Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (ABBA album)

Greatest Hits Vol. 2
Greatest hits album by ABBA
Released	29 October 1979 (1979-10-29)
Recorded	October 1974 – August 1979
Genre	Euro pop eurodisco
Length	58:25
Label	Polar (Sweden) Epic (UK) Atlantic (US)
Producer	Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA chronology
Voulez-Vous (1979) Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1979) Gracias Por La Música (1980)
Singles from Greatest Hits Vol. 2
"Summer Night City" Released: 6 September 1978 "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" Released: 12 October 1979

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	C[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]

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

Overview

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

"Angeleyes" was included primarily due to its success as a single in the UK, where it was released as a double A-side with "Voulez-Vous".^{[citation needed]} Although "Voulez-Vous" had been released as a single in other parts of the world, it was not included on the album. "I Wonder (Departure)", a track not released as a single (excluding the live version that served as the B-side to "The Name of the Game"), was also 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.^{[citation needed]}

Commercial reception

Greatest Hits Vol. 2 achieved massive commercial success in Japan, selling an excess of 920,000 units (it was the best-selling album by a non-domestic artist at the time, until Michael Jackson's Thriller sold over 1 million copies in the 1980s).^{[citation needed]} It was certified Gold in the U.S.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

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

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"		4:49
2.	"Knowing Me, Knowing You"	Andersson Stig Anderson Ulvaeus	4:01
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 two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dancing Queen"	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	3:48
2.	"Does Your Mother Know"		3:12
3.	"Chiquitita"		5:21
4.	"Summer Night City"		3:31
5.	"I Wonder (Departure)"	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	4:31
6.	"The Name of the Game"	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	4:50
7.	"Thank You for the Music"		3:47
Total length:			58:25

Personnel

• Agnetha Fältskog – lead vocals (1, 10, 14), co-lead vocals (3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13), backing vocals
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead vocals (2, 4, 12), co-lead vocals (3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13), backing vocals
• Björn Ulvaeus – lead vocals (5, 9, 11), acoustic guitar, electric guitar, backing vocals
• Benny Andersson – keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Rolf Alex – drums
• Ola Brunkert – drums
• Lars Carlsson – horn
• Christer Danielson – horn
• Andrew Eijas – horn
• Malando Gassama – percussion
• Rutger Gunnarsson – bass
• Gloria Lundell – harp
• Roger Palm – drums
• Halldor Palsson – saxophone
• Janne Schaffer – guitar
• Bengt Sundberg – horn
• Åke Sundqvist – percussion
• Mike Watson – bass
• Lasse Wellander – guitar
• Gunnar Wenneborg – horn
• Kajtek Wojciechowski – saxophone

Production

• Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus – production and arrangement
• Michael B. Tretow – engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1979–81) Peak position Argentinian Albums (CAPIF)[4] 1 Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[5] 20 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[6] 2 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[7] 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 2 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] 4 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 6 Israeli Albums (IBA)[11] 4 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] 2 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13] 3 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] 25 Spanish Albums (AFE)[15] 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 20 UK Albums (OCC)[17] 1 US Billboard 200[18] 46

Year-end charts Chart (1980) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 3 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[20] 26 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 25 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 5 UK Albums (OCC)[23] 17

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified 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)[31]	Platinum	1,000,000[30]
United States (RIAA)[32]	Gold	500,000^^
Summaries
Worldwide	—	2,000,000[30]
^* 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. 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.
31. "British album certifications – Abba – Greatest Hits Vol. 2". British Phonographic Industry.
32. "American album certifications – Abba – Greatest Hits Vol. 2". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2016-02-18.