ABBA: The Album

The album includes three songs from ABBA's 1977 tour mini-musical The Girl with the Golden Hair performed during each of their European and Australian shows in 1977. Andersson and Ulvaeus wanted to offer more than "a run through of their hits and assorted album tracks" for their concerts.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jo4ZAQAAIAAJ&q=%22The+Girl+with+the+Golden+Hair%22+abba|title=Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of Abba|last=Palm|first=Carl Magnus|date=2008-09-01|publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=9781847724199}} Although the songs received a "less-than-tumultuous" reception during the first performances of the mini-musical, three of the tracks ("Thank You for the Music", "I Wonder (Departure)" and "I'm a Marionette") were included on the new album. A fourth song written for the musical, "Get on the Carousel", was rewritten as the up-tempo track "Hole in Your Soul" with "a substantial part of the melody [being] incorporated into [its] middle eight". Parts of "Get on the Carousel" appeared in ABBA: The Movie.{{cite book|title=ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup|last=Tesch|first=Christopher Patrick|publisher=Christopher J N Patrick|year=2008|isbn=9780646496764|edition=1st|location=Fairfield Gardens, Qld.|pages=43–45}} The "25-minute opus" had a storyline about a talented "small-town girl leaving her hometown" on her "quest for stardom", with each song representing a different part of her personality. Fältskog and Lyngstad shared the lead-role and wore matching blonde wigs and costumes "for optimum dramatic effect".

ABBA: The Album was released in Scandinavia on 12 December 1977. It was first released on CD in 1984. The album has been reissued in the format by PolyGram (later Universal Music) four times; first in 1997, then in 2001, in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set and again in 2007 as a two disc "Deluxe Edition".

The deluxe edition was issued for the album's 30th anniversary and consisted of two discs.{{Cite web |date=2012-06-13 |title=In focus: ABBA - The Album - pushing boundaries |url=https://abbasite.com/articles/abba-the-album-pushing-boundaries/ |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=ABBA |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=CD ABBA - The Album - Deluxe Edition CD+DVD |url=https://www.soundofmusic-shop.de/CD_ABBA_-_The_Album_-_Deluxe_Edition_CDDVD_English.html |access-date=26 August 2024 |website=Sound of Music}} The first one was a CD version of the album, expanded with six bonus tracks, and featuring the first recording of "Thank You for the Music", known as the Doris Day version due to Agnetha's vocal inspiration. The second one was a DVD of previously unreleased TV material, which included: two performances of "Take a Chance on Me" from ZDF's Star Parade and Radio Bremen's Am laufende Band; two performances of "Thank You for the Music" from Star Parade (performed alongside "Eagle") and Mike Yarwood's Christmas Show; a "The Name of the Game" performance from the Japanese ABBA Special (on TBS); a February 1978 interview with the band from BBC's Blue Peter, titled "ABBA in London"; three SVT news reports on the band: two from Rapport, titled "ABBA in America" (May 1978) and "ABBA on tour in 1977", and one from Gomorron Sverige, titled "Recording ABBA – The Album"; two ABBA: The Album television commercials; and the "International Sleeve Gallery". This set also featured a 28-page illustrated booklet with an essay on the making of the album.

On November 3, 2017, ABBA: The Album was reissued for its 40th anniversary with a half-speed mastered, 45rpm cut double-LP version of the original album, featuring new liner notes by Carl Magnus Palm; a 7” singles box set of "The Name of the Game", "Take a Chance on Me", and "Eagle", pressed on colored vinyl (blue, red and yellow, respectively); and 7" picture discs of each of these three singles.{{Cite web |date=2017-09-12 |title=40th Anniversary Of ABBA – The Album |url=https://abbasite.com/articles/40th-anniversary-of-abba-the-album/ |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=ABBA |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Sinclair |first=Paul |date=2017-09-16 |title=ABBA / The Album: 40th anniversary reissues across a number of formats – SuperDeluxeEdition |url=https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/abba-the-album-40th-anniversary-reissues-across-a-number-of-formats/ |access-date=2024-08-27 |language=en-US}}

