Customer Reviews
Abba: Gold shows why they will NEVER be forgotten - By: Dm Blackwell, 30 Aug 2008 
This compilation album needs little introduction as it has sold a zillion copies or something ;), & there is a reason for that. Nobody, not even The Beatles have created a finer collection of pop songs. Pop is often sneered at by some hoity toity music lovers, but there is no need. A finely crafted 3 minute pop tune can be just as meaningful & exquisite as any other piece of music. The tunes Bjorn & Benny created will live on forever, & the girls singing staysin your mind so very easily.
For me this is not their ultimate collection, as I liked more of the bitter-sweet songs they did like Eagle & The Day Before You Came. But that's a personal preference. This compilation contains all the biggest hits, including some of the camp/hi-nrg stuff that can be ever so slightly cringe-inducing nearly 30 years on. But that's just because things have moved on, leaving the production stuckin a point of time which can't be avoided & happens to all pop music.
Abba - a top class act & the ultimate pop band. No question about that.
Abba Gold: Ssssshh, don't tell anyone, but I'm putting Abba on. - By: DangermouseZilla, 18 Aug 2008 I've revisited this Album since my missus took an eager liking of the recent film translation of the musical Mamma Mia.
I've mentionedin my review of the soundtrack that I'm not a massive Abba fan, but there is something about the music that makes it incredibly likable. I'm not going to go through all the tracks on this double CD, but each song feels very independently crafted. No two sound the same.
There are no weak tracks here & the album is the perfect showcase for the pop phenomenon. Most cheesy pop songs over recent times have been basic stories of love, loss ...or lost love - but here there's a wide variationin subject matter. Most are to do with relationships, but they tend to tell a story rather than give a formulaic four minutes of music. This is no doubt one of the strengths of Abba, & a reason as to why this album is still popular today - it hasn't really dated. The spectrum of moods & types of music used is wider than what you'd usually find on a pop album, it is testament to the pure creative energy the group had & stops it from ever going stale.
In a nutshell: This goes beyond empty shallow pop music, it is a celebration of how creative genius can give birth to individual nuggets of musical gold. The tracks are incredibly catchy & they haunt you for hours after listening to them. This isn't greatin the same way that a Bob Dylan album is great, there's no political message that will inspire you to stand up & be counted. This album is great because it uses sounds fresh & fun. Practically everyone is familiar with the majority of the tracks on this album, but it's only when you sit & listen to them that you appreciate how much work has gone into them. I'm not an Abba fan, but I do recognise the impact that this music has had - & I can't help but enjoy it when 'my wife puts it on'.
THE 'OTHER' FAB FOUR - NO LONGER A GUILTY PLEASURE - By: Mr. Christopher J. Welch, 04 Aug 2008 With interestin ABBA once again at a premium, thanks to the Mamma Mia Film & hugely successful musical, it's not surprising that this collection is once again at the top of the UK album charts & cruising to 26 million sales. ABBA themselves have'nt been a functioning band since 1982 when they released their last studio album The Visitors.
Time has been kind to the lagacy of the group & they now enjoy the kind of critical & commercial success afforded to true legends - Beatles, Queen, Who - where once they were considered sugary sweet & europap.
Gold is the perfect compilation collecting together all the major hits & presenting them, notin chronological order, but sequenced to construct a simply great listen.
The songs of Benny & Bjorn are beautifully crafted & constructed pop gems - 'Dancing Queen', 'Waterloo' (surely the greatest Eurovision song ever), 'The Winner Takes It All', 'Knowing Me Knowing You', 'SOS' - the hits just keep on coming. Those trademark Agnita & Frieda harmonies, clever studio arrangements & giant choruses are perfectly realised & even the lyrics, which were often deridedin the 70's, are much better than you may remember.
Yes a sweet musical tooth is required & it is all, mostly, resolutely 'up' but if you are a fan of pop then Abba Gold is pure genius.
A PERFECT COLLECTION - By: SARA, 12 Jan 2008 AS A DEVOTEE OF ABBA I THINK THIS COLLECTION IS FIRST CLASS. ABBAS LYRICS ARE BRILLIANT, CATCHY, STORY TELLING SONGS WHICH FOR THE MOST PART STAND THE TEST OF TIME. OUTSTANDING TRACKS FOR ME FROM THIS COLLECTION WOULD BE SOS, THE NAME OF THE GAME, THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL ( AGNETHA AT HER MOST HEART WRENCHING) AND KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU. THIS COLLECTION CAN HOLD ITS HEAD UP AGAINST ANY OTHER.
ABBA song fest - By: Bj Lucas, 04 Oct 2007 when ABBA burst onto the scenein 1974 winning the eurovision song contest with 'Waterloo' the world was never going to be the same. some 33 years later, the world is still enthralled by them, spawning a highly succesful musical 'mamma mia'in the west end.
This CD includes all of their best known hits. 'Dancing queen' 'Take a chance on me' 'the name of the game' 'One of us' 'The winner takes it all'
'Thank you for the music' being just some of their major hits that make it onto this greatest hits album.
I was two years old when 'Dancing queen' came outin 1976, Just goes to prove, with quality music like this, the world never forgets.
