeves) in the beginning to the ultra chic look in the end. how love brought about the group's spectular rise and how the end of it led to,what a lot say, a untimely demise. trivia aside,the singles contained herein ARE HITS! charting an average of 2 countries per single...from the first to the very last.not bad for a group whose mother tounge IS NOT english!

Those familiar with the critical travails of this platform wearing foursome are aware that one of those unfounded comments about them was that they were just a "singles band".So, you might ask, why are they releasing a (lavish) boxed set of their SINGLES ??!!?? won't it reinforce this fallacy? For those who are old enough to remember, it's the 25th anniversary of their Eurovision Song Contest victory. Very keen listeners might notice some re-editing on "Dancing Queen" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You" whose previously available editions have slight mixing flaws. Personally, i think the re-editing was unecessary since I never noticed them in all the 2 decades that i've been enjoying these gems. Some things are simply better left alone -warts and all. I mean, "Waterloo" had more editing flaws than these two tracks...why wasn't that corrected? Anyway, this collection was still worthing saving for. Get it while it's not too late...I already have the 1481st box.

This is a rerelease of a box set issued in Germany in 1982, I think. At least that is where the idea came from. This is as much a collectable as anything else. But it's a kick to look back at the single covers and see how much we (and Abba) changed over the years. If you buy this, do me (and you) a favor and also invest in the "From Waterloo to Dumela" CD of the tribute concert in Sweden. It's a great album and will give you an appreciation for how the music holds up over time as well as what Benny and Bjorn have been up to since.