Super Trouper (album)

Super Trouper
Studio album by ABBA
Released 3 November 1980
Recorded 4 February — 15 October 1980
Studio Polar Music Studios
Genre Pop
Length 41:53 (Swedish original release)
Label Polar
Epic (UK)
Atlantic Records (US original release)
Producer
ABBA chronology
Gracias Por La Música
(1980)Gracias Por La Música1980		 Super Trouper
(1980)		 The Visitors
(1981)The Visitors1981
Singles from Super Trouper
  1. "The Winner Takes It All"
    Released: 21 July 1980
  2. "Super Trouper"
    Released: 3 November 1980
  3. "Lay All Your Love on Me"
    Released: July 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
rollingstone.de[2]

Super Trouper is the seventh studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA, first released in 1980. It features the No.1 singles "The Winner Takes It All" and "Super Trouper". The album became the biggest-selling album of 1980 in the UK.

Overview

Led by the international hit "The Winner Takes It All", Super Trouper was the group's sixth chart-topping album in the UK. It was also the best-selling album in Britain for 1980. Super Trouper was first released on CD in 1983 by Atlantic Records, again in the 1980s by Polar International, and in the 1990s by Polydor in the US. The album has been reissued in digitally remastered form four times; first in 1997, then in 2001, again in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set and as a Deluxe Edition (containing a bonus DVD) in 2011. The previous year's divorce between Björn and Agnetha was explored in "The Winner Takes It All", and the members' lives in Stockholm high society circles coloured the lyrics for "On and On and On". Other well-known songs on the album include the hit single title track "Super Trouper", as well as the electro-dance of "Lay All Your Love on Me".

Probably due to the disco backlash of the time, the album saw ABBA returning to a more straightforward pop sound,[1] as opposed to the preceding (and noticeably more dance-oriented) Voulez-Vous album. The album closed with "The Way Old Friends Do", which was recorded live a year earlier during their 1979 concert tour. Although not released as a single with this album, the song was later released as a single in 1992 to promote the compilation More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits.[3] The song was later covered by The Alexander Brothers, The Kingston Trio, Philomena Begley and Faryl Smith.

Album cover and title

Super Trouper is a registered trademark owned by Strong Entertainment Lighting, for their brand of followspots, i.e., directional spotlights used to follow a performer on stage. Album cover designer, Rune Söderqvist, decided to use the spotlight theme and photograph the group, surrounded by circus performers, at Piccadilly Circus, London. After discovering that there was a law preventing any entertainers or animals appearing in central London, they instead invited the members of two local circuses to Europa Film Studios, Stockholm to take the photograph there. Several of ABBA's friends were also invited to take part and the following also appear on the cover: Görel Hanser (vice-president of Polar Music who subsequently married the band's photographer Anders Hanser), Berka Bergkvist (another Polar Music employee), Tomas Ledin, and Anders Anderson (ABBA's manager's son).[4] At the same time, Lasse Hallström also filmed scenes that were eventually used in the videos for "Happy New Year", "Felicidad" and "Super Trouper" even though the latter had not even been composed at the time.

Track listing

All tracks written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Super Trouper"4:13
2."The Winner Takes It All"4:55
3."On and On and On"3:41
4."Andante, Andante"4:38
5."Me and I"4:53
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Happy New Year"4:24
2."Our Last Summer"4:18
3."The Piper"3:25
4."Lay All Your Love on Me"4:33
5."The Way Old Friends Do" (live)2:53
Total length:41:53

Non-album tracks

  • "Elaine"

A song recorded in 1980 and released as B-side "The Winner Takes It All" single.

  • "Put On Your White Sombrero"

A song based on waltz with a Latin American sound recorded in 1980 with lead vocal by Lyngstad. The track was replaced at a late stage by this album's title track, "Super Trouper". The arrangement of "Put On Your White Sombrero" was later remodelled into a new ABBA song, "Cassandra", which became the B-Side to "The Day Before You Came". The song remained unreleased until 1994.

Personnel

ABBA

Additional personnel

  • Ola Brunkert – drums
  • Lars Carlsson – horn
  • Rutger Gunnarsson – bass, guitar
  • Janne Kling – flute, saxophone
  • Per Lindvall – drums
  • Janne Schaffer – guitar
  • Åke Sundqvist – percussion
  • Mike Watson – bass
  • Lasse Wellander – guitar
  • Kajtek Wojciechowski – saxophone
  • Producers: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
  • Engineer: Michael B. Tretow
  • Arranger: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
  • Design: Rune Söderqvist
  • Mastering for 1980's USA Atlantic CD version by Zal Schreiber of Atlantic Studios, NYC
  • Remastered for the 1997 Remasters by Jon Astley and Tim Young with Michael B. Tretow
  • Remastered for the 2001 Remasters by Jon Astley with Michael B. Tretow
  • Remastered for the 2005 Complete Studio Recordings Box Set by Henrik Jonsson

Charts

Sales and certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[30] Diamond 50,552[30]
Germany (BVMI)[31] 2× Platinum 1,000,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[32] Platinum 20,000*
Japan (Oricon Charts) 219,000[13]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[33] Platinum 100,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[35] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 "Super Trouper". Allmusic. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  2. ↑ "Abba Super Trouper". Rolling Stones. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  3. ↑ Oldham, A, Calder, T & Irvin, C: "ABBA: The Name of the Game", page 75. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1995
  4. ↑ Magnus Palm, C: "Bright Lights, Dark shadows", page 432-433. Omnibus Press, 2001
  5. 1 2 Ice. "Super Trouper Deluxe Edition CD (+DVD) – Updated with tracklist | icethesite – Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus news site". icethesite. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  6. ↑ http://www.abbaomnibus.net/songs/whosings.htm
  7. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ↑ "austriancharts.at ABBA - Super Trouper". Hung Medien (in German). Archived from the original (ASP) on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  9. ↑ "RPM: Top Albums/CDs". RPM Canada. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  10. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl ABBA - Super Trouper". Hung Medien (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Archived from the original (ASP) on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  11. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste : ABBA". infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  12. 1 2 "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1981" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  13. 1 2 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  14. ↑ "charts.org.nz ABBA - Super Trouper". Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original (ASP) on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  15. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com ABBA - Super Trouper". Hung Medien. VG-lista. Archived from the original (ASP) on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  16. ↑ "swedishcharts.com ABBA - Super Trouper" (ASP). Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  17. ↑ "ABBA > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  18. ↑ "allmusic ((( Super Trouper > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  19. ↑ "Album Search: ABBA - Super Trouper" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  20. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1980" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  21. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1980 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  22. ↑ "1980s Albums Chart Archive". everyhit.com. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Austriancharts.st - Jahreshitparade 1979" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  24. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1981". RPM. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  25. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1981" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  26. ↑ "Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1981" [1981年アルバム年間ヒットチャート] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  27. ↑ "Billboard.BIZ: Top Pop Albums of 1981". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  28. ↑ "Album – Jahrescharts: 1981". charts.de. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  29. ↑ "Austriancharts.at - Bestenlisten - 80-er album" (in German). Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  30. 1 2 "Abba" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  31. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (ABBA; 'Super Trouper')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  32. ↑ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1982". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  33. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  34. ↑ "British album certifications – ABBA – Super Trouper". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 March 2013. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Super Trouper in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  35. ↑ "American album certifications – ABBA – Super Trouper". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 3 March 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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