The Swedish hitmakers' first compilation prepared for the CD format, and one of the biggest-selling releases of all time.© TiVo

ABBA Gold: Complete Edition is a curious release -- with two discs of material, it's probably too much for casual listeners seeking only ABBA's biggest chart hits (available instead on the single-disc Gold collection), while more serious fans will have already invested in the four-disc Thank You for the Music box set, rendering this package almost totally irrelevant. There's undoubtedly great music here, of course -- the problem is just that it's unlikely to fill the needs of most consumers.© Jason Ankeny /TiVo

When ABBA was together, many American rock critics gave the Swedish group scathing reviews and dismissed its pop-rock, Euro-pop, and Euro-disco as disposable fluff. But time would be much kinder to ABBA than American rock critics, and its songs proved to be anything but disposable. Although ABBA broke up in 1983, its music proved to be quite durable and continued to be incredibly influential when the 21st century arrived -- in 1999 and 2000, artists all over Europe were proudly claiming ABBA as a major influence. One example of ABBAmania came from Swedish teen popsters the A*Teens, who pay tribute to their idols on The ABBA Generation. The members of this half male, half female quartet from Stockholm were 15 and 16 when this CD came out in the U.S. in 2000, which means that they weren't even born when ABBA was together. And that fact says a lot -- even though ABBA's ex-members are old enough to be the A*Teens' parents, the adolescents are calling themselves The ABBA Generation. The A*Teens' versions of ABBA gems like "Take a Chance on Me," "Mamma Mia," "Dancing Queen," and "Voulez-Vous" aren't brilliant, but they're enjoyable -- and they show just how well the songs have held up over time. Not surprisingly, the high-tech production is about as European-sounding as it gets; anyone who appreciates the Hi-NRG/Euro-dance sound will have a hard time not moving to the A*Teens' remakes of "S.O.S.," "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme (a Man After Midnight)," and "Lay All Your Love on Me." Listeners could nit-pick about the absence of "Waterloo" (one of ABBA's finest songs), but all things considered, The ABBA Generation is a pleasing, if unremarkable, testament to the durability of ABBA's songs.© Alex Henderson /TiVo

Same stars, same Mediterranean landscape: this sequel reuses the same exact formula of the first opus dating from 2008 (which is itself an adaptation of the successful musical). Unsurprisingly, its soundtrack is based on the same principle as those two works, since it only contains covers of ABBA. You will find some classics already present on the first movie’s soundtrack, starting with Mamma Mia and Dancing Queen. The latter is slightly different since this time, some men are joining the female chorus (Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgård). Among the novelties, let’s cite Fernando by Cher, Waterloo by Hugh Skinner, as well as a moving The Day before you came by Meryl Streep. All these covers are very close to the originals regarding the arrangements, but this deluxe playlist also includes more improbable reinterpretations, such as the introduction of Kisses of fire, performed by a Panos Mouzourakis that is almost falling into caricature. As for the first Mamma Mia, this soundtrack is therefore possessed with a good-natured 70s joy that will seduce the fans of the Swedish pop band (and others). ©Nicolas Magenham/Qobuz

After more than nine years (and counting) of continuous stage performances, the musical Mamma Mia!, featuring songs from the ABBA catalog awkwardly stitched into a romantic comedy plot, was adapted for the big screen by the same producer/director/writer team that had taken it to the theater. (That would be Judy Craymer, Phyllida Lloyd, and Catherine Johnson, respectively.) Like its counterpart, it pleased moviegoers but not critics, and thankfully the film itself is not the primary subject of this consideration. The soundtrack album simply consists of 18 ABBA songs sung by the stars of the movie, most of whom are not professional singers. The instrumental portions of the music are remarkably similar to the original ABBA recordings, which is not surprising given that ABBA member Benny Andersson, who produced this album, reunited the original studio musicians to re-create their parts. Their playing (his, in particular) is a bit less precise here and there three decades on, but for the most part it's hard to tell the difference. On the original recordings, the Swedish singing group revealed its ESL (English as a second language) limitations, just as the songwriters (Andersson, fellow member Björn Ulvaeus, and sometimes Stig Anderson) revealed their ESL lyric-writing limitations. Here, the first of those problems is alleviated, while the second is somewhat elided by performers who are actors used to finding ways to say (or sing) even the silliest lines with some conviction. That's all to the good. But the generally low to mediocre quality of singing is such as to suggest an all-ABBA night in a karaoke bar. The singers may be divided into those who embarrass themselves and those who manage to avoid doing so. In the latter category, the most prominent is Meryl Streep, in the starring role of Donna, an innkeeper living on a Greek isle with her daughter Sophie, who is about to be married and, never having been told who her real father is, sets the plot in motion by writing to three of her mother's ex-boyfriends and inviting them to the wedding. Streep, who has some stage singing experience, is actually better when she's belting than when she has to be more intimate and expressive, as she is called on to do for most of the ballad "The Winner Takes It All." Amanda Seyfried, as Sophie, also does well (and she even gets an extra solo, singing "Thank You for the Music" with only piano accompaniment as the album's hidden track). Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, and Julie Walters are not heard from much, and therefore also fit into the non-embarrassing category. The real problem is Pierce Brosnan, who simply can't sing at all, but who tries hard during such leads as "SOS" and particularly "When All Is Said and Done," to often painful effect. (It's too bad that Christine Baranski, a ringer who has real musical theater chops, only gets to sing "Does Your Mother Know," not only because the album would be vastly improved with more of her, but also because she is so much better than the others that she makes them sound even worse than they are.) On-screen, just as on-stage, Mamma Mia! is at best a guilty pleasure. On disc, it is no more than a souvenir of the film experience (which didn't keep this album from topping charts all over the world upon its release).© TiVo

