ABBA CD Comps to Avoid

I have no ABBA at present and want to buy one or two that are readily available in stores. Which are the comps to AVOID as far as sound quality is concerned?

 

The 2CD "Definitive Collection" is very bright and compressed. Avoid.

I have and like Abba Gold and More Abba Gold. And the Atlantic Greatest Hits is good, though it doesn't cover everything.

 

I agree. Go for the ABBA Gold first and foremost.

 

I never liked "Abba Gold" - I've consequently never bothered with "More...." so I don't know what that is like.

The 2 Atlantic "Greatest Hits" CDs (Vols 1 & 2) are the best I've heard Abba sound on CD followed by the Polydor 2CD "First Ten Years" singles comp.

 

The "Gold" and "More Gold" are acceptable. The Thank You For the Music box set is too bright for me. Generally, I would avoid everything after 1994 (I haven't heard the latest box set).

 

The Atlantic ABBA discs are the best I've heard. ABBA Gold sounds bright to me.

 

If you don't mind could you described why you don't like the 'Abba Gold' sound and what you like about the Atlantic 'Greatest Hits' in comparison?

I'm not looking for the " best ever pressed high on a mountain in Tibet at midnight" type thing just something that sounds decent and enjoyable as I like the music.

Thanks.

 

Huh, I never thought this at all. In fact, I thought they were quite warm. I wonder why such a difference. I can relate, however, since that bright sound just tweaks me.

 

I had "Abba Gold" when it was first released on CD and I got rid of it for the reasons that KeithH mentioned above.

 

The remaster of More Abba Gold (done in 1999, seven years after the original) is weak sounding.

 

Me too! I sold off my ABBA Gold about a year ago after I tracked down the two original Atlantic CD pressings of Greatest Hits. It's like comparing night to day! ABBA Gold always sounded very harsh and bright while the Greatest Hits sounds very warm and natural.

 

Hi,

Get the Atlantic discs, older Polar discs, or get Polydors from West Germany. These are superior to the newer discs. Swedish Polar Records Abba vinyl is especially sweet sounding.

 

First off, try to find copies of "Greatest Hits" & "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2" on Atlantic. As everyone has said, these sound wonderful! They are long out-of-print, but worth searching out!

"Abba Gold" came out in 1992. Their original engineer, Michael Tretow, is credited with the mastering (I think). It's OK. The problem with this comp is the song selection. It leaves several hits off that were eventually compiled on More Abba Gold. That second comp came out in 1993 & later went out of print for awhile...I believe...I don't know if it is readily available again. (If it isn't, it's probably available online somewhere.) Additionally, these comps left a lot to be desired as far as liner notes, track information, & pictures are concerned.

The 2-CD comp named "Definitive Collection" came out in 2001. Most folks here don't like it. Personally, I don't mind it as a "fill-in" for songs that are not on my Atlantic CDs. It was mastered by Jon Astley ("with Michael Tretow"). Yes, it is bright & compressed...but it does have (IMHO) superior liner notes & track information to the original "Abba Gold" & "More Abba Gold" collections.

From Abba's "official" website, regarding "Abba Gold":

In 1999 the album was remastered and reissued with new liner notes to coincide with the 25th anniversary of ABBA's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Waterloo'.

On the 10th Anniversary of the release of ABBA Gold, in 2002, the album is reissued with a revised booklet and updated liner notes. ​

I cannot comment on how "Abba Gold" appears today. It may carry the same Astley mastering as the "Definitive Collection" now. A year or so ago, I really sat down & tried to compare my original 1992 "Abba Gold" & 1993 "More Abba Gold" to the "Definitive Collection"...and I didn't hear THAT much difference. I really didn't care much for the sound on any of them...especially when compared to those Atlantics. In the end, I went with the "Definitive Collection"...again, as a "fill-in".

A box set containing all of their albums was released last year (?)...I have heard that it sounds better that the Astley work. How much, I don't know. They are planning an "anniversary" release of "Greatest Hits" later this year. I have not heard who mastered it.

Dexter

 

The definitive Collection simply hurts! It's very harsh and heavily noise reduced. Listen to the fade on Summernight City and hear the artifacts and loss of high and low frequencies.
Bob.

 

"Abba - The Singles - The First Ten Years" sounds pretty lifeless compared to the "Thank You For The Music" box set.

 

The mastering on the recent Complete Studio Recordings box is pretty good - a big improvement on the Astley remasters.

But the box is not cheap. Still, it has everything you'll ever want from Abba - and remember there was a lot more to them than just the hit singles.

 

Yep, the Complete Studio Recordings box is really good. I got it when it was released, even though I was unfamiliar with their work except for a few of their bigger hits. Guess what - I now consider myself a huge ABBA fan. The sound is great, although I can't compare it to earlier releases.

 

Oh I admit, it sure ain't pretty. I just didn't think that "Gold" & "More Gold" were much different...the ones that Tretow is credited with mastering. And my copies were originals from 92 & 93. Who knows what they sound like now! (I think I remember Steve commenting on this once, something like, (paraphrasing) "Never let the engineer handle the mastering." (or something like that!)

My reason for choosing "Definitive Collection" was based as much on the packaging, liner notes, etc. as anything else...since "Gold" & "More Gold" didn't blow it away sound-wise.

Other than GH & GH, Vol 2...what other Abba albums were released on Atlantic?

Dexter

 

I just dug out my Abba Gold and compared it to the Atlantic Vol 1. disc. (it's been a while since I first did this!).

The main differences are that "Gold" has less bass and is more "in your face". This is partly a result of the tonal balance but "Gold" also sounds more compressed to me. The Atlantic disc has a more full-bodied sound and sounds much less compressed. Yes, one of the characteristic sounds of the classic ABBA recordings is that they are heavily compressed mixes. However, "Gold" sounds more compressed than the mixes sounded on vinyl in the 70s whereas the Atlantic CDs sound the same as the vinyl did. They also match the original vinyl for tonal balance.

I should say I've not listened to the vinyl since the 80s - but I can tell that the Atlantics come much closer to the sound I was used to as a kid than "Gold" does. The key point is that "Gold" sounds different in a bad way!

Anyway, that's my appraisal and I'm sticking to it!

If you like music to be pleasant to listen to then you owe it to yourself to get the Atlantic discs.......

 

Ten years on, any improvements in remastering? What's the consensus?

 

How's the sound of the ABBA hits cd with the park bench cover?

 

The Abba Gold CD I have sounds suspiciously like the original Polydor CDs. Plenty of depth but with the flaws of the originals. Acceptable sound.
The compilation I have issues with Abba 18 Hits from 2005 in the biodegradable digipack. Compressed to within an inch of its life.

 

The Best Of ABBA, (RCA SPCD 1039), should also be avoided. The start of S.O.S is chopped off!! About half a second is missing, making it start abruptly.
A real pity as it's one of the best songs by anybody, ever!

 

It's been reported elsewhere (by me and others) that the ABBA GOLD compilations that are commonly available in the US are still the 1992 Tretow masterings. The compilation has been updated numerous times abroad, but none of those remasters have ever been issued in the US. I believe that GOLD was remastered in 1999, 2005, and 2014.

So if you're looking for the original, your local record store (don't we WISH!) will have that old 1992 mastering. For the others, you'll have to go to foreign sellers or the used market.

Harry

 

The original "Greatest Hits" which people here often say is the best for sound is on Amazon for £124.99. I don't love them enough to pay that price.

The last remaster of "Gold" in 2008 (re-issued again in 2014) wasn't done by Jon Astley. It was done by Masters of Audio. Any thoughts on that?