CD 1:

This is ABBA in their early years. It includes their first single : People Need Love which is very catchy. Three songs that surprised me on this CD are He Is Your Brother, Hasta Manana and Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) which are really good. And of course you have all the disco-pop hits : Waterloo, S.O.S., Mamma Mia, Fernando and Dancing Queen. My favorite song on this CD is That's Me.

CD 2:

This CD contains mostly Disco songs such as Knowing Me, Knowing You, Take A Chance On Me, Does Your Mother Know, Voulez-Vous, Angel Eyes, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! and I Have A Dream. It also has the song Happy Hawaii which was never published on an album but only as a b-side to Knowing Me, Knowing You and the BEST track of the CD and of the ENTIRE BOX SET has to be the previously unreleased full-length version of Summer Night City, a song that truly captures the ABBA spirit.

CD 3:

This CD exposes the years of the Super Trouper and The Visitors albums. The latter going almost completely against ABBA's style of pure pop is quite interesting. Cherished hits also appear on this one like: The Winner Takes It All, Super Trouper, Lay All Your Love On Me, Our Last Summer, One Of Us and Head Over Heels . However, ABBA started to expose their darker side with songs such as : The Visitors, When All Is Said And Done, Like An Angel Passing Through My Room, Under Attack and The Day Before You Came. On this CD, I have four equally favorite songs : Elaine, The Day Before You Came, Cassandra and Under Attack.

CD 4:

This CD consists of B-Sides, the collector's treat on this box set. Some songs turned out to be really good like : Dream World, Thank You For The Music(alternate version), Merry-Go-Round, Pick A Bale Of Cotton/On Top Of Old Smokey/Midnight Special, You Owe Me One and Slipping Through My Fingers/Me And I (Live). But other songs like Hej Gamle Man were just not necessary and Abba Undeleted, which may be a treat for some isn't really that much of a treasure (23 minutes of track that didn't make it to the albums and studio footage). On the plus side, I like their singing in different languages but couldn't they have put the whole Waterloo French version and the whole Waterloo Swedish version instead of a medley, same goes for Ring Ring. This is one of the reasons why I bought ABBA Oro. My favorite song on this CD is You Owe Me One, a poppish song that reminds me of Me And I on the Super Trouper album.

Well, that sums it up. Pretty much all the songs are good, except for a few on CD 4 and I think that buying this box set is money well spent. 4 CDs, 66 tracks, 4 and 1/2 hours of golden music. Who can beat that!

In my mind, ABBA are the greatest entertainers of all time, so do yourself a favor, buy Thank You For The Music!


Something for Every Abba Fan   April 27, 2004
L.A. Scene (Indian Trail, NC USA)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

If you are looking for a 'Complete' Abba Collection, then "Thank You For the Music" is the set for you. From reading the book that came with the CD set, it appears that most of Abba's released material is on here. The released material is contained on 3 CDs and a 4th CD contains rare unreleased material.

It seems that nowadays everything that is above 2 CDs that is considered a "Boxed Set". There really have become 2 categories of Boxed Sets. The first is a "Classic Boxed Set". This comes in a covered box about the size of an LP and contains CDs (sometimes in jewel cases, sometimes just on the bottom of the box) and a book about the same size. The second type is more like a 5.5" x 10" hardcover book which I term "Hardcover Box Set'. The CDs basically are stored in the hardcover binding and the book is in the middle. I much prefer what I call the Classic Boxed Set to the Hardcover format. The ABBA set is a Hardcover format. This is disappointing to me because for a 'Complete' collection, I would have liked to see the better presentation. Each CD has an A or B on it and a corresponding pseudo autograph of one of the band members first name.

But don't let the presentation deter you. The content is in this set. What is nice is that the first 3 CDs contain the released material. All of the released material is in sequential order of the release dates. ABBA Gold which is a greatest hits CD did not do this. In the attached book, Carl Magnus Palm has an outstanding disocgraphy that tells when and where every song was recorded and a brief abstract containing some useful information on the song. The discography is also contains pictures of ABBA album covers and singles.

The real gem of this set is the 4th CD - this contains the rare and unreleased material. There are 2 medleys - "Pick a Bale of Cotton" and "Abba Undeleted". The Abba Undeleted medley is fantastic. It basically has raw unmastered recordings melded together - outstanding. There are also non English versions of Waterloo, Ring Ring, and Honey Honey.

