In celebration of ABBA – The Album’s original release four decades ago, Polar Music/UMe will release a half-speed mastered, 45 rpm-cut, 180-gram 2 LP edition on January 26th. First released in Scandinavia in December 1977, ABBA – The Album took the world by storm, hitting No. 1 in several countries, including the UK, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, among others. It also reached No. 15 in the U.S., becoming ABBA’s highest Billboard-charting studio album with platinum-certified sales.
Naturally, this being ABBA, the album also features major international hit singles, including “The Name Of The Game,” “Take A Chance On Me,” and “Eagle.” These hits and the album itself showed how ABBA tried to develop and challenge themselves, taking significant steps forward in terms of musical complexity, while remaining catchy and compelling.
This commemorative reissue of ABBA – The Album features new liner notes by noted ABBA historian Carl Magnus Palm, detailing the story behind the album.
The specialized half-speed mastering technique transforms difficult to cut high-end frequencies into relatively easy to cut mid-range frequencies. The result is a cut with excellent high frequency response and very solid and stable stereo images. In short, half-speed mastering produces a master of the highest quality that enables the pressing plant to produce a superlative record.
45 rpm-cut 180-gram 2 LP
1. Eagle (Side A)
2. Take A Chance On Me (Side A)
3. One Man, One Woman (Side B)
4. The Name Of The Game (Side B)
1. Move On (Side A)
2. Hole In Your Sole (Side A)
3. Thank You For The Music (Side B)
4. Wonder (Departure) (Side B)
5. I’m A Marionette (Side B)
