A compelling look at ABBA's biggest selling album
ABBA GOLD by Elisabeth Vincentelli is a fascinating in-depth look at the phenomenally successful compilation CD ABBA GOLD, first released in 1992 and which to date has reportedly sold over 25 million copies worldwide. The author delves into the songs themselves, the original context of the songs and where they fit into the history of the group, the albums the songs originally appeared on, the creation of the ABBA GOLD CD and the ABBA revival that coincided with and was fed by its release. She also goes into great detail on why this compilation, rather than any of ABBA’s eight studio albums, should qualify as a “classic” album. It’s obvious from the text that Elisabeth is a fan of pop music in general and ABBA in particular – she declares ‘SOS’ to be her favourite song, ever. But it’s not all blind praise – if negative critical comment is warranted, it’s made, but in a constructive manner. The author justifies her arguments in a persuasive manner that the reader may not necessarily agree with, but can find little to argue about.
As a long-term ABBA fan, and contributor to the book, I found it an interesting and compelling read. ABBA GOLD played a huge part in the ABBA revival and the rehabilitation of ABBA in the eyes of the general public, and this book covers that in more detail than anything that’s come before. All in all, something different in the ABBA bibliography. Highly recommended for ABBA fans or just fans of great music.
13 June 2004 Amazon.com, Book supplied by the author.
