New compilation: ABBA The Singles - The First 50 Years

 Here's what Alan Jones, ('Music Week'),  says about 'The Singles' vs 'ABBA Gold' matter:

 Wresting back control of most of its streams from The Singles: The First Fifty Years - which dips out of the chart
 after debuting at No.17 last week - ABBA’s Gold: Greatest Hits resumes at No.19 (4,206 sales).

Alan, streaming rules are confusing.

Artists, or rather their record company can nominate ONE Greatest Hits album for Streaming/Chart purposes.

If they don't nominate an album, the GH album with the highest real sales gets the Streaming points.

It looks like Universal did NOT nominate any album. Last week The Singles outsold GOLD, so got Streaming stats and chart position.

This week, as expected GOLD outsold The Singles, so returns to the chart and The Singles leaves.

Last week we were told GOLD'S actual sales (physical/download)325. I imagine it sells around that everywhere these days. The Singles sold less than GOLD this week. Probably under 300. A flop by any standard.

Perhaps we need to re-think what counts as a flop these days. I notice the new Tears For Fears album (primarily a live album but also including up to five new songs) also only lasted a week on the charts. I gave Paul Heaton’s album as an example as well, I’ve not looked at any others. I was aware of albums spending only two or three weeks on the chart but a single week at a fairly high position takes it to a new level (or rather, a new depth).

These albums really did have investment in them, whereas ABBA’s had very little. Nothing new, seemingly hastily put together artwork, no promotion. I cannot believe they expected it to do any better than it did.

It could be seen as a flop if compared with previous ABBA releases but there were from a different time. The charts, and sales, have changed beyond recognition since then. Though oddly, it’s more successful than The Essential Collection, which didn’t chart at all (though it was before streaming). Even Live At Wembley Arena ten years ago only charted for a week, despite having previously unreleased live versions (including I’m Still Alive).

Albums with fewest weeks on chart (under 10 weeks):

Zero weeks:
The Essential Collection (2012)

One week:
The Singles 50 (peak 17) / Live at Wembley Arena (2014 - peak 30)

Note: Both The Essential Collection and The Singles 50 are updated versions of The Definitive Collection (2001, peak 17, 16 weeks)

Two weeks:
Love Stories (1998 - peak 51)

Three weeks (two in 1974 and one in 2014):
Waterloo (1974 - peak 28 in 1974, peak 71 in 2014)

Four weeks
The Albums (2008 - peak 89) (Nine-CD box often retailing for £15)

Seven weeks:
Absolute ABBA (1988 - peak 70)

Nine weeks:
Number Ones (2006 - peak 15)

Yep. The sales are more than 1000. GOLD's sales are 4000 a week, of which 300 or so real sales and 3700 streaming "sales"
The Singles was on 6100 on week one. Assuming streaming sales of 3700, that is 2400 actual sales in week one. Plus under 300 in week two.

Whatever the precise number 1k, 2k, 2k in pure sales this is a huge flop.

As Colin/Onlyabba4meeagain says, which I have also, it did badly Internationally ttoo. ABBA'S biggest markets are the UK - and Germany. In the latter, first week chart position boosted by the nature of the charts being value based - it crashed in week two.

FFS! Even in Sweden it failed to chart at all.
Universal MUST have expected better in ABBA'S 50th Anniversary year (Waterloo).

Alan's comments about other artists making Top 3 then crashing out is classic "whataboutery". As Justin/JustAbba pointed out Voyage sold (near) 500,000 in the UK. Sure, yet another compilation. But sales expectations would have been more than 2 to 3 thousand in first couple of weeks in UK

Even (I would imagine) my "arch-enemy"/ nemesis, Hometime 😀 , thinks you are wrong. It is a flop! This is a band that has sell out 3000 concers A DAY for a tour, not actually by them. The sales of The Singles in two weeks are less than a day's capacity of ABBA Voyage.

It's not say February 2017 but in the run up to Christmas in their 50th Anniversary year

Stop digging. Alan! Seriously, you are nuts! 🤣

As the old saying goes, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. I’m not calling the music a sow’s ear but the two-disc, chronological compilation of singles has been done way too many times, and wasn’t massively successful the first time (The Definitive Collection, despite that version including two previously rare mixes).

They haven’t promoted it (a wise choice really as there was nothing to promote it with). This must have originally intended to have something previously unreleased on it, but Benny put a stop to that and they decided to put this out anyway,

If spending a single week in the chart is a new norm (and I stand by that - I gave just two examples I was aware of - just how many others are there?) then I do wonder why acts make albums at all, studio or otherwise. Perhaps still a profit to be made somewhere.

