ABBA GOLD - some history please

A couple of months ago, on a whim, I bought the new ABBA GREATEST HITS import disc. I already owned the COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS box set that I bought in Europe last winter, but I thought this compilation looked interesting. It was, and it renewed my interest in ABBA, enough that I wanted to gather a few other titles that had come out.

I already owned THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION and ABBA GOLD, as released here in the US. I wanted the companion MORE ABBA GOLD which seemed to be out of print. However, I did find, in a local Borders, a Sound+Vision package containing ABBA GOLD, MORE ABBA GOLD, and the ABBA GOLD DVD. I figured this was all I'd need.

I did some comparisons between my single ABBA GOLD disc and the one in the set. The set claimed to have been released in 2004 and had the "remastered by Jon Astley with Michael B. Tretow" legend inside, whereas the single GOLD disc sported only a 1992 date and only listed Micahel B. Tretow as the remasterer. I wanted to compare the two to finally nail down just what it was that Astley did to the disc. What I found instead was that the two discs were identical in sound. Every track was exactly the same on the two discs, and the timings and total time were identical. Later, upon reading more info in a book by Carl Magnus Palm on ABBA's recordings, and in an email to Carl himself, I ascertained that in fact, both the ABBA GOLD single disc (314 517 007-2) and the ABBA GOLD contained in the Sound+Vision set (B0002218-00) were, in fact, the original 1992 mastering by Michael B. Tretow, regardless of what the credits listed.

According to Carl Magnus Palm, the remastered by Jon Astley version should have longer versions of both "The Name Of The Game" and "Voulez-Vous". Since both of these did not, we concluded that both discs, purchased in regular retail outlets as new in 2002 and 2006, were the original 1992 masterings. There are also some discrepancies with timings on MORE ABBA GOLD in this set compared with what was supposedly re-issued around 1999 and 2002(?). The version in the Sound+Vision of MORE ABBA GOLD also appears to be the original 1993 mastering.

In an effort to be complete, I've tracked down import copies of these two albums, ABBA GOLD as a 30th Anniversary (2004) issue from England with a reversed color scheme (9819297), and a MORE ABBA GOLD (remastered) that seems to still be in print in Canada (519 353-2). Both of these contained the updated masterings by Jon Astley (yes, I know how the Forum membership feels about his work, but I wanted them anyway, for completeness-sake).

So, somewhat long-windedly, we've finally arrived at my question. Is it perhaps true that PolyGram/Universal in the US have not issued the Astley remasters of ABBA GOLD and MORE ABBA GOLD? Or have these come and gone in past years, and I've just missed them? I figured some of the experts here might have an answer.

Harry

 

hello, I am an ABBA fan since 1974 and I found out that the best released CD or LP or box set they have put out; was the 4 cd box set thank you for the music in 1994. The rest is just compilations, or the easiest way to make money on something that is gold for record company since 1982.

 

I have a US "More Abba Hits" from Polydor, 1993. 31451 9353 2
(pm-ed you)

 

I have also recently gotten hold of the THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC box set. It's good, but the COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS set is totally inclusive of basically everything they did, so in that respect it blows the THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC set away.

I'm really curious about GOLD in the States and whether or not we ever got the Astley remasters.

Harry

 

Hi,

For GH collections get Abba GH Volume 2 on Atlantic WG Target. Get Volume 1 on same if you can too. If not, the new Polar Sweden GH on import is a nice alternative. It sounds superb too. (Made in Germany)

 

HGN,

The remastered versions of "ABBA Gold" and "More ABBA Gold" were never released in the US. Only the original 1992-93 masterings of those titles were released here.

Quite frankly, I think the the "Thank You For The Music" box set has the best mastering of all ABBA releases. Michael B. Tretow used the original 2-track mixdown masters with very minimal or no apparent noise reduction or compression/maximization. The recent "Complete Studio Recordings" box set used album masters instead of the 2-track mixdwon masters for all the album tracks and some noticeable compression and maxmization. Also, many of the tracks on the CSR set have drop-outs. However, I think many of the rarities and "B-sides" may have actually been the 2-track mixdown masters.

