Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (ABBA album)

Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is a compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released on 29 October 1979 to coincide with their tour of North America and Europe (taking place between September and November 1979). It was ABBA's second chart-topping album of the year, the first being Voulez-Vous, and contained the brand new single "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", recorded in August 1979.

Greatest Hits Vol. 2
Greatest hits album by
ABBA
Released29 October 1979 (1979-10-29)
RecordedOctober 1974 – August 1979
GenrePop, disco
Length58:25
LabelPolar (Sweden)
Epic (UK)
Atlantic (US)
ProducerBenny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA chronology
Voulez-Vous
(1979)		 Greatest Hits Vol. 2
(1979)		 Gracias Por La Música
(1980)
Singles from Greatest Hits Vol. 2
  1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"
    Released: 12 October 1979
  2. "Summer Night City"
    Released: 6 September 1978 (Sweden)
    8 September 1978 (UK)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Christgau's Record GuideC[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

History

A round-up of ABBA's hits since their first Greatest Hits album (released in 1975), the album exclusively included material recorded between the years 1976 and 1979 (albums Arrival, The Album and Voulez-Vous plus non-album single "Summer Night City") - with one exception, "Rock Me" from 1975 album ABBA, issued as a single and became a top 5 hit in Australia and New Zealand after the release of the band's first hits package Greatest Hits and also part of the setlist on the 1979 world tour.

"Angeleyes" was included primarily due to its success as a single in the UK, where it was the lead track of a double A-side with "Voulez-Vous". Elsewhere, "Voulez-Vous" had been the A-side in its own right but it was not included on the album. However, the track "I Wonder (Departure)" was not believed to have been released as a single anywhere, but was featured.

Greatest Hits Vol. 2 was released on CD in 1982 by Polydor but was deleted from their ABBA CD range in 1992 when it was replaced with ABBA Gold. It was also released in the US by Atlantic Records in 1983 with the same mastering as the Polydor CD but was discontinued there in the late 1980s as well.

Commercial reception

Greatest Hits Vol. 2 received massive commercial success in Japan, selling in excess of 920,000 units on the chart (it was the best-selling album by non-domestic artists at the time, until Michael Jackson's Thriller each sold over 1 million copies in the 1980s). It is certified Gold in the U.S.

Track listing

All songs written by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, except where noted.

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" 4:49
2."Knowing Me, Knowing You"Andersson, Stig Anderson, Ulvaeus4:01
3."Take a Chance on Me" 4:05
4."Money, Money, Money" 3:06
5."Rock Me" 3:03
6."Eagle" 5:48
7."Angeleyes" 4:17
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dancing Queen"Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus3:48
2."Does Your Mother Know" 3:12
3."Chiquitita" 5:21
4."Summer Night City" 3:31
5."I Wonder (Departure)"Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus4:31
6."The Name of the Game"Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus4:50
7."Thank You for the Music" 3:47

Personnel

Production
  • Producers: Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
  • Arrangers: Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
  • Engineer: Michael B. Tretow

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24] Platinum 50,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[25] Gold 25,000[25]
France — 100,000[26]
Germany (BVMI)[27] Platinum 500,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[28] Gold 10,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[29] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Platinum 1,000,000[31]
United States (RIAA)[32] Gold 500,000^
Summaries
Worldwide — 2,000,000[31]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r38
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: A". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 12 September 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
  4. "Cash Box - International Best Sellers" (PDF). Cashbox. 2 February 1980. p. 37. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. "Austriancharts.at – ABBA – Greatest Hits Vol. 2" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  7. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9481a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  8. "Dutchcharts.nl – ABBA – Greatest Hits Vol. 2" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  9. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "ABBA". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 8. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  10. "Offiziellecharts.de – ABBA – Greatest Hits Vol. 2" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  11. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 5 April 1980. p. 79. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  12. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  13. "Charts.nz – ABBA – Greatest Hits Vol. 2". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  14. "Norwegiancharts.com – ABBA – Greatest Hits Vol. 2". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  15. Salaverri, Fernando (2015). Sólo éxitos 1959–2012 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 978-84-8048-866-2.
  16. "Swedishcharts.com – ABBA – Greatest Hits Vol. 2". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  18. "ABBA Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  19. "Jahreshitparade Alben 1980" (in German). Hung Medien. 1980. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  20. "Top 100 Albums". RPM. Vol. 34, no. 6. 20 December 1980. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  21. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1980" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. 1980. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  22. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1980. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  23. "Chart File – Top 100 Albums 1980" (PDF). Record Mirror. 4 April 1981. p. 38. ISSN 0144-5804 – via World Radio History.
  24. "International Briefs - Australia" (PDF). Billboard. 24 May 1980. p. 72. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  25. "Abba" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  26. Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP). Fabrice Ferment (ed.). "TOP – 1978". 40 ans de tubes : 1960–2000 : les meilleures ventes de 45 tours & CD singles (in French). OCLC 469523661. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2022 – via Top-France.fr.
  27. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Abba; 'Greatest Hits Vol. 2')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  28. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1981". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  29. "Dutch album certifications – Abba – Greatest Hits Vol. 2" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 8 August 2018. Enter Greatest Hits Vol. 2 in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1980 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  30. "British album certifications – Abba – Greatest Hits Vol. 2". British Phonographic Industry.
  31. Palm, Carl Magnus (2017). ABBA: The Complete Recording Sessions (2nd Revised and Expanded ed.). United Kingdom: CPI Group. p. 345. ISBN 978-91-639-2656-3.
  32. "American album certifications – Abba – Greatest Hits Vol. 2". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
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