Super Trouper (album)

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Super Trouper
ABBA - Super Trouper (Polar).jpg
Studio album by
ABBA
Released3 November 1980
Recorded4 February – 15 October 1980
StudioPolar Studios, Stockholm
GenrePop
Length41:53 (Swedish original release)
Label
Producer
ABBA chronology
Gracias Por La Música
(1980) 		Super Trouper
(1980) 		The Visitors
(1981)
Singles from Super Trouper
  1. "The Winner Takes It All"
    Released: 21 July 1980
  2. "On and on and On"
    Released: September 1980
  3. "Super Trouper"
    Released: 3 November 1980
  4. "Our Last Summer"
    Released: 23 November 1980
  5. "Happy New Year"
    Released: December 1980
  6. "Andante, Andante"
    Released: March 1981
  7. "Lay All Your Love on Me"
    Released: July 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[1]
Blender4/5 stars[2]
The Daily VaultA−[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music3/5 stars[4]
rollingstone.de4/5 stars[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide4/5 stars[6]
Smash Hits5/10[7]

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.[8]

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 Polar Music International, in the early 1980s by Polydor, and in the late 1980s by Atlantic Records for 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.[9] 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).[10] 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
1997 CD edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"4:53
12."Elaine"3:44
13."Put On Your White Sombrero"4:34
2001 CD edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Elaine"3:44
12."Put On Your White Sombrero"4:34
The Complete Studio Recordings bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Elaine" 3:45
12."Andante, Andante" (Spanish version)
  • Andersson
  • Ulvaeus
  • Buddy McCluskey
  • Mary McCluskey
4:40
13."Felicidad" (Spanish version of Happy New Year)
  • Andersson
  • Ulvaeus
  • B. McCluskey
  • M. McCluskey
4:24
2011 deluxe edition (The Superlative Album) bonus tracks[11]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Elaine" 3:45
12."On and On and On" (full length version; stereo mix) 4:15
13."Put On Your White Sombrero" 4:34
14."Andante, Andante" (Spanish version)
  • Andersson
  • Ulvaeus
  • B. McCluskey
  • M. McCluskey
4:40
15."Felicidad" (Spanish version of Happy New Year)
  • Andersson
  • Ulvaeus
  • B. McCluskey
  • M. McCluskey
4:24
2011 deluxe edition DVD[11]
No.TitleLength
1."ABBA on German TV" (Show Express, ZDF) 
2."Happy New Year" (SVT) 
3."Words and Music" (documentary) 
4."Somewhere in the Crowd There's You – On Location with ABBA" (Featurette: Making of Super Trouper Album Sleeve) 
5."Super Trouper" (remastered promo clip) 
6."Happy New Year" (remastered promo clip) 
7."Super Trouper TV Commercial I" (UK) 
8."Super Trouper TV Commercial II" (UK) 
9."International Sleeve Gallery" 

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 (2-9)
  • Lars Carlsson – horn (3)
  • Rutger Gunnarsson – bass (3-9), guitar
  • Janne Kling – flute (8), saxophone (3)
  • Per Lindvall – drums (1)
  • Janne Schaffer – guitar
  • Åke Sundqvist – percussion
  • Mike Watson – bass (1, 2)
  • Lasse Wellander – guitar
  • Kajtek Wojciechowski – saxophone (3)
  • 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 Certification Certified units/sales
Argentina — 170,000[35]
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[36] Gold 100,000*
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[37] Diamond 50,552[37]
Germany (BVMI)[38] 2× Platinum 1,000,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[39] Platinum 20,000*
Japan (Oricon Charts) — 219,000[18]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[40] Platinum 100,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[42] Platinum 850,000[41]
United Kingdom (BPI)[43]
video 		Gold 25,000^
United States (RIAA)[44] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Super Trouper". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  2. ^ Wolk, Douglas (21 December 2004). "ABBA: Super Trouper". Blender. Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  3. ^ Thelen, Christopher (2019). "The Daily Vault Music Reviews : Super Trouper". dailyvault.com. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
  5. ^ "Abba Super Trouper". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  6. ^ Berger, Arion (2004). "ABBA". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ^ Hillier, Beverly (27 November – 10 December 1980). "Albums". Smash Hits: 29.
  8. ^ "Year by year, the best-selling albums of the past 50 years | NME". NME. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  9. ^ Oldham, A, Calder, T & Irvin, C: "ABBA: The Name of the Game", page 75. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1995
  10. ^ Magnus Palm, C: "Bright Lights, Dark shadows", page 432-433. Omnibus Press, 2001
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Ice. "Super Trouper Deluxe Edition CD (+DVD) – Updated with tracklist | icethesite – Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus news site". icethesite. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  12. ^ http://www.abbaomnibus.net/songs/whosings.htm
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "austriancharts.at ABBA - Super Trouper". Hung Medien (in German). Archived from the original (ASP) on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  15. ^ "RPM: Top Albums/CDs". RPM Canada. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  16. ^ "dutchcharts.nl ABBA - Super Trouper". Hung Medien (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Archived from the original (ASP) on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  19. ^ "charts.nz ABBA - Super Trouper" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  20. ^ "norwegiancharts.com ABBA - Super Trouper". Hung Medien. VG-lista. Archived from the original (ASP) on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  21. ^ "swedishcharts.com ABBA - Super Trouper" (ASP). Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  22. ^ "ABBA > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  23. ^ "allmusic ((( Super Trouper > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  24. ^ "Album Search: ABBA - Super Trouper" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  25. ^ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1980" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  26. ^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1980 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  27. ^ "1980s Albums Chart Archive". everyhit.com. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  28. ^ "Austriancharts.st - Jahreshitparade 1979" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  29. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1981". RPM. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  30. ^ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1981" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  31. ^ "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.
  32. ^ "Billboard.BIZ: Top Pop Albums of 1981". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  33. ^ "Album – Jahrescharts: 1981". charts.de. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  34. ^ "Austriancharts.at - Bestenlisten - 80-er album" (in German). Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  35. ^ "International Dateline - Argentina" (PDF). Cash Box. 17 January 1981. p. 36. Retrieved 4 December 2019 – via American Radio History.
  36. ^ Rondeau, José Emilio (9 August 1981). "Abba, adeus". Jornal do Brasil (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 March 2020. Only in Brazil their last album Super Trouper has already received a gold certification for 100,000 sold.
  37. ^ Jump up to: a b "Abba" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  38. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (ABBA; 'Super Trouper')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  39. ^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1982". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  40. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  41. ^ Cetner, Marc (15 November 1980). "Point West - Upcoming Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. 42 no. 27. p. 18. Retrieved 6 May 2020 – via American Radio History.
  42. ^ "British album certifications – ABBA – Super Trouper". British Phonographic Industry.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.
  43. ^ "British video certifications – ABBA – Super Trouper". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 6 May 2020.Select videos in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Super Trouper in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  44. ^ "American album certifications – ABBA – Super Trouper". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 3 March 2013.

External links[]

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