Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (ABBA album) explained

Greatest Hits Vol. 2
Type:Greatest hits
Artist:ABBA
Cover:ABBA - Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (Polar).jpg
Recorded:October 1974 – August 1979
Length:58:25
Label:Polar (Sweden)
Epic (UK)
Atlantic (US)
Producer:Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Prev Title:Voulez-Vous
Prev Year:1979
Next Title:Gracias Por La Música
Next Year:1980

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.

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.

Personnel

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1979–81)Peak
position
Argentinian Albums (CAPIF)[1] 1
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[2] 20
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[3] 4
Israeli Albums (IBA)[4] 4
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[5] 2
Spanish Albums (AFE)[6] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (1980)Position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7] 3
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[8] 26
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] 25
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 5
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 17

Notes and References

  1. Cash Box - International Best Sellers. Cashbox. 2 February 1980. 26 July 2023. 37.
  2. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. 1993. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 0-646-11917-6.
  3. Book: Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021. 2021. ABBA. 8. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. Helsinki. August 24, 2022. fi.
  4. 5 April 1980. Hits of the World. Billboard. 2 April 2022. 79.
  5. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. 2006. Oricon Entertainment. Roppongi, Tokyo. 4-87131-077-9.
  6. Book: Salaverri, Fernando. Sólo éxitos 1959–2012. 2015. Fundación Autor-SGAE. 978-84-8048-866-2. 1st. Spain.
  7. Web site: Jahreshitparade Alben 1980. 1980. Hung Medien. de. 2 April 2022.
  8. Top 100 Albums. RPM. 34. 6. 20 December 1980. 0315-5994. Library and Archives Canada.
  9. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 1980. 1980. Dutch Charts. nl. 2 April 2022.
  10. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts. 1980. GfK Entertainment Charts. de. 2 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20211021191905/https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/album-jahr/for-date-1980. 21 October 2021.
  11. Chart File – Top 100 Albums 1980. Record Mirror. 4 April 1981. 38. 0144-5804. World Radio History.