The Singles: The First Ten Years
The Singles: The First Ten Years is a double compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released on 8 November 1982, and 12 November in the UK. Issued as a double album of their most famous single A-sides, the collection included two new tracks: "The Day Before You Came" and "Under Attack". Both songs were released as singles, with "Cassandra" and "You Owe Me One" as their respective B-sides.
Background and release
In May 1982, ABBA started work on what was meant to be their ninth studio album ended up only completing three songs: "You Owe Me One", "I Am The City" and "Just Like That". Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus were not happy with the tracks and shelved the project in favor of a greatest hits album: The Singles: The First Ten Years. Released on 8 November 1982 in Sweden and four days later in the UK, it contained most of the band's hit singles from their ten years together as recording artists, and included two new tracks: "The Day Before You Came" and "Under Attack". A box set of the compilation was also released exclusively in the UK on 6 December 1982.The Singles: The First Ten Years was released on CD in Canada only by Atlantic Records in 1987, but was quickly deleted in 1988 when Atlantic's rights to the catalog expired. In 2001, the album was replaced by The Definitive Collection. In the Spin Alternative Record Guide, the compilation was ranked 80th on the book's list of the "Top 100 Alternative Albums".
Richard Cook in the New Musical Express described the collection as a "documentation of the group who altered the course of pop more than anyone else. It resulted in a seam of unbroken, highly individual pop music that in lifespan terms is still unmatched."
In September 2024, a new compilation was announced as an update to The Singles: The First Ten Years. Titled The Singles: The First Fifty Years, the 38-track collection not only contains the singles from Voyage, but also includes ten extra tracks from the 1972–1982 period that were not included on the 1982 compilation. It was released on October 25, 2024, and issued as a 2-CD set and a 4LP 180g vinyl package. Both formats feature an illustrated booklet with unseen band images and liner notes by Carl Magnus Palm.
Track listing
Released as a double album, the compilation was divided into two records.Record one
All tracks are written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson, except where noted.Record two
All tracks are written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.''The Singles: The First Fifty Years'' track listing
All songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, except where noted. Tracks 1–4 were first released by the band as "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid".Personnel
ABBA- Agnetha Fältskog – lead vocals, co-lead vocals, backing vocals
- Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead vocals, co-lead vocals, backing vocals
- Björn Ulvaeus – steel-string, acoustic guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
- Benny Andersson – synthesizer, keyboards, backing vocals
- Ulf Andersson – saxophone
- Ola Brunkert – drums
- Lars Carlsson – horn
- Christer Eklund – saxophone
- Malando Gassama – percussion
- Anders Glenmark – guitar
- Rutger Gunnarsson – bass
- Roger Palm – drums
- Janne Schaffer – guitar
- Åke Sundqvist – percussion
- Mike Watson – bass
- Lasse Wellander – guitar
- Benny Andersson – producer, arranger
- Björn Ulvaeus – producer, arranger
- Michael B. Tretow – engineer
- Lars Larsson – cover photo
- Anders Hanser, Ola Lager, Lars Larsson – inner sleeve photo
- Rune Söderqvist – art director
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart | Peak position |
| Australian Albums | 42 |
| Swedish Physical Albums | 7 |