Voulez-Vous

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This article is about the album. For the song of the same name, see Voulez-Vous (song).
Voulez-Vous
ABBA - Voulez Vous.jpg
Studio album by ABBA
Released 23 April 1979
Recorded
  • 13 March 1978 – 29 March 1979
  • at Polar Music Studios
Genre Disco
Length 41:43 (Sweden original release)
Label
Producer
ABBA chronology
The Album
(1977)The Album1977		 Voulez-Vous
(1979)		 Super Trouper
(1980)Super Trouper1980
Singles from Voulez-Vous
  1. "Chiquitita"
    Released: 16 January 1979
  2. "Does Your Mother Know"
    Released: April 1979
  3. "Voulez-Vous / Angeleyes"
    Released: 2 July 1979
  4. "I Have a Dream"
    Released: 7 December 1979
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3.5/5 stars[1]
BBC (positive)[2]
Uncut 4/5 stars[3]
Smash Hits 6/10[4]

Voulez-Vous is the sixth studio album by Swedish group ABBA, released in 1979. It was the first ABBA album to be recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm, and the only ABBA album to include a studio recording made outside Sweden. Some of the songs were secretly written and demoed at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, and the title track was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami. Voulez-Vous was first released on CD in 1984. The album has been digitally remastered and reissued four times; first in 1997, then in 2001 and in 2005 as part of the The Complete Studio Recordings box set, and yet again in 2010 for the Voulez-Vous Deluxe Edition.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus[5]. 

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "As Good as New"   3:22
2. "Voulez-Vous"   5:11
3. "I Have a Dream"   4:44
4. "Angeleyes"   4:20
5. "The King Has Lost His Crown"   3:30
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "Does Your Mother Know"   3:13
2. "If It Wasn't for the Nights"   5:13
3. "Chiquitita"   5:26
4. "Lovers (Live a Little Longer)"   3:28
5. "Kisses of Fire"   3:16
Total length:
 41:43

CD version

No. Title Length
1. "As Good as New"   3:22
2. "Voulez-Vous"   5:11
3. "I Have a Dream"   4:44
4. "Angeleyes"   4:20
5. "The King Has Lost His Crown"   3:30
6. "Does Your Mother Know"   3:13
7. "If It Wasn't for the Nights"   5:13
8. "Chiquitita"   5:26
9. "Lovers (Live a Little Longer)"   3:28
10. "Kisses of Fire"   3:16
Total length:
 41:43

CD re-issues, bonus tracks

Voulez-Vous was remastered and reissued in 1997 with two bonus tracks:

  1. "Summer Night City" – 3:34
  2. "Lovelight" – 3:18

Voulez-Vous was remastered and reissued again in 2001 with these bonus tracks:

  1. "Summer Night City" – 3:34
  2. "Lovelight" – 3:48
  3. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" – 4:52

Voulez-Vous was remastered and reissued again in 2005 as part of the The Complete Studio Recordings box set with several bonus tracks:

  1. "Summer Night City" – 3:36
  2. "Lovelight" – 3:49
  3. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" – 4:51
  4. "Estoy Soñando" (Andersson, Ulvaeus, Buddy McCluskey, Mary McCluskey) – 4:40
    • Spanish version of "I Have a Dream". Released as a single in Spain and Latin America, 1979.
  5. "Chiquitita" (Spanish Version) (Andersson, Ulvaeus, B. McCluskey, M. McCluskey) – 5:35
    • Released as a single in Spain and Latin America, 1979.
  6. "¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame!" (Andersson, Ulvaeus, B. McCluskey, M. McCluskey) – 4:49

Tracks 14–16 are from the album Gracias Por La Música (Septima SRLM 1, 23 June 1980).

Voulez-Vous was reissued once again in 2008 as part of the The Albums box set but without any bonus tracks.

