The Essential Collection (ABBA album)

The Essential Collection
Compilation album by
ABBA
Released2012
Recorded29 March 1972 – 26 August 1982
Genre
Length154:56
LabelPolar Music International
ProducerBenny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA chronology
Icon
(2010) 		The Essential Collection
(2012) 		Live at Wembley Arena
(2014)

The Essential Collection is a 2012 compilation album released by Swedish pop group ABBA, collecting all single A-sides as originally planned and conceived by their record company, Polar Music, in addition to a few songs that were single hits in significant markets, as well as album tracks for which music videos were made.[1][2] A two-CD set, the first disc spans 1972 to 1978 ("People Need Love" to "Summer Night City"), while the second covers 1979 to 1982 ("Chiquitita" to "Under Attack").

The Essential Collection effectively supersedes 2001's The Definitive Collection, retaining all but two tracks from the earlier release (eliminating the "Ring Ring" and "Voulez-Vous" remixes) and adding four others ("Bang-A-Boomerang", "That's Me", "One Man, One Woman" and "Happy New Year"). The sequencing is chronological, with "Thank You for the Music" moved from the second disc to the first. Unlike its predecessor, The Essential Collection does not feature regional bonus tracks.

The Essential Collection was also released in DVD format. It features every official ABBA music video plus five Spanish-language clips, two of which ("Conociéndome, conociéndote" and "Gracias por la música") did not appear on The Definitive Collection. It also includes the 2004 short film The Last Video.

The collection was released as a two-CD set, a DVD, and a three-disc set including the DVD and both CDs.

It was awarded a gold disc for 100,000 sales in Germany.[3]

Track listing

All songs are written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus unless otherwise noted. Tracks 1–4 were originally released under the name "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid".

Disc one

No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."People Need Love" Ring Ring (1973); first released as a single the previous year2:48
2."He Is Your Brother" Ring Ring; first released as a single the previous year3:21
3."Ring Ring"
Ring Ring3:06
4."Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" Ring Ring2:55
5."Waterloo"
  • Andersson
  • Anderson
  • Ulvaeus
Waterloo (1974)2:46
6."Honey, Honey"
  • Andersson
  • Anderson
  • Ulvaeus
Waterloo2:56
7."So Long" ABBA (1975); released as a single the previous year3:07
8."I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"
  • Andersson
  • Anderson
  • Ulvaeus
ABBA3:18
9."SOS"
  • Andersson
  • Anderson
  • Ulvaeus
ABBA3:23
10."Mamma Mia"
  • Andersson
  • Anderson
  • Ulvaeus
ABBA3:34
11."Bang-A-Boomerang"
  • Andersson
  • Anderson
  • Ulvaeus
ABBA3:05
12."Fernando" non-album single (1976); subsequently included on later releases of Greatest Hits (1975)4:15
13."Dancing Queen"
  • Andersson
  • Anderson
  • Ulvaeus
Arrival (1976)3:53
14."Money, Money, Money" Arrival3:10
15."Knowing Me, Knowing You"
  • Andersson
  • Anderson
  • Ulvaeus
Arrival; released as a single the following year4:05
16."That's Me"
  • Andersson
  • Anderson
  • Ulvaeus
Arrival; released as a single the following year3:18
17."The Name of the Game"
  • Andersson
  • Anderson
  • Ulvaeus
ABBA: The Album (1977)4:55
18."Take a Chance on Me" ABBA: The Album4:09
19."Eagle" (edited version) ABBA: The Album; released as a single the following year4:28
20."One Man, One Woman" ABBA: The Album4:34
21."Thank You for the Music" ABBA: The Album; released as a single in support of Thank You for the Music (1983)3:52
22."Summer Night City" non-album single (1978); later included on Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1979)3:37
Total length:1:18:36

Disc two

No.TitleOriginal albumLength
1."Chiquitita"Voulez-Vous (1979)5:28
2."Does Your Mother Know"Voulez-Vous3:16
3."Voulez-Vous"Voulez-Vous5:10
4."Angeleyes"Voulez-Vous4:24
5."Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1979)4:52
6."I Have a Dream"Voulez-Vous4:44
7."The Winner Takes It All"Super Trouper (1980)4:57
8."Super Trouper"Super Trouper4:12
9."On and On and On"Super Trouper3:41
10."Lay All Your Love on Me"Super Trouper4:36
11."Happy New Year"Super Trouper4:25
12."One of Us"The Visitors (1981)3:58
13."When All Is Said and Done"The Visitors3:20
14."Head over Heels"The Visitors3:49
15."The Visitors"The Visitors5:47
16."The Day Before You Came"The Singles: The First Ten Years (1982)5:50
17."Under Attack"The Singles: The First Ten Years3:50
Total length:1:16:20

DVD

No.TitleLength
1."Waterloo" 
2."Ring Ring" 
3."Mamma Mia" 
4."SOS" 
5."Bang-A-Boomerang" 
6."I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" 
7."Fernando" 
8."Dancing Queen" 
9."Money, Money, Money" 
10."Knowing Me, Knowing You" 
11."That's Me" 
12."The Name of the Game" 
13."Take a Chance on Me" 
14."Eagle" 
15."One Man, One Woman" 
16."Thank You for the Music" 
17."Summer Night City" 
18."Chiquitita" 
19."Does Your Mother Know" 
20."Voulez-Vous" 
21."Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" 
22."On and On and On" 
23."The Winner Takes It All" 
24."Super Trouper" 
25."Happy New Year" 
26."When All Is Said and Done" 
27."One of Us" 
28."Head over Heels" 
29."The Day Before You Came" 
30."Under Attack" 
31."Estoy soñando" ("I Have a Dream") 
32."Conociéndome, conociéndote" ("Knowing Me, Knowing You") 
33."Gracias por la música" ("Thank You for the Music") 
34."Felicidad" ("Happy New Year") 
35."No hay a quién culpar" ("When All Is Said and Done") 
36."The Last Video" 

References

  1. ^ "The Essential Collection". Carl Magnus Palm.com. Archived from the original on 2019-09-13. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  2. ^ "The Essential Collection - ABBA | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Datenbank: BVMI". www.musikindustrie.de. Retrieved 2023-11-16.

The Essential Collection: ABBA at MusicBrainz (list of releases)