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Post by jj on Sept 20, 2024 2:54:13 GMT
Mine has to be Greatest Hits Vol. 2 [...] the iceberg inner sleeve Wow, I had no idea until I read bjorenny that there'd ever been this iceberg sleeve! Thanks to Google Images I now see what they're referring to!
I guess this iceberg thing was limited to territories that were included in ABBA's 1979 world tour (in Australia, which ABBA didn't visit on the 1979 tour, the iceberg inner sleeve was not a part of the GHV2 album, although everything else was identical, e.g., gatefold sleeve, the individual member pics, text/song info), as only concert attendees would have made the connection with the costumes and stage set. Later on, those who saw pictures of the live show or watched the tv special would have clicked about that inner sleeve's design. Nice! And then of course Polar Music itself would soon follow and change its logo to the same iceberg/mountain design.
Strange, maybe, but I also imagined the design to be like upside-down "V"s to allude to the Voulez-Vous album. Didn't both girls open the 1979 shows standing still on the stage, arms out, forming two "V"'s ? And then they broke these V-shapes to jump straight into singing the opener, "Voulez-Vous".
And another thing I remember back then re GHV2 pics: I always wondered what in the world was Agnetha holding there in the gatefold pic? It drove me mad for the longest time. I eventually became certain it had to be some sort of modern replica of those ancient scrolls you see in period films! Yes, that seems to be what Agnetha's holding there: the two wooden ends of a long paper scroll!, I thought. It wasn't until the late 1990s that I saw the full picture and realised she was holding garden shears! Sheesh!
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Post by Alan on Sept 20, 2024 10:17:27 GMT
That’s amusing about the garden shears, jj. I think I’d always worked out that’s what they were, but it seemed rather unglamorous! Also interesting about the iceberg inner sleeve, I didn’t realise it was limited to countries where the 1979/80 tour reached. In later UK issues, the album lost its inner sleeve design along with its gatefold, as it became part of the “CBS Nice Price” series on the later white Epic label design. The inner gatefold - left-hand side info only - transferred to one side of the inner sleeve, while the other side merely advertised other albums in the Nice Price series. The first Greatest Hits also lost its gatefold at this point but The Album kept it. |
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Post by Alan on Sept 20, 2024 12:36:44 GMT
It was often reported/speculated that some ABBA albums were released on CD in the UK in the 1980s. I appear to have found evidence of this. Greatest Hits Vol 2 with a “CBS Nice Price” sticker but not on their Epic label. Instead, on Polar (though the CDs themselves were produced by PolyGram in West Germany).   |
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Post by bjorenny on Sept 20, 2024 13:24:36 GMT
Alan, I have that CD, and always wanted the bench cover version of the first Greatest Hits, but have never seen it anywhere (nor the CD of the 1983 TYFTM compilation).
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Post by Tiger76 on Sept 20, 2024 13:32:32 GMT
I too have the GHV2 CD, and have also always wanted the bench cover version of the first Greatest Hits, which I think is their best compilation as it introduced me to previously unheard songs from the Ring Ring album. That cover is iconic. My other favourite is a 1984 Dutch CD called From Abba with Love as it included the edit of Eagle that I only had on 7" vinyl before, and offered something different with the 7" edits of Frida's To Turn the Stone and Agnetha's WYARM.
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Post by Alan on Sept 20, 2024 13:54:58 GMT
I’ve got the Greatest Hits Vol 2 CD, but on Polydor not Polar (it’s largely the same design as it’s manufactured by the same company). The original Greatest Hits with park bench artwork has been released on CD, but only by Atlantic in the US. I got one about 15 years ago, I only paid £15 for it but I can see one on eBay now that someone’s trying to sell for £142. It has a clean front - no track titles or record label logo - and uses the US running order (slightly different from the standard release and for some reason excluding Hasta Mañana).     |
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Post by johnny on Sept 20, 2024 14:08:01 GMT
The park bench photo is easily the best ABBA cover. So much better than that cartoon version found in Europe and Australia.
What countries was Park Bench GH released?
They released a lot of different compilations quite early in their career. That 1975 Best Of, minus Fernando. The Greatest Hits one in 1976 with Fernando and a double GH album The Very Best of ABBA which had 24 tracks. All three released in Germany.