Voulez-Vous has been remastered again and was issued as a Deluxe Edition in 2010. The bonus tracks were the following:

  1. "Summer Night City" (Full Length Version) – 4:18
  2. "Lovelight" – 3:48
  3. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" – 4:53
  4. "Dream World" – 3:38
  5. "Voulez-Vous" (Extended Remix, 1979 US promo) – 6:10

Voulez-Vous Deluxe Edition was packed with a bonus DVD containg the following material::

  • ABBA in Switzerland (television special, BBC)
  • "Chiquitita" (Music for UNICEF)
  • "I Have a Dream" (extended promo)
  • "If It Wasn't for the Nights" (Mike Yarwood Christmas Show, BBC)
  • "Chiquitita" (ABBA Snowtime, BBC)
  • Björn & Benny Interview (Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, BBC)
  • Greatest Hits Vol. 2 Television Commercial I
  • Greatest Hits Vol. 2 Television Commercial II
  • International sleeve gallery

Singles

  1. "Chiquitita"/"Lovelight"1 (January 1979)
  2. "Does Your Mother Know"/"Kisses of Fire" (April 1979)
  3. "Voulez-Vous" (single edit)/"Angel Eyes" (July 1979)
  4. "Angeleyes"/"Voulez-Vous" (single edit) (July 1979)
  5. "As Good as New"/"I Have a Dream" (French version) (1979)
  6. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"1/"The King Has Lost His Crown" (October 1979)
  7. "I Have a Dream"/"Take a Chance on Me" (live)1 (December 1979)
  • 1 Tracks not from the album Voulez-Vous

In the UK alone, seven of the ten tracks from the album were released on singles as either 'A' or 'B' sides, the second highest number of tracks issued as singles from any ABBA album.

Non album tracks

  • "And the Wind Cries Mary"

A demo recording made on 25 June 1979, it does not feature any vocals.

  • "Crying Over You"

A demo recorded in 1978 with lead vocals by Björn Ulvaeus. A brief excerpt of the track was released in the box set Thank You for the Music.

  • "Does Your Mother Know" (Early mix)

A complete version with a different intro that can be heard on the TV special ABBA in Switzerland. Part of this version comes from the unrecorded song "I Want You" (1975) and was included in the "Does Your Mother Know" scene in the Mamma Mia! musical. Also, if you listen closely to the live version of 'Does Your Mother Know', released on the ABBA in Concert DVD, you hear an instrumental guitar riff of this edit. A few notes from the unused early intro would later end up in the 1982 recording of "You Owe Me One".

  • "Dream World"

A song recorded in September 1978 with shared vocals by Fältskog and Lyngstad and solo passage by Fältskog. The song was recorded during sessions for the Voulez-Vous album. Composers Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus decided, however, that "Dream World" was not suitable for release, and instead, agreed to scrap the recording. The melody and chord sequence of the middle-eight of "Dream World" were re-used, with different lyrics, as the bridge for the middle-eight of the song "Does Your Mother Know", later released as the second single from Voulez-Vous. In the 1980s, the song was heard for the first time in a Swedish radio programme featuring ABBA's engineer Michael B. Tretow, and subsequently found its way onto a bootleg album. In 1994, "Dream World" was released in Sweden, Germany and Australia as a promotional-only CD-single with other ABBA rarities to advertise the Thank You for the Music four CD box-set, which also contained the track. The version of the song released in 1994 differs from the version heard in the radio show in that its fairground-like synthesiser intro fades in rather than starting abruptly. However this is because the tape from which the track was taken was partly destroyed. Voulez-Vous Deluxe Edition, released in May 2010, contains the track with its original beginning. It is unknown how the full intro was resurrected from the partially destroyed tape. It was reported just before its 1994 release that Benny and Björn were in the studio remixing the track, and hence it is most probably a new mixdown of the song done expressly in 1994. Indeed it exhibits a certain "digital" sound suggesting it was mixed down to a digital recorder as opposed to previously released songs from this period which were mixed onto analog tape. "Dream World" was included in full form (without the fade-in) for the first time on the Voulez-Vous Deluxe Edition CD/DVD package, released on 31 May 2010.

  • "Free as a Bumble Bee"

A demo recorded in 1978 with lead vocals by Björn and Benny, a brief excerpt of which was released in the box set Thank You For The Music. Part of the chorus was later reused in "I Know Him So Well" from the musical Chess.

  • "I'm Still Alive"

With music by Agnetha and lyrics by Björn, the song was performed live on the North America and Europe tours in 1979. Later recorded in Swedish by Polar Music artist Kicki Moberg.

  • "If It Wasn’t for the Nights" (Early Mix)

Performed on The Mike Yarwood Christmas Show, and most noticeably differs from the released version in that it doesn't have any string overdubs.

  • "In the Arms of Rosalita"

An early demo version of "Chiquitita". An excerpt can be heard in the TV documentary The Winner Takes It All. It featured lead vocals by Lyngstad. A later version "Chiquitita Angelina" was sung by both girls in unison.

