Eight-LP Coloured Vinyl Box Set ‘ABBA: The Studio Albums’ Due In July
Each of their landmark albums will be available in the set for the first time on coloured vinyl, with replica LP artwork.
The eight-LP coloured-vinyl box set ABBA: The Studio Albums will be released on 3 July. The complete studio discography of the Swedish superstars is being celebrated, with each of their landmark albums available for the first time on coloured vinyl, and featuring replica LP artwork.
The quartet released eight studio LPs over the course of eight years between 1973 and 1981. Each reflected remarkable advances in their creative vision, both as prolific hitmakers and as they explored the full potential of the album format, selling hundreds of millions of records in the process. The albums in the set are:
Ring Ring (1973; red vinyl)
The group’s debut album reached No. 2 in Sweden and was a top ten success in Australia and Norway. It featured their local No. 1 title track smash and set the bar high for their global achievements to come.
Waterloo (1974; orange vinyl)
Released in the year of their sensational victory at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, and titled after the song that made them global stars. The parent album also included another early signature, ‘Honey, Honey,’ later featured in the Mamma Mia! musical.
ABBA (1975; silver vinyl)
The group’s self-titled third album raised the stakes with its massive hits ‘SOS’ and ‘Mamma Mia,’ as well as ‘I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do,’ a chart-topper in Australia and New Zealand. ABBA’s expanding horizons now acknowledged classical music (‘Intermezzo No.1 (Instrumental)’) and reggae (‘Tropical Loveland’) as they became the most prolific and inventive hit machine of the 1970s.
Arrival (1976; white vinyl)
Full of indelible hits and a sophisticated album in its own right, Arrival included the quartet’s first US No. 1, the deathless ‘Dancing Queen,’ alongside the further classics ‘Money, Money, Money’ and ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You.’ It topped the charts across Europe, Australasia and far beyond, and is rightly recognised as one of the great pop LPs of any era.
ABBA: The Album (1977; green vinyl)
A signpost to Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’ later focus on stage musicals, this set was another reflection of ABBA’s refusal to rest on their laurels, mixing theatrical and pop sensibilities. Released concurrently with ABBA: The Movie, it included the worldwide hits ‘Take A Chance On Me’ and ‘The Name Of The Game’ as well as the much-loved ‘Thank You For The Music.’
Voulez-Vous (1979; blue vinyl)
ABBA’s final album of the 1970s was the first to be recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm. It housed no fewer than five hit singles (‘Chiquitita,’ ‘Does Your Mother Know,’ ‘Angeleyes,’ ‘Voulez-Vous’ and ‘I Have A Dream’) and went platinum or double platinum in numerous countries.
Super Trouper (1980; gold vinyl)
Another global chart-topper for a new decade, Super Trouper offered further smash hits in the Europop-defining title track and the heart-rending ‘The Winner Takes It All.’ It also featured the group’s superior embrace of disco on ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’ and the anthemic ‘Happy New Year.’
The Visitors (1981; yellow vinyl)
ABBA’s final album to date saw them reaching new levels of maturity, as they displayed their unique sonic bond on songs like ‘One Of Us’ and ‘When All Is Said And Done,’ and expanded it with the atmospheric title track and others. As ever, it topped numerous charts and left ABBA’s immense global fan base always wanting more.
ABBA: The Studio Albums is released on 3 July. Pre-order it here.
Listen to the best of ABBA on Apple Music and Spotify.
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