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The making of a box set
During the writing of the book
ABBA — The Complete Recording Sessions, I got involved in the compilation
of the 4-CD box set Thank You For The Music. From obvious inclusions like Dancing
Queen to never-before-heard rarities like Put On Your White Sombrero, here is
the story of how it all came together. Part
1 (of 8): POLYGRAM BUYS THE ABBA CATALOGUE After PolyGram
(since then merged with Universal Music) bought Stig Anderson’s Sweden Music
group of companies in 1989 - and the ABBA catalogue with it - it didn’t take
long before the powers-that-be started thinking of ways to make good use of their
new acquisition. The first few years of the Nineties saw a couple of ideas brought
forward: one was a remix album, but this never got any further than a remix of
Dancing Queen, made by Benny Andersson in 1991. Björn and Benny didn’t
feel that the remix added anything to the song, so the project was shelved.
By 1992, the sights had instead been set on a box set. Ever since PolyGram
released their groundbreaking, multi-million-selling Eric Clapton box set, Crossroads,
in 1988, record companies have been eager to exploit the commercial potential
of such releases. The usual format for box sets is the inclusion of the act’s
hits, familiar album tracks plus rare and previously unreleased material.
The ABBA box set was originally set for release towards the end of 1992,
according to a report in Billboard magazine in July of that year, but the plans
were ultimately shelved. Instead, energies were focused on creating a single-disc
compilation album. That, of course, turned out to be ABBA Gold, released in September
1992.
It soon became clear that the album was a bigger success than anyone
had counted on, topping the charts in several countries and selling several million
copies. At this point it was decided to release a follow-up volume, More ABBA
Gold. This meant the first foray into the archives, and two previously unreleased
tracks were up for consideration: ’Just Like That’ and ’I Am The
City’, both dating back to ABBA’s final sessions in 1982.
Björn
and Benny vetoed the inclusion of ’Just Like That’, a song that had
already been rewritten by the pair and then released as a recording with the duo
Gemini in 1985. But ’I Am The City’ was included on More ABBA Gold,
which was released in June 1993. This CD also became a success - especially considering
that it was a companion disc with few of the truly familiar hits - selling more
than one million copies. In the autumn of 1993, it was clear to everyone involved
that the ABBA revival was in full swing, and the thought of a box set was awakened
again.
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