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Post by Alan on Sept 20, 2024 14:22:28 GMT
johnny, according to Discogs, the park bench cover was used in these countries: UK & Ireland US Canada South Africa Italy Greece Jamaica Additionally an odd El Salvador edition that uses the entire photo on the front and different fonts. In contrast, the scary cartoon was little-used outside Scandinavia. I can find Yugoslavia, Spain (1980), Argentina, Chile, Panama, and Venezuela. In Europe and Australia/NZ, The Best of ABBA was released instead (different artwork). …have never seen it anywhere (nor the CD of the 1983 TYFTM compilation). That one was never released on CD, and as it was a UK-only compilation, highly unlikely to ever be reissued.
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Post by eddie on Sept 20, 2024 15:13:56 GMT
I have a few favourite compilations from ABBA. The iconic " Gold " of course. Also "From ABBA With Love ", " Classic ABBA " " The Universal Masters " both 1999 and 2005 releases and " Love Stories ". There is yet another one I think it was released primarily in America. " 2Oth Century Masters " " The Millennium Edition ".
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Post by eddie on Sept 20, 2024 15:20:18 GMT
I forgot I was the one who started this topic and discounted " Gold " and " More Gold " initially. They are both ABBA compilations and the end of the day and should be included. Sorry about that. Also, I forgot another that I love and it is " The ABBA Story " released in 2004.
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Post by johnny on Sept 20, 2024 15:30:32 GMT
Thanks Alan. Yeah, no you mention it, the Aussie/NZ artwork for the Best Of is not that horrible cartoon one.
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Post by johnny on Sept 20, 2024 15:38:14 GMT
I'll be controversial and say, The Essentisl Collection is the best 2 CD compilation (GOLD the best 1 CD and Thankyiu for the Music the best multi CD set)
Back to Essential. Yeah, it does have 4 Ring Ring tracks. But in its favour
1. Side 1 and Side 2 neatly fits whole years, 1972-78 and 1979-82.
2. It includes Bang a Boomerang, One Man One Woman, and two essentials missed from the next release, TYFTM and the brilliant The Visitors. Plus On and On and On And That's Me not great. On balance, these are better than the 5 Voyage tracks.
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Post by Alan on Sept 20, 2024 15:39:19 GMT
Thanks Alan. Yeah, no you mention it, the Aussie/NZ artwork for the Best Of is not that horrible cartoon one. Sorry, I meant that the Australia/NZ artwork for The Best of ABBA is different from the European issue. For years I thought they were two completely different albums with the same title, but then discovered that the running order was identical. |
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Post by rickyrocknroller on Sept 20, 2024 15:43:59 GMT
Mine has to be Greatest Hits Vol. 2 [...] the iceberg inner sleeve Wow, I had no idea until I read bjorenny that there'd ever been this iceberg sleeve! Thanks to Google Images I now see what they're referring to!
I guess this iceberg thing was limited to territories that were included in ABBA's 1979 world tour (in Australia, which ABBA didn't visit on the 1979 tour, the iceberg inner sleeve was not a part of the GHV2 album, although everything else was identical, e.g., gatefold sleeve, the individual member pics, text/song info), as only concert attendees would have made the connection with the costumes and stage set. Later on, those who saw pictures of the live show or watched the tv special would have clicked about that inner sleeve's design. Nice! And then of course Polar Music itself would soon follow and change its logo to the same iceberg/mountain design. Interesting observation. I have often thought of GHV2 as a take-home or souvenir album of the 1979 tour, with the iceberg sleeve and all. The four pictures (including Agnetha holding the garden shears) are featured in the souvenir programme. With the exception of Angeleyes and I Wonder, all the songs from the LP were performed on tour. The new track GGG is there, the solo spots MMM and TYFTM and even Rock Me, which looks bizarre on GHV2, but can make sense as a key Björn live song and its inclusion reflecting this. It indeed works with the extension of In Concert and the Christmas 1979 BBC special as well. Of course some key tracks (VV, IHAD, HIYS) are left out, but the grasp of the material (i.e. principally 1976-79 with some occasional harking back to 1974/75) is similair. And you could extend into getting the VV album or the IHAD souvenir 7" single, which would even present you with a live recording on the B-side.
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