The attached book is also a nice thing to have in your collection. There is a 'brief' foreward from Frida, Agnetha, Benny, and Bjorn to introduce the collection. Manager and lyric writer Stig Anderson also writes a brief preface. On the page with the Stig Anderson preface is a photo of the band in which Agnetha and Frida wear the kitty shirt/dresses from the SOS video. In general, I wish all of the photos were larger - especially that one. The whole booklet contains lots of pictures and photos that really embelish it nicely. There are then 3 articles by various writers the chronicle the history and impact of the band, a section on ABBA memorabilia (that includes a photo of the ABBA action figures), a section devoted to ABBA outfits (yes the kitty shirt/dresses are mentioned), the discography, and a section on credits to the box set.

There is something for everyone on this boxed set. It is good for the deep fan as well as good for the casual fan. Highly recommended.


Thank You ABBA.   September 25, 2000
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

This is a great greatest hits collection for all you Abba fans from around the world. The 4 CD box set called "Thank You For The Music" is "Abba Gold" and "More Abba Gold" put together, plus add some b-sides, unreleased songs, and Abba in the studio (on disc 4), and you've got a collection of some of the greatest songs ever heard. Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid (or Frida as she is called) has created some wonderful music in the 70s and early 80s with their style of harmony and creating a sound all their own. In the 66-page booklet, you will find photos, liner notes, and stories on how they got started, their videos and photos of the costumes they wore from their concerts. Highlights include "Dancing Queen," to me that is their signature song. "You can dance/you can jive/having the time of your life" is all I can say about it. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" is one of their serious songs about broken relationships and heartbreak. "Take A Chance On Me" is one my favorite songs from Abba, especially the a capella intro at the beginning. Of course you have to have some rare Abba recordings like their b-sides. Take "Lovelight" for example, this song is a flip side of "Chiquitita" from the "Voulez-Voul" album. The song itself is typical Abba singing about love and romance and like the song says "your love is shining like a lovelight" or something like that. "Happy Hawaii" is probably the best original version of "Why Did It Have To Be Me." It almost sounded like "California Girls" from the Beach Boys but when they recorded the former song for the "Arrival" album, they felt it was unsatisfied and re-recorded it as the latter instead. I guess it shows us how little we know about the group and how they re-invent a song. Disc 4 has "Abba Undeleted," which has the group behind the scenes in the studio and how Benny and Bjorn (the priciple songwriters)put their heads together and just experiment melodies, harmonies and instruments and you'll hear demos of "Take A Chance On Me," "Baby" (later called "Rock Me"), a Swedish Tango version of "Fernando," a try out version of "Just Like That" and more. This song and "I Am The City" were both recorded for a new studio album at the time, but by the time they broke up in 1983, they never finished it. "I Am The City" ended up on "More Abba Gold" and "Just Like That" is the only song you'll hear on this collection. They may never reunite for a tour, but with Benny and Bjorn's words and Frida and Agnetha's singing, they're some things better left unsaid about them and I'm glad their music has touched us all. Thanks, Abba, for the music.


When All Is Said And Done. . .   December 24, 1999
Astrid Slomova (Louisiana)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

ABBA. One of those groups considered guilty pleasures by many. Why? Listen to the music. Their voices frequently blended better than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The arrangements were appropriate and often quite inventive. The music and lyrics were infectious and sometimes deceptively dark and challenging. There was their wardrobe, but nobody's perfect.

This set showcases many of the reasons that ABBA has both retained their original fans and made an impressive number of new ones in recent years. Quite simply, these are gifted musicians who have an obvious love of what they do. Let not any serious music lover ever apologize again for an affinity for this Swedish supergroup.

As for the music, two complaints. One, a few of the songs appear in edited form, compared to those on the original albums. And two, not enough of them are included (yes, I realize it's a 4-disc set and that the discs are crammed with material, but this is ABBA). Another disc or two could be filled with perhaps lesser-known, but equally essential tunes like "As Good As New" (from VOULEZ-VOUS), "Andante, Andante" (SUPER TROUPER), and "Tiger" (ARRIVAL). Oh, well. Maybe there will be a THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC, VOLUME 2.

Those minor flaws notwithstanding, this is a wonderful collection. If you remember ABBA, this will be like a visit with a few old friends. If you don't, be prepared to make some new ones. And no apologies.


A Must Have for all ABBA Fanatics!   June 28, 1998
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Thank you for the Music is an absolute necessity for anyone who truly loves and appreciated ABBA. It includes all the hits the rest of the world knows, such as Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia, but also includes other absolute masterpieces that portray the fantastic ABBA sound, but weren't as well known at the time they were written.

Bjorn and Benny are truly great composers, and many of the songs on Thank you for the Music will enlighten listeners to their ability at creating timeless music classics.

If you are even remotely an ABBA fan, this boxed set is a must have, so you can appreciate all of ABBA's work, and also enjoy hearing the "creating" process taking in place in the "ABBA undeleted" track on Disc 4.