Customer Reviews
The real deal - By: Tony Kavanagh, 15 Aug 2008 
For all its world-conquering success, ABBA Gold didn't really "rehabilitate" ABBA. The casual track sequencing & the choice of only the biggest hits means that a lot of good stuff was missed. The kitsch that dogged the early part of ABBA's career seems to be reinforced.
With The Definitive Collection, however, you get (a) all of the tracks that appear on Gold, (b) plus the additional gems that couldn't be included on Gold, & (c) very elegant packaging.
Another great plus with this set is that the tracks are sequenced chronologically. This makes it easier to see how the group progressed from their somewhat "innocent" early days to their remarkably affecting early 80s output. The big hits are well known & have been discussed ad infinitum. But the second disc (1979 to 1982) is loaded with beauties that don't get the attention they deserve: for instance, skip straight to The Visitors, When All Is Said And Done & The Day Before You Came to see how brilliantly this band evolved as songwrters, as producers & as singers. With these diamonds added to the peachy pop hits that you know & love, The Definitive Collection is a far better bet - & ultimately more satisfying - than the instant sugar rush that is ABBA Gold. Get the Sound & Vision set with the matching DVD for the ultimate experience.
Mamma Mia! - By: Maria, 14 Jul 2008 Abba's best compilation so far if you're buying an abba album for the first time get this it's full of classics not one bad track on this cd this is a must buy! 10/10 now this is what i call music & not the mamma mia soundtrack!
ABBA IS THE BEST!! - By: C. Bellegarrigue, 02 Mar 2008 La mejor recopilacion de uno de los mejores grupos de todos los tiempos, y todas las canciones ordenadas de forma cronologica, y un folleto donde se resume muy bien toda su historia, con muchas fotos de todas sus etapas de modo que uno puede ir siguiendo toda su trayectoria como grupo musical; las canciones, simplemente INCREIBLES, desde la sencilla "RING, RING" hasta canciones mas complicadas como "THE WINNER TAKES IT AT ALL"; sin faltar piezas inolvidables como "CHIQUITITA", "I DO I DO I DO", "WATERLOO", "DANCING QUEEN" y "TAKE A CHANCE ON ME"; incluso hay canciones que yo no conocia, como "HONEY HONEY", "ONE OF US" y "PEOPLE NEED LOVE", muy buenas tambien; SIMPLEMENTE LO MEJOR!!!
Not "prog", but they did progress - By: Bill Peter, 20 Jan 2008 OK, they will never be regarded as progin the way that Yes are, & Genesis were - thank God - not evenin the way The Beatles progressed, but there is no doubt that they progressed without, thankfully, loosing the great melodies, superb harmonies, & pop sensibilities. Their lyrical content progressedin terms of maturing, & towards the end the melancholy was obvious without being maudlin. Their break-up songs far exceed Fleetwood Mac's Rumours efforts. This is pop for adults, & a true example of real synergy - the "B"'s writing & the "A"'s harmonious singing. I've a feeling "best of.." 2CD sets will appear regularly for decades.
The best Abba compilation of all - By: Cowboy & Angel, 02 Aug 2007 Abba Gold might be the ideal Abba hits album for most, but this more comprehensive compilation is the ultimate Abba hits package.
It includes all the official singles, plus several tracks released as singlesin significant countries. It is the only Abba compilation to include ALL of Abba's UK singles - therefore the UK hits Lay All Your Love on Me, Angeleyes, Thank You For The Music & the single remix of Ring Ring (none of which are classed as "official" singles) are all here.
Unlike Abba Gold, the running order is chronological, telling the story of Abba from beginning to end.
The "rarities" on here are the 1974 single remix of Ring Ring, the extended version of Voulez-Vous & the 1999 re-edit of Eagle.
Clearly a lot of thought went into this compilation, unlike the more recent Number Ones. Abba expert Carl Magnus Palm was involvedin selecting the tracks, & it shows. Even the cover artwork nicely re-uses the tasteful photo of Abba from 1979's Greatest Hits Vol 2 (never widely released on CD).
This is the album to get if you want more than Abba Gold can offer.