Polar's official cover made by art director Rune Söderqvist featured an entirely white background, and is the basis for current CD versions. However, Epic Records' original UK release of the LP featured a blue background on the front cover, fading to white at the bottom. It also featured a gatefold sleeve. The back cover was altered, incorporating a similar photo of ABBA to that used elsewhere in the world for the inner sleeve, and referencing tracks included in ABBA: The Movie. The inner gatefold was designed to look like an air mail envelope, similar to the style later used for Gracias Por La Música and even had a photo of ABBA incorporated into a stamp in the corner.

This was the first and only time that Epic radically broke away from the standard Polar Music design for an ABBA album. The UK design for ABBA: The Album has only been re-issued on LP format once, in the 2008 European reissue.{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2378144-ABBA-The-Album|title=ABBA – The Album (2008, 180g, Gatefold,, Vinyl)|access-date=20 December 2021|website=Discogs.com}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev2Score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last=Larkin |first=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2007 |publisher=Omnibus Press |location=United Kingdom |isbn=978-1-84609-856-7 |pages=31 |edition=5th Concise}}

| rev3 = NME

| rev3Score = 7/10{{cite web|url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/abba/9281 |title=NME Album Reviews – Abba |website=NME |location=UK |date=23 November 2007 |access-date=19 November 2011}}

| rev4 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|last=Cross|first=Charles R.|author-link=Charles R. Cross|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=Simon & Schuster|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|chapter=ABBA|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/1 1]}}

| rev5 = Spin Alternative Record Guide

| rev5score = 8/10{{cite book |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |date=1995 |publisher=Vintage Books |pages=3, 4}}

}}

The Album received positive reviews from music critics. Bruce Eder from AllMusic wrote retrospectively that the album marked a "step forward for the group" since they "absorb and assimilate some of the influences around them, particularly the laid-back California sound of Fleetwood Mac (...) as well as some of the attributes of progressive rock" but "without compromising their essential virtues as a pop ensemble".{{cite web|last=Eder|first=Bruce|title=The Album - ABBA|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000312170|access-date=10 November 2020|publisher=AllMusic}} John Rockwell from Rolling Stone gave the album a favorable review and wrote that The Album represents an interesting departure from their past formulas like "innocently superficial lyrics, bouncy Europop music, rock energy and amplification, soaring melodies" to a more mature and intelligent record.{{cite magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114081029/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/abba/albums/album/189776/review/5947056/the_album|archive-date=14 January 2009|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/abba/albums/album/189776/review/5947056/the_album|title=ABBA: The Album : Music Reviews|magazine=Rolling Stone|first=John|last=Rockwell|date=23 March 1978|url-status=dead|access-date=19 November 2011}} NME wrote a short review to the album when it turned 30 years old, and wrote that the album "still sounds pleasantly nostalgic" and had "some delicious pop nuggets from their Swedish hatch".

ABBA: The Album reached No. 1 in many territories. In the UK it debuted at the top and remained there for seven weeks,{{Cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/abba/|title=Official Charts Company|website=www.officialcharts.com|language=en|access-date=2018-05-09}} ending up as the third biggest selling album of the year (behind the movie soundtrack LPs of Saturday Night Fever and Grease). In the US it became their highest-charting album during their original run, where during 1978 ABBA undertook a big promotional campaign.

All tracks are written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, except where noted.

{{tracklist

| headline = Side one

| title1 = Eagle

| length1 = 5:51

| title2 = Take a Chance on Me

| length2 = 4:05

| title3 = One Man, One Woman

| length3 = 4:25

| title4 = The Name of the Game

| writer4 = {{hlist|Andersson|Stig Anderson|Ulvaeus}}

| length4 = 4:54

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = Side two

| total_length = 39:53

| title1 = Move On

| length1 = 4:42

| writer1 = {{hlist|Andersson|Anderson|Ulvaeus}}

| title2 = Hole in Your Soul

| length2 = 3:41

| title3 = Thank You for the Music

| length3 = 3:48

| title4 = I Wonder (Departure)

| length4 = 4:33

| writer4 = {{hlist|Andersson|Anderson|Ulvaeus}}

| title5 = I'm a Marionette

| length5 = 3:54

}}

Notes

• The album's last three tracks were originally from the 1977 tour mini-musical The Girl with the Golden Hair. They are presented on the album as "3 scenes from a mini-musical" and are listed from A to C.{{Cite web |title=Album the-album « ABBA – The Album {{!}} Albums {{!}} ABBA |url=http://www.abbasite.com/discography/album/the-album/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521051332/http://www.abbasite.com/discography/album/the-album/ |archive-date=21 May 2017 |access-date=8 June 2013}}{{Cite web |date=2012-06-13 |title=In Focus: The Girl With The Golden Hair – ABBA's mini-musical |url=https://abbasite.com/articles/the-girl-with-the-golden-hair-abbas-mini-musical/ |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=ABBA |language=en-US}}

Released for the album's 30th anniversary. All tracks are written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, except where noted.

{{Track listing

| headline = Bonus tracks

| title1 = Eagle

| note1 = single edit

| length1 = 4:25

| title2 = Take a Chance on Me

| note2 = live version; alternate mix

| length2 = 4:25

| title3 = Thank You for the Music

| note3 = Doris Day version

| length3 = 4:03

| title4 = Al andar

| note4 = Spanish version of "Move On"

| length4 = 4:43

| writer4 = {{hlist|Andersson|Stig Anderson|Ulvaeus|Buddy McCluskey|Mary McCluskey}}

| title5 = I Wonder (Departure)

| note5 = live version; B-side of "The Name of the Game"

| length5 = 4:27

| writer5 = {{hlist|Andersson|Anderson|Ulvaeus}}

| title6 = Gracias por la música

| note6 = Spanish version of "Thank You for the Music"

| length6 = 3:49

| writer6 = {{hlist|Andersson|Anderson|Ulvaeus|B. McCluskey|M. McCluskey}}

}}

Adapted from the album's liner notes and AllMusic.{{cite AV media notes |title=ABBA: The Album |others= |year=1977 |type=liner notes |publisher=Polar Music |last=ABBA |id=POLS 282 |language=en}}

ABBA

• Agnetha Fältskog – lead vocals (5, 7), co-lead vocals (1, 2, 4, 6, 9), backing vocals
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead vocals (3, 8), co-lead vocals (1, 2, 4, 6, 9), backing vocals
• Björn Ulvaeus – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, spoken word intro (5), backing vocals
• Benny Andersson – keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Rutger Gunnarsson – bass guitar
• Ola Brunkert – drums
• Roger Palm – drums (2, 3, 7), tambourine
• Lasse Wellander – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin
• Janne Schaffer – lead guitar (1), electric guitar
• Malando Gassama – percussion
• Lars O. Carlsson – saxophones, flutes

Production

• Benny Andersson; Björn Ulvaeus – producers, arrangers
• Michael B. Tretow – engineer
• Rutger Gunnarsson – string arrangements
• Rune Söderqvist – album design
• Rune Söderqvist; Björn Ulvaeus – illustrations
• Barry Levine / Mirage – photography
• Jon Astley; Michael B. Tretow – remastering