It amuses me to be called “nuts” (it’s actually hilarious) for pointing out that The Essential Collection, the previous incarnation of this album, didn’t chart at all and yet somehow The Singles 50 was expected to do better? Five Voyage tracks isn’t enough as that album sold massively in its own right. No one would get this album for those.

It would have been a flop in my book had it contained new tracks and been promoted as such. I can’t agree that it’s a flop otherwise. It did exactly what they could have expected (perhaps better, considering Essential’s fate - I wouldn’t have expected The Singles 50 to chart at all, but streaming allowed it).

The tracks on this compilation have recouped their investment many times over. ABBA and Universal are still laughing all the way to the bank, and they know it.

I’m probably going to do a Colin and retire from this thread, I can’t keep making the same points over and over again. I can never agree that this album was expected to do better than it did. That would be in the realms of fantasy. And on that basis it’s not really a flop.

Maybe I should call you Archie from now on!

I see it as a flop in these terms: the fans generally seem negatively disposed towards the release; having been teased about the possibility of treats/fun/excitement, it offered precisely nothing on that front. The broader reviews have landed upon the tackiness of the presentation. The points so far count as risks to the goodwill ABBA have built over recent decades. It feels like they've stopped bothering with any effort to conceal the cynicism. While Universal should probably shoulder some of the blame, too much is known about ABBA's Benny's control freakery when it comes to unreleased material. The release was entirely unnecessary, but it came out anyway... with an eyewatering price tag attached.

The issue of the actual sales numbers is easier to fudge. The great unwashed tend not to see/care about those things. The Top 20 chart placing will be cemented in the album's history. It can technically be called a "hit album." The Wikipedia discography will record its various international chart placings and say bugger all about its fleeting chart appearance. The chart placing is for PR.

BUT!! The recent phenomenon of albums making one-week appearances on the charts is not really whataboutery. Whether heritage acts like ABBA, or more current acts, this is a new normal. And it only highlights that it takes fans to pre-order multiple formats and copies to create the illusion of popularity. The singles charts have looked like a great big nonsense for the last few years, and the album charts are now going the same way.

Yes, I think this release is a flop, but I don't know what they could have put out to engineer a genuine hit.

I'm not sure if any new song could have been added? After all, it would not be a single in the first 50 years (1972 - 2022). Maybe we will get something new when/if the set list changes at Voyage? But I'm happy with what I have - Voyage was a bonus after all, plus the show, so if that's it, that's it.

To be fair to Madonna, she takes a good approach to compilations. The Immaculate Collection offered new mixes of the hits, so that fans who had bought everything could get something new from the release. Her recent remixes project did likewise, with more radical makeovers. Alison Moyet marked 40 years as a solo artist by rerecording/reimagining 16 key tracks from across her studio albums (some singles, some deep cuts, one B-side), adding two new songs to the mix. It reached #8 for one week before plummeting out of the Top 100, but it's a very satisfying project and the fans seem unbothered by its fleeting chart appearance. As ideas go, both the Moyet and Madonna approaches are miles beyond what ABBA would even consider...

Would a compilation that included, say, half the Voyage setlist in those new arrangements undermine the continued viability of the show? Already, that's something familiar-but-new that fans would lap up. It could be augmented by some of the songs that had their profiles heightened by Mamma Mia. Putting together an interesting compilation of familiar songs could have been way more interesting. Wouldn't it be great if some interviewer could ask Bjorn what he thought would have been an interesting release, given that he was dismissive of some basic rerelease?

I like the idea of the CD version of the Singles50 being a slow and steady seller.

The new ABBA compilation " The Singles The First Fifty Years " is not a bad compilation. I don't think it is destined to be as successful as " ABBA Gold ". The more loyal fans like myself will probably purchase a copy. But only a minority.

I’ve purchased the LPs , Digibook and deluxe Japan 7” inch package inspired.

I agree with you Eddie , and I see me in this position. I liked the compilation ( it could be much better in terms of artwork? Oh sure! ) . The sound quality seems good to me on streaming, so I ‘ve taken the chance.
I’ve purchased the LPs , Digibook and deluxe Japan 7” inch package inspired.

Chart Update

The Singles span in charts

3 weeks, France, Germany, Austria
2 weeks. Belgium (Flanders)
1 week, UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium (Walloon), Australia

No weeks - Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Spain, Portugal