After more than nine years (and counting) of continuous stage performances, the musical Mamma Mia!, featuring songs from the ABBA catalog awkwardly stitched into a romantic comedy plot, was adapted for the big screen by the same producer/director/writer team that had taken it to the theater. (That would be Judy Craymer, Phyllida Lloyd, and Catherine Johnson, respectively.) Like its counterpart, it pleased moviegoers but not critics, and thankfully the film itself is not the primary subject of this consideration. The soundtrack album simply consists of 18 ABBA songs sung by the stars of the movie, most of whom are not professional singers. The instrumental portions of the music are remarkably similar to the original ABBA recordings, which is not surprising given that ABBA member Benny Andersson, who produced this album, reunited the original studio musicians to re-create their parts. Their playing (his, in particular) is a bit less precise here and there three decades on, but for the most part it's hard to tell the difference. On the original recordings, the Swedish singing group revealed its ESL (English as a Second Language) limitations, just as the songwriters (Andersson, fellow member Björn Ulvaeus, and sometimes Stig Anderson) revealed their ESL lyric-writing limitations. Here, the first of those problems is alleviated, while the second is somewhat elided by performers who are actors used to finding ways to say (or sing) even the silliest lines with some conviction. That's all to the good. But the generally low to mediocre quality of the singing is such as to suggest an all-ABBA night in a karaoke bar. The singers may be divided into those who embarrass themselves and those who manage to avoid doing so. In the latter category, the most prominent is Meryl Streep, in the starring role of Donna, an innkeeper living on a Greek isle with her daughter Sophie, who is about to be married and, never having been told who her real father is, sets the plot in motion by writing to three of her mother's ex-boyfriends and inviting them to the wedding. Streep, who has some stage singing experience, is actually better when she's belting than when she has to be more intimate and expressive, as she is called on to do for most of the ballad "The Winner Takes It All." Amanda Seyfried, as Sophie, also does well (and she even gets an extra solo, singing "Thank You for the Music" with only piano accompaniment as the album's hidden track). Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, and Julie Walters are not heard from much, and therefore also fit into the non-embarrassing category. The real problem is Pierce Brosnan, who simply can't sing at all, but who tries hard during such leads as "SOS" and particularly "When All Is Said and Done," to often painful effect. (It's too bad that Christine Baranski, a ringer who has real musical theater chops, only gets to sing "Does Your Mother Know," not only because the album would be improved vastly with more of her, but also because she is so much better than the others that she makes them sound even worse than they are.) Onscreen, just as on-stage, Mamma Mia! is at best a guilty pleasure. On disc, it is no more than a souvenir of the film experience (which didn't keep this album from topping charts all over the world upon its release).© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

This unusual collection has a somewhat convoluted history, growing out of ABBA's distinctly international appeal. Originally released at ten songs and then expanded to 15, ABBA Oro was a repackaging of Gracias Por La Musica, a ten-song LP that, in turn, grew out of the group's long-delayed cracking of the South American market in 1979, with a Spanish-language version of "Chiquitita." The latter song was recut in Spanish two months after the January 1979 release of the English-language version, and became a huge hit throughout South America, topping most of the national charts there and leading to a television special in Madrid and the release of a Spanish version of "I Have a Dream" ("Estoy Sonando") that also sold extremely well. In January 1980, the latter's success resulted in the preparation of the Gracias Por La Musica LP (released on Atlantic in America), a collection of the group's biggest hits with re-recorded vocals, done with pronunciation help from journalist Ana Martinez. Although Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus had little interest in the project beyond its commercial aspects, to judge from the results here, Agnetha Faltskog and Frida Lyngstad both evidently enjoyed singing in Spanish, as well as getting a second crack at several older songs from their repertory, and Michael Tretow did an excellent remixing job, both at the time and on the 1999 digital remix, in 24-bit sound. As opposed to the 1992 CD version, the 1999 remastering features a rich, wide sound profile that brings out the elegance of the group's sound and arrangements, not just for the voices but the instruments as well. For the 1999 remastering, the ten songs off of Gracias Por La Musica and the original ABBA Oro have been augmented by five more tracks: "Felicidad" (aka "Happy New Year") and "Andante Andante" from the next official album, Super Trouper, and "Se Me Esta Escapando" (aka "Slipping Through My Fingers") and "No Hay A Quien Culpar" (aka "When All Is Said and Done") from The Visitors, plus "Ring Ring." As for the music, Spanish-speaking listeners obviously will have a special appreciation of the material, but Lyngstad and Faltskog sing so stunningly, and perhaps with more emotion here than on some of the original lyrics, that these variant takes will also prove attractive to non-Spanish speakers.© Bruce Eder /TiVo

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