''Greatest Hits Vol. 2'' is a compilation album by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

pop group

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

, released on 29 October 1979 to coincide with their tour of North America and Europe (taking place between September and November 1979). It was ABBA's second chart-topping album of the year, the first being '' Voulez-Vous'', and contained the brand new single "

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" is a song by Swedish band ABBA. It was recorded in August 1979 in order to help promote their North American and European tour of that year, and was released on ABBA's '' Greatest Hits Vol. 2'' album ...

", recorded in August 1979.

History

A round-up of ABBA's hits since their first compilation album (released in 1975), the album exclusively included material recorded between the years 1976 and 1979 (albums ''

Arrival Arrival(s) or The Arrival(s) may refer to: Film * ''The Arrival'' (1991 film), an American science fiction horror film * ''The Arrival'' (1996 film), an American-Mexican science fiction horror film * ''Arrival'' (film), a 2016 American science ...

'', '' The Album'' and '' Voulez-Vous'' plus non-album single "

Summer Night City "Summer Night City" is a song recorded by the Swedish pop group ABBA, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as a tribute to their hometown of Stockholm. It is the group's second non-album single, released on 6 September 1978. It was rec ...

") - with one exception, "Rock Me" from 1975 album ''

'', issued as a single and became a top 5 hit in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

after the release of the band's first hits package ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' and also part of the setlist on the 1979 world tour. "

Angeleyes "Angeleyes" (also known as "Angel Eyes") is a pop song written and recorded in 1978 by the Swedish group ABBA, and is featured on their sixth studio album, '' Voulez-Vous''. Released as a double A-side with the title track of the album in July ...

" was included primarily due to its success as a single in the UK, where it was the lead track of a double A-side with " Voulez-Vous". Elsewhere, "Voulez-Vous" had been the A-side in its own right but it was not included on the album. However, the track "I Wonder (Departure)" was not believed to have been released as a single anywhere, but was 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 ''ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits'' is a compilation album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released on 21 September 1992 through PolyGram and released in 2008 through Universal Music Australia, making it the first compilation to be released after t ...

''. 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.

Commercial reception

''Greatest Hits Vol. 2'' received massive commercial success in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, selling in excess of 920,000 units on the chart (it was the best-selling album by non-domestic artists at the time, until

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's '' Thriller'' each sold over 1 million copies in the 1980s). It is certified Gold in the U.S.

Track listing

All songs written by

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma M ...

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films ...

, except where noted.

Personnel

Agnetha Fältskog Agneta Åse Fältskog (born 5 April 1950), known as Agnetha Fältskog (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and musician. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 self-titled debut album. She later achieved internatio ...

- lead vocals , co-lead vocals , backing vocals *

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

- lead vocals , co-lead vocals , backing vocals *

- lead vocals ,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

, backing vocals *

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, backing vocals *Rolf Alex - drums *

Ola Brunkert Ola Brunkert (15 September 1946 – 16 March 2008) was a Swedish drummer who was one of the main session drummers for the pop group ABBA. Brunkert and bassist Rutger Gunnarsson are the only two side musicians to appear on every ABBA album, not coun ...

- drums *Lars Carlsson - horn *Christer Danielson - horn *Andrew Eijas - horn *

Malando Gassama Malando Gassama (born Malang Omar Gassam; 7 February 1946 – 25 January 1999) was a Gambian percussionist who spent most of his music career in Sweden. He recorded and performed with many notable Swedish and international artists such as ...

- percussion *

Rutger Gunnarsson Johan Rutger Gunnarsson (12 February 1946 – 30 April 2015) was a Swedish musician, bass guitarist, guitarist, arranger and producer. He was closely associated with the pop group ABBA. Career Gunnarsson grew up in Ledberg parish. His career began ...

- 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

*Producers: Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus *Arrangers: Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus *Engineer: Michael B. Tretow

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (Abba Album) 1979 greatest hits albums ABBA compilation albums Polar Music compilation albums Albums produced by Björn Ulvaeus Albums produced by Benny Andersson Atlantic Records compilation albums Epic Records compilation albums Albums recorded at Polar Studios