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|artist=Abba|title=The Album|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1977|certyear=1978|certref={{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1978/CB-1978-09-16.pdf|title=CashBox Magazine|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|page=50|date=16 September 1978|access-date=13 November 2021}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Abba|title=The Album|type=album|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1977|certyear=1979|access-date=2013-08-28}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Czechoslovakia|type=album|artist=ABBA|title=ABBA: The Album|nocert=true|salesamount=100,000|salesref={{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6CMEAAAAMBAJ&q=the+first+two+albums&pg=PT62|magazine= Billboard|title=Abba The World - Czechoslovakia|page=ABBA-8|date=8 September 1979}}|relyear=1979|access-date=4 November 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=album|title=Abba The Album|artist=ABBA|nocert=true|salesamount=225,000|relyear=1976|salesref={{cite web|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1978/Billboard%201978-06-03.pdf|title=Sales in Denmark Hit New High At $64 Mil; Imports Bite Reduced|magazine=Billboard|first=Knud|last=Orsted|via=American Radio History|page=98|date=3 June 1978}}|access-date=20 December 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Finland|artist=Abba|title=The Album|type=album|award=Platinum|salesamount=57,618|relyear=1977|certyear=1978|access-date=2013-08-28}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|nocert=yes|salesamount=150,000|salesref={{cite web|url=http://www.top-france.fr/html/33tours/33t1978.htm|title=TOP – 1978|website=40 ans de tubes : 1960–2000 : les meilleures ventes de 45 tours & CD singles|author=Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP)|editor=Fabrice Ferment|access-date=23 March 2022|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019204806/http://www.top-france.fr/html/33tours/33t1978.htm|archive-date=19 October 2020|via=Top-France.fr|oclc=469523661}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=Abba|title=The Album|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1977|certyear=1981|access-date=2013-08-28}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Hong Kong|artist=Abba|title=The Album|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1977|certyear=1979|access-date=2016-01-08}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Japan|artist=Abba|title=The Album|type=album|nocert=true|relyear=1977|salesamount=300,000|salesref={{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KiUEAAAAMBAJ&q=abba+arrival+1,6+million+sold+i++united+kingdom&pg=PT69|title=ABBA Cracks Japan Mart; Sales Surge|magazine=Billboard|page=76|date=10 March 1979}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Netherlands|artist=ABBA|title=The Album|award=Platinum|certyear=1978|relyear=1977|access-date=5 August 2018}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Norway|artist=Abba|title=The Album|type=album|nocert=true|relyear=1977|salesamount=200,840|salesref={{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6CMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT62|magazine= Billboard|title=Abba The World|first= Randi|last=Hultin|date=8 September 1979}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Sweden|type=album|artist=ABBA|title=ABBA: The Album|nocert=true|salesamount=753,420|salesref={{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6CMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT62|magazine= Billboard|title=Abba The World|first=Leif|last=Schulman|date=8 September 1979}}|relyear=1979}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=ABBA|title=The Album|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1977|certyear=1978|id=275-1693-2|salesamount=1,000,000|salesref={{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT69|journal=Billboard|title=ABBA Million|via=Google Books|volume=90|issue=30|page=70|issn=0006-2510|date=29 July 1978|access-date=31 May 2022}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Abba|title=The Album|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1977|certyear=1978|salesamount=1,300,000|salesref={{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiQEAAAAMBAJ&q=abba&pg=PT71|title=ABBA LP Sets Scene For Foreign Touring|publisher=Billboard|first=Leif|last=Schulman|via=Google books |volume=15|issue=16|page=38|date=5 May 1979|access-date=4 November 2020}}}}

{{Certification Table Bottom}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://abbasite.com/articles/the-girl-with-the-golden-hair-abbas-mini-musical/ In Focus: The Girl With The Golden Hair – ABBA's mini-musical] at the official ABBA website
• [https://abbasite.com/articles/abba-the-album-pushing-boundaries/ In focus: ABBA – The Album – pushing boundaries] at the official ABBA website

{{ABBA}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Album, The}}

Category:ABBA albums

Category:Polar Music albums

Category:1977 albums

Category:Albums produced by Björn Ulvaeus

Category:Albums produced by Benny Andersson

Category:Atlantic Records albums

Category:Epic Records albums

Category:1970s concept albums

Category:Art rock albums by Swedish artists