Number Ones - Dark Publications

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Similar Items:

•	ABBA - Gold: Greatest Hits
•	Mamma Mia!
•	The Definitive Collection
•	ABBA: Number Ones

Editorial Reviews:

Album Description
Abba are following in the footsteps of The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson with the Number Ones concept, and we're assuming that the designation applies to charts from around the world. There are 18 songs on the album, but no Abba song ever hit #1 in Canada, 'Dancing Queen' was the only one to do it in the U.S., and seven singles did it in the U.K. So the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest winners must have made a major impact in a number of non-English-speaking territories. A collection of all the international #1 hits on one CD delivered to the Abba fans.

Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Time for an upgrade! November 29, 2006
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

If the only ABBA CD you own is 1992's multimillion selling GOLD, then it's definitely time to replace that collection of classic pop music it with a newer compilation. The digital remastering on this CD is amazing, and ABBA sounds shiny and new and vibrant all over again!

On the other hand, if Amazon still has THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION on sale for $9.99, pick that up instead. Same remastering, MORE SONGS! LONG LIVE ABBA!

4 out of 5 stars

Couldn't escape if I wanted to April 11, 2007
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

The writing team of Bjoern Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and their respective partners in music and life, Agnetha Faltskog and Frida Lyngstad, basically invented Europop when they pooled their collective talents and became ABBA. One supposes keeping their past-affiliations names (Hep Stars or the Hootenanny Singers) wasn't quite as catchy. But then they wrote "Waterloo" for a Eurovision song contests and the musical universe suddenly altered.

That one song pretty much laid out the template for Abba's world domination to come. Frothy melodies wed to instantly catchy choruses sung with frothy harmonies by the twin female singers. "Number Ones" captures that cotton candy in all its seventies glory, as the band rocketed from pop-stars to international phenomenon. As their songs moved from the catchy singles like "Ring Ring" and "Waterloo" into the later seventies, ABBA wisely embraced disco and created the immortal "Dancing Queen." They were so insanely wealthy from their worldwide hitmaking that they were forced to take payments in commodities instead of cash, that is how omnipresent the likes of "Dancing Queen" and other dancefloor smashes like "Voulez-Vous" and "Gimme Gimme Gimme" became.

Thus we have yet another ABBA greatest hits. The standard before this was "ABBA - Gold: Greatest Hits," and at a slightly higher cost (but frankly, with more songs than I needed) was "The Definitive Collection." While "Number Ones" boasts remastered sound over "Gold," we lose "Does Your Mother Know" and "Lay All Your Love On Me." ("The Definitive Collection" includes those as well as "Ring Ring.")

It also becomes obvious why this compilation was released as soon as the first song begins to play. Thanks to Madonna, who nicked the hook for her own "Hung Up," "Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)" has opened the door for a whole new generation of ABBA fans. That is all fine by me - if a new crew of kids can learn the value of genuine musical composition, then I am willing to give "Number Ones" a hearty recommendation.

5 out of 5 stars

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again..... December 10, 2006
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

Once again Univeral Music is milking the ABBA cash cow. With the world wide MEGA success of 'ABBA GOLD' why on earth is this compilation needed? With that said, the ONLY territory possibly needing this CD is the USA. Why? The USA is the only country where 'GOLD' has never been remastered or repackaged. In fact, it still has the incorrect ABBA Logo using the wrong font! 3 songs from 'GOLD', "Does Your Mother Know", "Lay All Your Love On Me" & "Thank Your For The Music" have been replaced on 'Number Ones' with "Summer Night CIty" & "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do". For some strange reason, the USA edition only has 18 tracks whereas the European version has inlcuded "Ring Ring" to total 19. (The USA DVD does contain all 19 songs). Another plus for the US is the full versions of "Voulez-Vous" & "The Name Of The Game" are included. (GOLD had the edited versions). If you're looking for a single CD containing most of ABBA's biggest hits, then 'Number Ones' is nice. But for the extra few bucks, I would get double CD 'The Definitive Collection' I choose to give this CD 5 stars because I LOVE ABBA!

3 out of 5 stars

Not new remastering January 19, 2007
10 out of 14 found this review helpful

Bad news for reviewer Michael Allen, but the official sources confirm these are the 2001 remasters - none have been done since, so if you have the 2001 album reissues, they will sound exactly the same as this. This is just another repackaging job.

5 out of 5 stars

It's All About the Money, Money, Money but the Songs Are Incredible. December 8, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

When a group is as universally popular as ABBA you can rest assured that those in charge of their catalogue will take advantage of this overwhelming popularity. If you were to believe the statistics, the Swedish Super-group has sold more than 360 million units worldwide, making them one of the biggest selling acts in the history of popular music trailing behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley. It should not come as a surprise that this compilation was released even though there are several others available that already showcase the talents of this lovable foursome. There's the 20th Century Masters collection (CD) featuring ABBA which was certified Gold in the US, "The Definitive Collection" (CD and DVD) and the most popular of them all "ABBA GOLD: Greatest Hits" (CD and DVD) which was certified 6 x platinum in the US and has sales of over 25 million world-wide. So what is the point of this new release titled "ABBA Number Ones" which like their previous compilations have been released in both CD and DVD format? The title of one of ABBA's hits comes to mind: "Money, Money, Money". For the millions who already own "GOLD" and "The Definitive Collection" purchasing "Number Ones" would be pointless since they already own these songs. However, for the millions of fans (like myself) "Number Ones" is just another compilation to add to your ever growing collection.

"ABBA: Number Ones" showcases all of the songs that topped the charts internationally (The DVD version includes all the videos to these classic songs and as a bonus, they throw in a live version of "Waterloo", 2 other live performances which were sung to a backing track and a Number One scrapbook which lists all the countries the respective singles topped the charts in, although some of the lists are incomplete since it omits countries several of these songs reached the top). Evidence of ABBA's overwhelming international appeal is that if you were to tally up all of their number ones, you would get a number well over 100. Missing in action however is "Does Your Mother Know" which reached # 1 in Belgium and the Top Ten in several other territories including Canada, "Eagle" which topped the charts in Belgium and "Lay All Your Love on Me" which was a top ten hit in the UK and reached # 1 in the US Hot Dance Club Play Charts in the early 80's.

ABBA's success in North America paled slightly to their massive appeal elsewhere however to state they were not successful in the US and Canada will be an inaccurate statement. In the US, the group had 20 singles reach the Billboard Hot 100 within an 8 year time frame out of which 14 reached the Top 40. They also scored a # 1 hit on the singles chart with "Dancing Queen" (featured here), two # 1 hits in the Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts with "Fernando" and "The Winner Takes It All" (featured here) and a # 1 in the Billboard Dance/Club charts with "Lay All Your Love on Me" (not featured here). In Canada they scored no less than 14 Top Forty hits out of which 8 reached the Top Ten and 6 consecutive Top Ten albums including a # 1 with Greatest Hit: Vol 2.

To the few who have not been exposed to these timeless and immaculate pop gems, "ABBA: Number Ones" may be a good place to start with since it's reasonably priced and offers their biggest hits but keep in mind that "The Definitive Collective" is far more extensive and may be a better buy. For the millions of ABBA fans out there, what can I say since you already own these songs? But knowing the passion this group inspires among their fan-base, I wouldn't be surprised in knowing that when entering your favorite music store, the first thing you do is extend your arm and grab this CD/DVD off the shelf and pay for it at the counter. I can't blame you since I have done exactly that. That is the power of ABBA's music

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