ABBA - The Albums on CD - The very best sounding versions :) FINALLY !!!

My conclusion after many hours of comparing different versions:

RING RING (Polydor Germany 1990 / POCP Japan / Polydor USA 1995)
WATERLOO (Polar Sweden 1988)
ABBA (Polar Sweden 1988)
ARRIVAL (POCP Japan 1992 / P33P Japan 1986)
THE ALBUM (POCP Japan 1992 / P33P Japan 1986 - unfortunately, all versions have distortion on Side A tracks)
VOULEZ-VOUS (POCP Japan 1992 / P33P Japan 1986)
SUPER TROUPER (Polydor USA 1995 - no dropout on titel track / ATLANTIC USA 1986
THE VISITORS (Polydor Germany 1982 / USA POLYDOR 1995)

Done.

 

...by the way: The Japan DISCOMATE and POLYDOR CDs (P33P + POCP) of the SUPER TROUPER album sound very close, compared to the ATLANTIC mastering...I like 'em better than the german and USA Polydor CDs I am sure it will never end...
The swedish POLAR CD of WATERLOO has serious azimuth issues on the first song...if you have that CD, push the mono button and listen to the wavy sound, especially in the treble range...otherwise, it sounds really nice

 

Very nice. I see some changes from what you had posted in previous years about best-sounding CDs for albums. Has your opinion changed on best CD sources for any of the non-album tracks (e.g. Fernando)?

 

Nice! Now get to work on those lps!

 

What are your thoughts on the best sounding compilation?

 

The Singles - The First Ten Years
Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits Vol. 2
ABBA International

 

No, I don't think so.

 

Preferences on pressings/versions like you have with their other albums?

 

Simply read the posts and use the search function please I am sure there is enough info here

 

Interesting. On my setup:
Greatest Hits is OK
Greatest Hits 2 sounds really good
The Singles - The First Ten Years is smooth but somewhat lifeless
I've never heard ABBA International

My go to compilation is the box set of Pickwick releases - The Hits 1, 2 & 3

Thanks for all your ABBA SQ posts, I've enjoyed them

 

Yes, the PICKWICK sets are fine...you have to add "LOVE SONGS", also released by PICKWICK.

 

Compilation wise, i'm good with the 91 Pickwick box as well.
Mine comps a-
1990 DANDISC (Denmark) Hits
1988 MPO Volume 2
1988 MPO Volume 3
Not sure if all contained the same manufacturers

 

I bought the Pickwick CD box set used recently and it's a big improvement over Gold, that was always hard to listen to. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

Have you or anybody else examined how many different masterings of these albums exist? Since you explicitly mention the POCP and P33P Japan CDs, does that mean they are distinct masterings, different from the German Polydor CDs?

 

Yes, the Japan P33P (same as POCP) are different masterings, compared to the geman ones. I will write about differet masterings next week.

 

Yeah! I do agree in most of your choices,
but if you dont have the japanese pressings
for me the german polydors are the best source.
By the way I wrote with Jon Asltey and he told me
that he got the flat transfers he did of all tracks from 1997 and 2001 in
96khz/24 Bit!!
I try to contact Universal and Benny Andersson via his Email
That they could release all the flat transfers as a Boxset or something like this
but there came no reaction .
So we have to dream.....

 

I did the same some years ago...there seems to be simply no interest from the band and the record company...sad, but true...

 

Mia Segolsson would be the one to contact, I believe.
But with the coming "ABBA 3D LIVE" project (or whatever we should call it), I don't think that there will be other projects in the pipeline for a number of years.

 

Yes, I think it will never happen that we will get the flat transfers Jon Astley made in 1997...as long as the band and the record company prefer to use old damaged tapes for any new release instead, I will definitely not buy all that new and useless stuff...

 

I also contact Mia Segolsson that I would pay for it.
There is no chance!!
I can not understand Universal release more and more Material
to get Money and if you say you be ready to pay for the flat ones
they say no.

 

I love ABBA but their catalog is a mess on CD. And I haven't even looked into this 3-D project. I just don't wanna know. I really don't.

 

I have the Polydors and the Atlantics for Super Trouper and Greatest Hits. Always interested in hearing some others.

ABBA ABBA Polydor 831 596-2 WG
ABBA The Arrival Polydor 821 319-2 WG
ABBA Voulez-Vous Polydor 821 320-2 WG
ABBA Super Trouper Atlantic 16023-2 US
ABBA The Visitors Polydor 800 011-2 WG
ABBA Greatest Hits Atlantic 19114-2 US
ABBA Greatest Hits Vol. 2 Atlantic 16009-2 WG (target)

 

By not allowing flat transfers of the stereo mixdown tapes, are Benny and Björn effectively saying they don't think Michael B Tretow got it right?

 

...not sure..
please correct me if i`m wrong but aren`t the Polydor Box The Singles - The First Ten Years flat unremastered tape
transfers from the Mastertapes?
I think also that the Pickwick releases are flat transfers from the Mastertapes.

 

I highly doubt that PickWick had access to the mastertapes. I think these CDs were compiled from vinyl cutting tapes.