  • "Just a Notion"

Recorded in 1978, a snippet of this track was released in the box set Thank You for the Music. A complete version was recorded by cover band Arrival, which features original ABBA bass player Rutger Gunnarsson, and was included on their 1999 album First Flight. This recording features a full set of lyrics (which are identical to those which ABBA used), unlike the small snippet of the released ABBA version. Carl Magnus Palm has also confirmed that the verse included in "ABBA Undeleted" is in fact the second verse of the song. The full version was intended to be released on the 2010 'Voulez Vous' Deluxe Edition but for some unknown reason it was not included.

  • "Lady Bird"

An instrumental demo, later reworked in "Someone Else's Story" from the musical Chess.

  • "Mountain Top"/"Dr.Claus Von Hamlet Nos. 1, 2 and 3"

Several demos recorded in 1978. The composition underwent several changes and [fun] demo titles during the sessions. At one point the demo featured lyrics and vocals by Ulvaeus entitled "Mountain Top", and another instrumental attempt ("Part I") and later reworking "Part 2" (with lead vocals by Fältskog and Lyngstad) was released as a brief excerpt in the box set Thank You for the Music. Parts of the composition would re-surface in the June 1980 demo "Burning My Bridges", but eventually the song was defined as a 'schottis' and put aside until Benny made his first instrumental folk album Klinga Mina Klockor in 1987, and there named "Lottis Schottis".

  • "Nämndöfjärden"

An instrumental demo with Benny Andersson playing synthesizers, recorded on 13 December 1978. The track remains unreleased.

  • "Rubber Ball Man" aka "Under My Sun"

A demo recorded in 1979. The lyrics do not make sense – they were recorded so that Ulvaeus could get a feel for the sound of the song, before any real lyrics were to be written. The lead vocals are shared by Fältskog and Lyngstad. A brief excerpt of this track was released in the box set Thank You for the Music. The melody would later be heard as a part of the verses in ABBA's final single "Under Attack" ("and every day the hold is getting tighter.../I wish there was a way that I could show you...").

  • "Sång till Görel"

A tribute song for Görel Johnsen's 30th birthday recorded in 1979. It was never commercially released; however, a very limited number of records were pressed and given to people who attended the party.

Personnel

Additional musicians

Production

  • Benny Andersson; Björn Ulvaeus – producers
  • Michael B. Tretow – engineer
  • Benny Andersson; Björn Ulvaeus; Anders Eljas; Rutger Gunnarsson – arrangers
  • Rune Söderqvist – design
  • Ola Lager – photography
  • Jon Astley; Tim Young; Michael B. Tretow – remastering for the 1997 Remasters
  • Jon Astley; Michael B. Tretow – remastering for the 2001 Remasters
  • Henrik Jonsson – remastering for The Complete Studio Recordings box set

Charts

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[26] 2× Platinum 200,000
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[27] Platinum 82,340[27]
Germany (BVMI)[28] Platinum 500,000
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[29] Gold 10,000
Japan (Oricon Charts) 623,000[13]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[30] Gold 50,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Platinum 300,000
United States (RIAA)[32] Gold 500,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

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  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – ABBA – Voulez-Vous" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6833a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – ABBA – Voulez-Vous" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – ABBA – Voulez-Vous". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – ABBA – Voulez-Vous". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – ABBA – Voulez-Vous". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  16. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – ABBA – Voulez-Vous". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  17. ↑ "ABBA | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "FinlandABBAVoulez_VousalbumCertRef" defined multiple times with different content
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Voulez-Vous in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

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Preceded by Dutch MegaCharts number-one album
19 May 1979 – 9 June 1979 (4 weeks)
18 August 1979 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
Fate for Breakfast by Art Garfunkel
Dynasty by KISS
Preceded by German number-one album
21 May 1979 – 11 June 1979 (4 weeks)		 Succeeded by
Communiqué by Dire Straits
Preceded by
Factory by Factory
 Swedish number-one album
4 May 1979 – 29 June 1979 (5 weeks)
Preceded by
Twist II by The Twist
 Japanese number-one album
21 May 1979 – 28 May 1979 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
Sora o Tobu Tori no Yō ni, No o Kakeru Kaze no Yō ni by Chiharu Matsuyama
Preceded by Norwegian number-one album
19/1979 – 24/1979 (6 weeks)		 Succeeded by
Discovery by Electric Light Orchestra
Preceded by UK Albums Chart number-one album
19 May 1979 – 9 June 1979 (4 weeks)

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