As also mentioned above, the new 30th Anniversary release of ABBA's Greatest Hits featuring the gothic cartoon cover is also excellently mastered.

 

Interesting youu sa that. A couple of years ago I made my ultimate 2CD Abba compilation, using Thank You For The Music as the source.

Last month I redid it, using the original Polygram CDs plus the two Greatest Hits on Polydor. The reason I did it is that these CDs sound noticably better than TYFTM.

 

Is that one different from the (much more common) Polydor variant? I found the Polydor "Greatest Hits Volume 2" rather bright, compared to the album CDs.

 

Give me the original Atlantic CDs made from masters Atlantic had in it's vaults. At least there, you know there was absolutely NO NR, EQ, editing, or any other of Tretow's or Astly's hokery-pokery.

 

That's what I'd come to conclude. Thanks for confirming that fact.

As for the box sets, I find the sound quality about the same (and quite good) on both THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC and THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS. The recent GREATEST HITS is also up there in sound quality, IMHO.

As for the Atlantic CDs, they are just not to be found anywhere, so I'll have to take the word of the membership here who've managed to find ALL of the existing copies out there!

Harry

 

Well, the original "ABBA Gold" CD and the original European import of "More ABBA Gold" CD had a bit of NR applied to them, but they are better that anything else I have heard to date. They can still be found.

 

Yep - since the theory is that the original ABBA GOLD 1992 mastering is still out there in the US, it's pretty easy to find. MORE ABBA GOLD is out-of-print as a single CD but still available in its 1993 mastering in the Sound+Vision 2CD+DVD set, as mentioned above.

I find the track listing on the two GOLD CDs to be close to perfect for me, though I wish that "Hasta Mañana" had made it to one of the discs. That's what makes the GREATEST HITS disc so appealing is the depth of material on it since it only had three album's worth of material to choose from.

GREATEST HITS VOL. 2 has a pretty good track listing too, but it doesn't quite cover all of the later material. I've not found an official version of 2, but reconstructed one of my own from the box sets, as a companion for the first volume.

For a single-disc compilation, though, nothing beats the superb GOLD as far as track listing goes. It's no wonder it's sold a gazillion copies worldwide. It's too bad that the original mastering didn't use the full "The Name Of The Game" and "Voulez-vous" - both of those were corrected on the re-mastered sets around the world - but not issued in the US.

Harry

 

Hi Andreas,

The Abba Greatest Hits Volume 2 Atlantic West German Target disc is a flat transfer of the Atlantic Album master of this. I have owned West German Polydor, Swedish Polar, and Atlantics of this on CD. The Atlantic is a keeper and less overbright. The Polydor and Polar CD issues are digitally identical. The Atlantic disc is closer to your LP pressing in sonics.

 

Harry,

Thanks for clearing a lot of this up! I have both of the Atlantic Greatest Hits collections (WG targets) & they do sound great! They used to be in my "sell" pile. It's thanks to the folks on this board that I learned that the word "re-mastered" does not always mean "better"...and I rescued them!

Question: Other than GH & GH 2, can someone list what other Abba albums were released by Atlantic back then? Are they as strong as the 2 GH collections?

I also have an original 1992 CD of Abba Gold. I was in the "biz" back then & have a vague recollection of a conversation that I had with a Polydor rep. I remember commenting on what I thought was rather "unattractive" artwork. He told me that they purposely chose NOT to put a photo of the group on the front of the CD booklet - because it was thought that their 70's "disco-y" look would detract from sales!

The original package - I thought - left a lot to be desired: one photo, an "essay" on the group, no real specific track information. The "essay" was almost apologetic it seemed. Also, it was missing some key hit singles. This was 1992 & they had no idea how much this would sell - More Abba Gold was not on the radar. Years later, when I read on their official website that the CD had been upgraded (twice), I assumed that it meant worldwide - evidently this was not the case. Here is what is says about the album on abbasite.com:

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. ​

What does the US version have for a booklet now? Also - is it possible that the US version sold individually is different than the one included in the Sound+Vision set?

I also have a 1993 version of More Abba Gold that I picked up on EBay about a year before the Definitive Collection was released. It's a CRC CD. The booklet was equally uninspiring, but it did fill in the holes, track-wise.

I have tried repeatedly to compare the 2 Tretow-only "Gold's" to the Astley/Tretow "Definitive"...and either maybe I need to listen again...or maybe these 54 year old ears are showing their age...but I found that I preferred "Definitive". Certainly not as much as my Atlantic treasures, but comparing just the "Golds" & "Definitive", I repeatedly lean toward the latter! Plus - and this may be swaying me a bit - I find the booklet & liner notes to be superior. In any case, I don't find the difference between them to be that great. Now the Atlantics - they are definitely a superior form of life!

Question: Was the recent "goth" Greatest Hits mastered by the same person who did the Complete Studio Recordings? I'm asking because it sounds to me like the new GH is getting better sonic reviews than CSR.

Abba Gold was, I believe, the very first album released in what would later be their "Gold" series. If they were doing the album today...to be part of that series...it would be a 2-disc set & include all the hit singles. I find it interesting (whether you like the sound or not) that they haven't re-packaged "Definitive" (or "Gold" & "More Gold") as a standard entry in their "Gold series with the associated artwork.

Maybe I'll pick up Thank You For The Music one of these days.

Dexter

 

That's all true. They omitted a cover picture as an effort to give the group the appearance of "class". I happen to like the gold-on-black design and find it to be indeed "classy." Universal would later repeat this cover design with Carpenters' GOLD when first released in the UK in 2000. That cover was later used for the US double-album issue and has since been replaced to fall in line with the other Universal GOLD's. I've noticed, by the way, that listed in the booklets for CARPENTERS GOLD of other GOLD titles, ABBA is listed, but as of yet, there's been no change to the original 1992 ABBA release.

The US edition that I purchased in 2002 contains, apparently, the original John Tobler liner notes, and nothing updated to mention MAMMA MIA or any other later developments in ABBA's history.

The Sound+Vision version has an updated set of liner notes by Carl Magnus Palm, however the sound is a clone of the single-CD version.

The MORE ABBA GOLD that's in the Sound+Vision doesn't list Jon Astley, and indeed it's the old 1993 version. One can tell by checking "The Visitors". On the original 1993 mastering, the song was shortened down to 4:29. The later remastering restored the full-length track to 5:49.

I did a quickie check of just that this morning, comparing the import, remastered GOLD's with THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION. I only did a few tracks, and they did mostly sound similar. Mostly what I noticed was a grittier sound to THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, whereas the GOLD's tended to sound smoother.

Henrik Johnsson did GH - and I believe he also did the COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS box set. Those two sound the same to me - and both sound excellent, IMHO.

As I mentioned above, ABBA has been listed in the Universal GOLD lists on other releases, but as of yet, I haven't seen an entry that looks like the other Universal GOLDs. Perhaps that's in the works - and perhaps it will either be a retitling of THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION or perhaps a re-issue of GOLD and MORE GOLD. We'll have to wait and see on that one.

I found one rather reasonably through an eBay seller. It was around $25, though it turned out to be a BMG club edition. Still, I suspect it sounds and looks the same as the standard PolyGram/Polar release.

Harry

 

Kent,

My Atlantic CD issue of GH2 was pressed by PDO USA (Polygram) and the master number on the inner ring is identical to the WG Polydor & Polar pressings: 800 012-2 03. I would say that the Atlantic, WG Polydor and Polar pressings are all digitally identical.