Voulez-Vous
Encyclopedia
CD re-issues, bonus tracks
Voulez-Vous was remastered and reissued in 1997 with two bonus tracks:- "Summer Night CitySummer Night City"Summer Night City", written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, is ABBA's 2nd non-album single, released on September 6, 1978. It was originally intended as the lead single from the group's upcoming Voulez-Vous album, but was eventually not included...
" – 3:34
- "Lovelight" – 3:18
Voulez-Vous was remastered and reissued in 2001 with three other bonus tracks:
- "Summer Night CitySummer Night City"Summer Night City", written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, is ABBA's 2nd non-album single, released on September 6, 1978. It was originally intended as the lead single from the group's upcoming Voulez-Vous album, but was eventually not included...
" – 3:34
- "Lovelight" – 3:48
- "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:
- "Summer Night CitySummer Night City"Summer Night City", written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, is ABBA's 2nd non-album single, released on September 6, 1978. It was originally intended as the lead single from the group's upcoming Voulez-Vous album, but was eventually not included...
" – 3:36
- "Lovelight" – 3:49
- "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol...
" – 4:51
- "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.
- "ChiquititaChiquitita"Chiquitita" was the first single release from Swedish pop group ABBA's Voulez-Vous album, their sixth for Polar, and their fifth for Epic and Atlantic...
" (Spanish Version) (Andersson, Ulvaeus, B. McCluskey, M. McCluskey) – 5:35- Released as a single in Spain and Latin America, 1979.
- "¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame!" (Andersson, Ulvaeus, B. McCluskey, M. McCluskey) – 4:49
- Spanish version of "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol...
".
- Spanish version of "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
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
The Albums
The Albums is a box set of recordings by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released on November 11, 2008 through Universal Music. The box set includes nine discs, the first eight are all of the original studio albums the way they were originally released between 1973 and 1981 while the ninth disc...
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:
- "Summer Night CitySummer Night City"Summer Night City", written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, is ABBA's 2nd non-album single, released on September 6, 1978. It was originally intended as the lead single from the group's upcoming Voulez-Vous album, but was eventually not included...
" (Full Length Version)
- "Lovelight"
- "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol...
"
- "Dream World"
- "Voulez-Vous" (Extended Remix, 1979 US promo)
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
- "Chiquitita"/"Lovelight"1 (January 1979)
- "Does Your Mother Know"/"Kisses of Fire" (April 1979)
- "Voulez-Vous" (single edit)/"Angel Eyes" (July 1979)
- "Angeleyes"/"Voulez-Vous" (single edit) (July 1979)
- "As Good as New"/"I Have a Dream" (French version) (1979)
- "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"1/"The King Has Lost His Crown" (October 1979)
- "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 June 25, 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 May 31, 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 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 December 13, 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
- Benny AnderssonBenny AnderssonGöran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
– synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Agnetha FältskogAgnetha FältskogAgnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...
– vocals - Anni-Frid LyngstadAnni-Frid LyngstadAnni-Frid Prinzessin Reuss von Plauen , is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer...
– vocals - Björn UlvaeusBjörn UlvaeusBjörn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
– banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals
Additional musicians
- Rolf Alex – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Ola BrunkertOla BrunkertOla Brunkert was one of the main session drummers for ABBA. Brunkert and bassist Rutger Gunnarsson are the only two side musicians to appear on every ABBA album....
– drums - Lars Carlsson – horn
- Anders Eljas – horn
- Joe Galdo – drums
- Malando GassamaMalando GassamaMalando Gassama , b. 7/2 1946, d. 25/1 1999, was a Gambian percussionist who made his home in Sweden. He recorded and performed with many notable Swedish and international artists such as: Al Jarreau, Anni-Frid Lyngstad , Ted Gärdestad, Bette Midler, Szabó Gábor, Janne Schaffer, David Sanborn,...
– percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Rutger Gunnarsson – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Paul HarrisPaul Harris (musician)Paul Harris is a keyboards player and session musician.Harris appears on several albums of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s by leading artists such as Stephen Stills, B. B. King, Judy Collins, Al Kooper, ABBA, Eric Andersen, Rick Derringer, Nick Drake, John Sebastian, Joe Walsh, Seals & Crofts and Dan...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Janne Kling – wind
- Nils LandgrenNils LandgrenNils Landgren is a Swedish R&B funk and jazz trombone player.Between 1972 and 1978 he studied classical trombone at the music college in Karlstad, Sweden and continued his education in the university in Arvika...
– tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Ish Ledesma – guitar
- Roger Palm – drums
- Halldor Palsson – tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Arnold Paseiro – bass
- Jan Risberg – oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
- Janne SchafferJanne SchafferJan Erik Tage Janne Schaffer is a Swedish songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his work as a session guitarist for ABBA but he has also recorded with artists such as Bob Marley, Johnny Nash, Art Farmer and Tony Williams...
– guitar, sitar - Johan Stengård – tenor saxophone
- Åke Sundqvist – percussion
- George TerryGeorge TerryGeorge E. Terry is an American blues rock and rock and roll guitarist most known for his live and studio work with Eric Clapton during the 1970s and studio work with a long list of artists...
– guitar - Mike Watson – bass
- Lasse Wellander – guitar
- Kajtek Wojciechowski – tenor saxophone
Production
- Benny Andersson; Björn Ulvaeus - producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s - Michael B. Tretow - engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Benny Andersson; Björn Ulvaeus; Anders Eljas; Rutger Gunnarsson - arrangers
- Rune Söderqvist - design
- Ola Lager - photography
- Jon Astley; Tim Young; Michael B. Tretow - remasterRemasterRemaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ing for the 1997 Remasters - Jon Astley; Michael B. Tretow - remastering for the 2001 Remasters
- Henrik Jonsson - remastering for The Complete Studio Recordsings box set
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Billboard 200 (USA) | 19 |
| RPM albums (Canada) | 6 | |
| CRIA albums (Canada) | 4 | |
| UK | 1 | |
| Austria | 2 | |
| Norway | 1 | |
| New Zealand | 2 | |
| Australia | 5 | |
| International Albums Chart (Mexico) | 1 | |
| Argentina | 1 | |
| Belgium | 1 | |
| Finland | 1 | |
| France | 6 | |
| The Netherlands | 2 | |
| Spain | 3 | |
| Japan | 1 | |
| Switzerland | 1 | |
| Germany | 1 | |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | |
| Sweden | 1 | |
| 2010 | UK (deluxe edition) | 148 |
UK Chart Position by Week
According to The Official Charts Company, the album spent 25 consecutive weeks in the Top 40 from 19 May 1979 to 3 November 1979. It also charted in the lower reaches of the Top 40 for 7 weeks over Christmas 1979/New Year 1980 whilst Greatest Hits Vol.2
Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (ABBA album)
Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is a compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in October 1979 to coincide with their tour of North America and Europe...
was in the Top 5. It went straight into the Top 40 at Number One.
Weekly chart positions from 19 May 1979 and 3 November 1979:
1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-5-5-5-6-5-5-4-5-2-4-5-7-6-9-14-14-15-18-22-27-20-20-20-20-24-38-36
Singles (USA and Canada)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | "Does Your Mother Know" | Billboard Hot 100 (USA) | 19 |
| Billboard Adult Contemporary (USA) | 41 | ||
| "Voulez-Vous" | Billboard Hot 100 | 80 | |
| Billboard Adult Contemporary | 40 | ||
| "Angeleyes" | Billboard Hot 100 | 64 | |
| Billboard Adult Contemporary | 37 | ||
| "Chiquitita" | Billboard Hot 100 | 29 | |
| Billboard Adult Contemporary | 15 | ||
| "Does Your Mother Know" | RPM singles (Canada) | 12 | |
| RPM Adult Contemporary (Canada) | 2 | ||
| CRIA singles (Canada) | 8 | ||
| "Voulez-Vous/Angeleyes" | RPM singles | 42 | |
| CRIA singles | 39 | ||
| "Chiquitita" | RPM singles | 36 | |
| RPM Adult Contemporary | 14 | ||
| CRIA singles | 17 | ||
| 1980 | "I Have a Dream" | RPM Adult Contemporary | 1 |
Singles (Music Week, United Kingdom)
| Year | Single | Position | Weeks on chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | "I Have a Dream" | 2 | 10 |
| "Does Your Mother Know" | 4 | 9 | |
| "Angeleyes" b/w "Voulez-Vous" | 3 | 11 | |
| "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" | 3 | 12 | |
| "Chiquitita" | 2 | 9 |
Singles (Nederlandse Top 40, Netherlands)
| Year | Single | Position | Weeks on chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | "Chiquitita" | 1 | 13 |
| "Does Your Mother Know" | 4 | 9 | |
| "Voulez-Vous" | 4 | 9 | |
| "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" | 2 | 9 | |
| "I Have a Dream" | 1 | 11 |
Singles (Norway)
| Year | Single | Position | Weeks on chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "Summer Night City" | 3 | 10 |
| 1979 | "Chiquitita" | 4 | 17 |
| "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" | 2 | 17 |
External links
- abba4therecord / Webpage showing ABBA Voulez-Vous Releases worldwide http://www.abba4therecord.com/voulezvous.php