Average Rating: 
Rating:  - PURE GOLD!
There are three words I can say after listening to this album all the way through: wow, WoW and WOW!!! I must admit, I originally thought ABBA was one or two hit wonder because all I've ever heard from them was the ever-popular "Dancing Queen." (However after listening to it I found myself asking "They sang that?! I had no idea!") I enjoyed "Dancing Queen" enough that my sister bought this wonderful album for me as a Christmas present. At first I was a little hesistant to listen to the other tracks but I decided to do so anyway. And boy, was I impressed!! This is one of the few, exclusive albums that I can listen to all the way through. It's just *that* good.Even in the 2000's ABBA's legacy lives on. Their music can be tolerated even in today's pop music world. Take the group A*teens for example. Isn't it great that you hear children singing songs such as "Take A Chance On Me" and "Mama Mia"? Yeah maybe they aren't the best singers but the fact remains: ABBA still get recognized even today, decades later. Currently, the Broadway musical "Mama, Mia!" is a hit. With a musical based on ABBA's greatest hits, why wouldn't it be? "Mama Mia!" was written by Benny and Bjork (The two male singers/songwriters of ABBA) as well as the often produced musical, "Chess." My favorite songs on the album are as follows:
"Take A Chance On Me", "Super Trouper", "Chiquitita", "Voulez Vous", "Does Your Mother Know", "One Of Us", "The Name of the Game" and "Thank You For The Music."
Don't worry, there are more songs on the album then this, all of great merit. I had a hard time myself thinking up which ones were my absolute favorites, and in time they may change as well. All of the songs on this album are up-beat and make you just feel happy inside. The rhythm just makes ya wanna get up and dance (Especially "Dancing Queen"). Yeah, some maybe a little 70's like ("Lay All Your Love On Me") but the fact still remains: ABBA is here to stay!! Reccomended to *anyone*...even if only hearing their song "Dancing Queen."
Rating:  - "You can daaance, you can jii-hive ..."
Let's face it--if you're old enough to remember the seventies, I guarantee that the lyrics to ABBA's disco monster "Dancing Queen" are stuck in your head regardless of what kind of music you claim to listen to. "Gold", a greatest hits collection by the Swedish quartet that dominated the world in the seventies (everywhere but America, that is), is a bright grouping starting with the aforementioned "Dancing Queen" and running the gamut of their career, from the bouncy "Waterloo" to "Thank You For The Music," their last official single as a group. ABBA was never about deep lyrics or topical subjects. Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus were, quite simply, terrific pop songwriters and arrangers. Frida Lyngstad (the brunette--who's actually Norwegian, funnily enough) and Agnetha Faltskog (the blonde) were equally terrific singers who sounded great together, although Frida as a rule sang lead on the hits best known to Americans. True, many of the songs are pure disco and have not aged well (case in point: the excruciating "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!", with its horrible "Disco Inferno"-esque arrangement), but the good ones, such as the irresistible sing-alongs "Take A Chance On Me" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and the winsome "S.O.S" still stand up. My personal favorite, "The Name Of The Game," is a remarkably pretty and mostly acoustic ballad with perfect harmonies. Yeah, they wore those dorky satin costumes and didn't seem to realize how weird a song about a Mexican revolutionary sounded when it was sung by Scandinavian women ("Fernando"), but ABBA was fun and made happy pop music even as the personal relationships within the group were disintegrating. English journalist John Tober contributes some fascinating liner notes about the group's internal strife as their star was skyrocketing. But then, why analyze? Just put it on and dance!
Rating: - This Is Pure Gold
The title says it all. Gold - Greatest Hits and every one of the hits included on this album are of the highest standard. One of the top bands of the 70's and writers of timeless quality songs, Abba's music will surely never die and is currently being boosted further by the tribute band The A Teens which is bringing Abba's music to a new generation of listeners. Every song included here is great and must be if nine of them topped the UK singles chart during the 70's and early 80's. As well as the number ones there are 10 other great tracks that will no doubt ring a bell to anyone dancing in the 70's. From the major hits Dancing Queen, Knowing Me Knowing You, Mamma Mia and the Eurovision Winner Waterloo to lesser known but still as good hits Does Your Mother Know, I Have A Dream and Voulez Vous this CD is sure to please. My personal favourites are some of Abba's later hits. One Of Us is a beautiful and touching ballad, Lay All Your Love On Me is a stomping disco classic and Chiquitita which is my all time favourite Abba song as i feel it has everything required by a great pop song. Whether you are young or old, male or female you are sure to enjoy this compilation of some of the finest music of the 70's.
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