The Album

Infobox Album |
Name = The Album
Type = Album
Artist = ABBA


Released = December 12, 1977
Recorded = May 1977-
November 1977
Genre = Pop
Length = 44:00
Label = Polar (original release)
PolyGram (1992 - 1997)
Universal Music (1998 - )
Producer = Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:9pev97lskrat~T1 link]
*"NME" (7/10) [http://www.nme.com/reviews/abba/9281 link]
*"Rolling Stone" (Favorable) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/abba/albums/album/189776/review/5947056/the_album link]
Last album = "Arrival"
(1976)
This album = "The Album"
(1977)
Next album = "Voulez-Vous"
(1979)
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type = studio


Lower caption = UK edition

"The Album", also known as "ABBA - The Album", is the fifth album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1977 (see 1977 in music). It was released in conjunction with "". "The Album" was first released on CD in 1984. The album has been reissued in digitally remastered form by PolyGram/Universal Music four times; first in 1997, then in 2001, in 2005 as part of "The Complete Studio Recordings" box set and again in 2007 as a two disc 'Deluxe Edition'.

The original UK release of the LP featured a gatefold sleeve. The background on the front cover was blue, fading to white at the bottom. The official cover was white, and is the basis for current CD versions. Epic Records in the UK opted for the blue-ish sleeve for presumably commercial reasons. The back cover was altered, incorporating a similar photo of ABBA to that used elsewhere in the world for the inner sleeve, and referencing tracks included in "ABBA: The Movie". The inner gatefold was designed to look like an air mail envelope, similar to the style later used for "Gracias Por La Música" and even had a photo of ABBA incorporated into a stamp in the corner.

This was the first and only time that Epic radically broke away from the standard Polar Music design for an ABBA album. The UK design for "The Album" has only been re-issued on CD format once, as part of a limited edition boxed set released by the Japanese arm of Universal Music in 2004.

Track listing

Side A:
#"Eagle" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 5:53
#"Take a Chance on Me" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:03
#"One Man, One Woman" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:37
#"The Name of the Game" (Andersson, Stig Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 4:53 (3:55 on first pressing of 1997 CD)

Side B:
#"Move On" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 4:45
#"Hole in Your Soul" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:43"The Girl with the Golden Hair" - 3 scenes from a mini-musical -

3. "Thank You for the Music" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:51
4. "I Wonder (Departure)" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 4:34
5. "I'm a Marionette" (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:05

CD re-issues, bonus tracks

"The Album" was remastered and reissued in 1997 with no bonus tracks.

"The Album" was remastered and reissued in 2001 with one bonus track:

10. "Thank You for the Music" (Doris Day version) (Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 4:03

"The Album" was remastered and reissued again in 2005 as part of the "The Complete Studio Recordings" box set with following bonus tracks:

10. "Al Andar" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, Buddy McCluskey, Mary McCluskey) – 4:43
    *Spanish version of "Move On".
11. "Gracias Por La Música" (Andersson, Ulvaeus, B. McCluskey, M. McCluskey) – 3:49
    *Spanish version of "Thank You for the Music".

Tracks 10–11, vocals recorded January 1980. These two songs are from the album "Gracias Por La Música" (Septima SRLM 1, June 23, 1980).

"The Album" was reissued again in 2007 (October 15) as a 30th Anniversary of the original release, called the 'Deluxe Edition'. This features the same track listing as the 2005 release along with four additional tracks;

10. "Eagle" (Single edit) - 4:25
11. "Take a Chance on Me" (Live version; alternate mix) - 4:25
    * Originally released as B-side of 1979 single "I Have a Dream"
12. "Thank You for the Music" (Doris Day version) - 4:03
13. "Al Andar" – 4:43
14. "I Wonder (Departure)" (Live version) - 4:27
    * Originally released as B-side of 1977 single "The Name of the Game"
15. "Gracias Por La Música" – 3:49

The 'Deluxe Edition' reissue also came along with a bonus DVD with the following clips:


#"Eagle"/"Thank You for the Music" (Star Parade, ZDF)

#"Take a Chance on Me" (Am Laufenden Band, Radio Bremen)

#"The Name of the Game" (ABBA Special, TBS)

#"Thank You for the Music" (Mike Yarwood’s Christmas Show, BBC)

#"Take a Chance on Me" (Star Parade, ZDF)

#"ABBA on tour in 1977" (Rapport, SVT)

#"Recording "ABBA – The Album" (Gomorron Sverige, SVT)

#"ABBA in London, February 1978" (Blue Peter, BBC)

#"ABBA in America, May 1978" (Rapport, SVT)

#"ABBA – The Album" Television Commercial I" (UK)

#"ABBA – The Album" Television Commercial II" (AUSTRALIA)

#"International Sleeve Gallery"

ingles

# "The Name of the Game"/"I Wonder" (live) (October 1977)
# "Take a Chance on Me"/"I'm a Marionette" (January 1978)
# "One Man, One Woman"/"Eagle" (Edited version) (1978) (Taiwan only)
# "Eagle" (single edit)/"Thank You for the Music" (May 1978)

Personnel

ABBA
*Benny Andersson – keyboards, vocals
*Agnetha Fältskog – vocals
*Anni-Frid Lyngstad – vocals
*Björn Ulvaeus – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals

Additional personnel
*Ola Brunkert – drums
*Lars Carlsson – flute, saxophone
*Malando Gassama – percussion
*Rutger Gunnarsson – bass
*Roger Palm – drums
*Janne Schaffer – guitar
*Lasse Wellander – guitar

Production

*Producers: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
*Engineer: Michael B. Tretow
*Arranger: Rutger Gunnarsson
*Design: Rune Söderqvist
*Photography: Barry Levine
*Illustrations: Björn Andersson, Rune Söderqvist

Charts

Album

Singles - USA and Canada