World's Greatest Albums: ABBA - The Gold Singles  (2006)

Theatrical Release Information:
World's Greatest Albums: ABBA - The Gold Singles

The Stockholm-born supergroup ABBA (Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad) claims the status of the second-bestselling band in recording history, trumped only by the Beatles in album sales; recent estimates suggest that they have sold between 360 and 400 million records. (They achieved much of their multicultural and multinational popularity by re-recording their hit singles in a plethora of languages.) The 1992 compilation Abba: Gold revived the success of 19 of the band's megahits, including "Waterloo," "Dancing Queen," "Take a Chance on Me," "Mamma Mia," "Voulez Vous," and "Fernando." The compilation made recording history in the United Kingdom, once in '92 and thrice in '99, and made the list of the top 100 selling albums in Britain every single year from 1992 through 2000, and again in 2004; as the curtain fell on 2005, it had charted longer than any EP in British history -- for more than 350 weeks. The documentary release World's Greatest Albums: ABBA -- The Gold Singles -- The Ultimate Critical Review takes a probing look at the content, as well as the cultural and musical impact, of this legendary compilation. It evaluates the reasons for the record's enduring success and its triumphant ability to keep the ABBA sounds in everyone's ears, and its contributions to a resurgence in ABBA's popularity. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide