Rating: 
Summary: ABBA's History Recorded (and seen)
Review: To all of us who grow up hearing ABBA songs and only knew ABBA's singers in the LP jackets it's a discovery exercise to see all this "promo clips". But the most valuable thing about this DVD is to see them develop a Pop history right in front of our eyes. You can say it's like watching History Channel instead of just a music DVD. I am very pleased for the selection included there. I wonder, how many artists TODAY can release a 30 videos' DVDs as good as this one ? I can think of a couple, and no more...
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Collection But....
Review: Why no "Lay all your love on me"?
It was one of abba's best songs and went top 10 in the UK.
Apart from that it is an excellent collection.
Some of the songs seem a little dated now, but "Take a chance on me" and "Knowing me knowing you" sound as fresh now as back then.
The highlight for me though is the brilliant and under rated "The day before you came". This is surely abba's most best and most intelligent song.
Rating:
Summary: Video pioneers in action
Review: A strong dislike of touring meant that ABBA had to find another way to promote themselves, so they opted for "promotional films" (as they were called back then). In the mid-1970s, pop video was very much in its infancy, (go on - apart from Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', what other pop video can you remember from the mid-70s?), so this was quite an impressive way back then of selling a nice looking act to family-oriented TV stations worldwide. All bar two of these clips are directed by Oscar-nominated Swedish director Lasse Halstrom - but it really must be stressed that ABBA's notoriously tight-fisted label forced him to work on the tightest of budgets and sometimes at ridiculously short notice. And it quite often shows. BUT, all of these promos were shot way before the explosion of the MTV-era video phenomenon and they really ought to be viewed in that light. So, what's the deal? Fabulous music. Some audacious fashion, uhm, "statements". A fair number of hair don'ts. But this is pure, unadulterated entertainment. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll sing along. You'll wonder why blue eyeshadow was ever so fashionable. You'll wonder if people *really* danced like that in the seventies (and I am reliably informed that, yes, they did). And that's why this DVD gets 5 stars: it scores very high on the fabulousness scale . In Europe, these videos are iconic. US viewers will be seeing many of them for the first time. View this collection as an un-narrated biography of ABBA, if you must. The only (minor) downside is the photo gallery: Anders Hanser was ABBA's house photographer during the second half of their career and, to my eyes, his work is a bit cold. Treat yourself to "ABBA The Book" (by Jean-Marie Potiez) as a glamorous pictorial accompaniment to this DVD. And finally... ENJOY!
Rating:
Summary: Get the DTS version only..
Review: I purchased one copy of this DVD from S.Korea on one of my trips last month (it's a Region3 DVD) and it includes DTS sound version. Believe me, this is one of the best sounding music-DVD's out of more app. 30 music-DVD's I've had (The bests, I can say Eagles-Hell freezes over and Tina Turner-Live in Amstersdam). Probably, these songs could never sound better even they're listened on their original tapes. I enjoyed even all the ABBA songs that I've never recognized or even hated before.
The DTS version is clearly one of the best music-DVDs out there.
Rating:
Summary: Oh the camp value of it all...
Review: Having grown up loving their music, I have no idea what it's like to be a casual fan of ABBA. Don't put me in the category of "hard-core fan," however, because I'd have never spent 3 months' salary on concert tickets or locks of their hair. But I love their music - always have, always will. As for the videos... well, my interest here is purely for kitch sake. It's great to have digitally remastered audio tracks on all the clips, but the contrast between the crisp sound and the grainy picture was unusual to see (for the first viewing, anyway). For anyone wanting this strictly for the BONUS videos, I must warn you: the production budgets for these videos appear to have been even lower than their most popular vid's. And on several occasions, Agnetha can be seen looking off to the side of the camera, as if she's checking cue cards or watching someone doing something more interesting. "When I Kiss The Teacher" was a bit uncomfortable to watch as it consisted of excrutiatingly long stagnant shots of the 4 members sitting at desks in a classroom while an actor is sitting at the head of the room pretending to teach class. And I was disappointed to see that their performance of "Dancing Queen" at the Royal Swedish Opera has been dubbed over with the studio version of the song - did they lip sync it during this performance, or are we being cheated of hearing a unique live recording of this tune?? If you've never seen the bonus footage and you're popping this DVD in your player for the first time, watch the extras first so and don't expect to be blown away. This stuff is strictly for those of us who love them for their camp value. It was video production in its infancy, most assuredly. Bottom line: This collection is pure pop music fun and I'm glad to have it in my collection.
Rating: 
Summary: total disappointment
Review: I would hav to be the biggest Aussie fan of Abba
I hav all the albums on cd an autographed pic the Abba Movie and front row seats at their 1977 Sydney Concert. I waited eagerly for this DVD which i purchased thru Amazon and it is so flawed with pixelling sound drops and frame freezes. Universal even realised this and will be re releasing it in a new format. Shame Shame Shame I even bought a copy here and its just as bad!!!
Rating:
Summary: Great pop songs and could they SING !!
Review: What a magic collection. Seeing the videos again has been a real treat. If you were a teenager in Europe in the 70s the chances are you grew up with ABBA hits. I remember watching the '74 Brighton contest at the age of 12. Amazing how close these songs stay with you through the years. Treasure !
Rating:
Summary: Now Give Us "ABBA: Unplugged"!
Review: I simply cannot stop watching/listening to this DVD. I've always been a casual ABBA fan having grown up in the 70's/80's and shamelessly defended them during the grunge "revolution" (which I think is entirely overrated) and beyond. Luckily, I was able to see "Mamma Mia!" last spring in London and have once again discovered this band from my youth, except now I appreciate them more than ever. To put it simply, these songs are masterpieces. Sure, some of them are better than others but the ones that are good are REALLY good. As a matter of fact, I would put the best ABBA songs up against anything Lennon/McCartney ever wrote and that is a big statement for me. Come on...."Mamma Mia", "S.O.S.", "Dancing Queen", "Money, Money, Money", "Chiquitita", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "The Name of the Game", etc., these are BRILLIANT pop songs. ABBA had an incredible chemistry and it's fun to watch the videos knowing what was going on in their private lives. But the beauty of this DVD is you can watch it or just put it in and let it play like a greatest hits CD. I think ABBA should reunite for an acoustic album. It's so unfortunate they have been slotted in a Disco pigeonhole when so few of their songs are true "four on the floor" Disco. Their songs are overproduced in a good ELO type of way, but it has worked against them. If they would do an "Unplugged" album many people would realize how good these songs are and maybe some of our youth might try to learn how to write REAL songs. Enough preaching. All I can say is watching and listening to this DVD is a joy, and I'm glad I bought it.
Rating:
Summary: Timeless
Review: I am so glad I bought this DVD.
I graduated High School in 1970 and remember a lot of ABBA songs from the 70's-80's.
This DVD gave me all my favorites and some I had never heard. It's been 25-30 years since I saw some of these videos and heard some of these songs - I found them fascinating to watch. This DVD provides a timeline that chronicles the band, from start to finish. It is the journey of 4 people through time, covering approximately ten years. The songs reflect happy, sad, reflective moments. The videos still succeed today. Good music accompanied by images of people you want to watch. The journey itself is both happy and sad.
I have been watching this DVD for the last 3 weekends. It keeps drawing me back. There is a wealth of music styles here ranging from Bubble-Gum (which drew them criticism) to Rock, Jazz and Broadway, with everything in between. This is no garage band - these are talented musicians and performers, and, yeah, they are all pretty good looking, too, which makes watching the videos real easy.
Listening and watching evoked some strong emotions associated with those years - when I hear certain ABBA songs I return to that time.
While nastalgia is a part of my appreciation, there is a timeless beauty to these songs. I still find the music very appealing and the accompanying videos charming.
There is a "story book" quality to ABBA. No political issues here, just universal feelings we all have.
It's a DVD that's not only suitable for children but will probably have them singing the tunes the next day at breakfast. Just watch "Dancing Queen" or "Felicidad".
ABBA should be proud. This is a legacy we all should be proud of.
I fell in love with Agnetha (the blonde) all over again. Agnetha, I still love you.
Rating:
Summary: ABBA 's entire video collection!!!
Review: I recieved this DVD as a Christmas gift and watched it all in one setting. This is the DVD of their video output from "Waterloo" until they broke up in 1982 with "Under Attack" . There are 35 videos on this DVD and I finally get to see all the videos that were never really shown in the US. The best videos include "The Day Before You Came","Chiquitta" with the huge snowman,"The Winner Takes It All","Super Trouper","Ring Ring","SOS","Mamma Mia","Eagle" ,the beautiful "Happy New Year","Voulez Vous","Money Money Money" and "Fernando". The videos show the couples as happy in the beginning to their break up not only in song but visually as well. The DVD comes with a very informative booklet about every single video and all but a few were directed by Lasse Hallstrom that showcase not only his talents as a future movie director but the group's fun and serious sides as well. The DVD also features a 21 minute photo gallery where you can use your remote to change the music to 6 different "radio" type channels so that there are at least 6 different songs going at anytime while the photos flash by. Buy this DVD and enjoy not only the music but finally see the faces of Agnetha,Bjorn,Benny and Frida in action.
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