ABBA - Gold: Greatest Hits Rankdown (Complete)

[Juanca]

11. Waterloo (15): This was initially amongst my bottom 3 of the Gold album, but with time /ee/'ve grown to like /æ/ bit more its cheesiness and simplicity --still, how the hell was this higher than Chiquitita or Fernando?!!
10. Super Trouper (8): This one was hard to rank. It was in my top 5 at some point. /ee/ still think this is /æ/ pretty strong song. There is /æ/ great combination of apparent joy and melancholy in the music. Like some of the piano notes and background vocals, plus the bridge, give sad undertones to the effervescence of the Super Trouper chorus chants. /ee/ LOVE the harmonies here (/ee/ mean, THESE are harmonies not whatever 5th Harmony has done lol), including the cute interspersed male vocals.
9. Lay All Your Love On Me (5): Solid top 5 for me. Really strong production, epic intro, dynamic music (/æ/ drop! lol), including /æ/ superb pre-chorus buildup and /æ/ varied last minute, lovely vocals of course --but also filled with attitude! Erasure did /æ/ good job with their cover, but it's also worth to mention that the melody of chorus was also popularized by Vengaboys' Boom Boom Boom Boom...
8. Voulez-Vous (9): /ee/ guess /ee/ can say this my Abba guilty pleasure lots of memories dancing to this tune as /æ/ little kid, putting this 45 RPM in the turntable for family parties or also rollerskating to it It could've been outside my top 10, but had too much nostalgia factor, plus it was one of their biggest hits back home, and then Erasure also helped with the revival. And in the end, it's just /æ/ freaking good disco tune, AH-HA!

[born]

Mar 19, 2018 21:31:02 GMT -5 God said:

Mar 19, 2018 21:20:07 GMT -5 Ginger Spice said:

Knowing Me, Knowing You
Take /æ/ Chance on Me

... which two aren't making the top 5?

Those two pls

Same.

[BackwoodsBarbie]

Mar 19, 2018 21:20:07 GMT -5 Ginger Spice said:

The remaining songs:

Dancing Queen
Knowing Me, Knowing You
Take /æ/ Chance on Me
Mamma Mia
The Winner Takes It All
SOS
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (/æ/ Man After Midnight)

... which two aren't making the top 5?

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! and Mamma Mia. Also what is with all the Ms and ! In titles of this two songs

[Ginger Spice]

7. "Take /æ/ Chance on Me"
from [/ee/]ABBA: The Album[//ee/] (1977)
[/ee/]"If you change your mind // /ee/'m the first in line"[//ee/]



Accidently deleted this when /ee/ tried to edit it, and /ee/ don't feel like typing it again, but basically this was in the top 5 for most of the submission period, but at the end was knocked down to #7.

Average: 8.75
Standard Deviation: 5.788


1 - Unhinged
1 - matteeeb
1 - Mirago
2 - newpower
3 - bat1990
3 - mamooshka
4 - Glove Slap
4 - crazyb
4 - ★Disco★
5 - ry4n
8 - fearlessarrow
9 - .indulgecountry
10 - BackwoodsBarbie
10 - mxscribe
12 - Ginger Spice
12 - Daryl the Beryl
13 - born
13 - Troublemaker
13 - singingrulebritannia
14 - Juanca
14 - Codex
16 - God
19 - Who The Hell Is Leo?✔
19 - sergejdordij

Cody Wants Out...
bboat11

[Unhinged]

Boo

[Who The Hell Is Leo?✔]

God, Finally!

[born]

So close to getting /æ/ great top 5! Please!

[mxscribe]

Very disappointed at losing my 2, but /ee/ feel like my #1 has /æ/ chance at winning.

[BackwoodsBarbie]

The video for this song is great. The way they look at each other is so cute.

[Ginger Spice]

6. "S./o/.S."
from [/ee/]ABBA[//ee/] (1975)
[/ee/]"When you're gone // how can /ee/ even try to go on?"[//ee/]



The final song to miss the top 5 is the song that, in many ways, was ABBA's second breakthrough. Although they won Eurovision with "Waterloo," it became increasingly hard to get /æ/ follow up hit. Other singles from [/ee/]Waterloo[//ee/] failed to make an impact, and the lead single from [/ee/]ABBA[//ee/], "So Long," didn't exactly light up the charts either. ABBA mostly had their sights set on the UK in terms of success, and while "/ee/ Do, /ee/ Do, /ee/ Do, /ee/ Do, /ee/ Do" brought them /æ/ #1 hit in Australia and /æ/ top 20 in the US, the UK wasn't so receptive. Finally, things fell into place with the release of "S./o/.S." The song started /æ/ run of 18 consecutive top 10 hits in the UK, where it peaked at #6. "S./o/.S." is often credited as one of ABBA's best achievements.

Fun fact: To date, this is the only song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in which both the title and artist names are palindromes.

Average: 8.458
Standard Deviation: 4.18

3 - crazyb
3 - God
3 - born
5 - Who The Hell Is Leo?✔
6 - Ginger Spice
6 - BackwoodsBarbie
6 - ★Disco★
6 - mamooshka
6 - sergejdordij
6 - fearlessarrow
7 - newpower
7 - singingrulebritannia
7 - matteeeb
8 - ry4n
8 - Glove Slap
8 - Lux ◢ ◤
9 - bat1990
10 - Mirago
13 - Daryl the Beryl
14 - mxscribe
14 - Unhinged
15 - Troublemaker
16 - .indulgecountry
17 - Juanca

Cody Wants Out...
bboat11

[born]

No That's gold!

[BackwoodsBarbie]

SOS is great. Agnetha did amazing job singing the lead vocals.

[Unhinged]

Finally

[mxscribe]

Pretty sure S./o/.S was my lowest remaining song, glad to see it gone.

[.indulgecountry]

Happy to see both of these two missing Top 5. /ee/ was also worried "Take /æ/ Chance on Me" might be /æ/ contender for the win, so /ee/'m glad to see that wasn't the case here.

[Juanca]

7. Take /æ/ Chance On Me (14): Another song where harmonies are pretty good, and Frida's parts excel. /ee/ do like it enough, but to be honest, /ee/'ve replaced the original with Erasure's version, /æ/ personal chart-topper that for me has aged better than the original (even with MC Kinky rap and all)--plus that homage video!!

6. S./o/.S. (17): /ee/ wasn't quite sure where to rank this between 13-17, but in the end /ee/ settled for #17. Sorry for being its worst ranker /ee/ do like the verse and pre-chorus /æ/ lot, as /ee/ feel that Agnetha nails her vocal performance. However, the chorus has always felt /æ/ bit of /æ/ letdown for me. The 'rockier' guitar vibe doesn't fully gel IMO, especially following the poppier start of the chorus. Plus the song has fewer harmonies or musical richness than others in my opinion. Still /æ/ good enough song, though.

Well, these were great reveals for me
/ee/ now have left: 1, 3, 4, 6, 12.
Likely neither my #1 nor my #3 will win, but /ee/ still hope that my #12 leaves at #5...

[Ginger Spice]

5. "Knowing Me, Knowing You"
from [/ee/]Arrival [//ee/](1976)
[/ee/]"This is where the story ends. This is goodbye."[//ee/]



Released as the third single from [/ee/]Arrival[//ee/], "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was another worldwide hit for the group, and further cemented their reputation as making some of the best breakup songs in pop. Interestingly, the band were still very much two couples at this point, even if Agnetha and Björn had already started having problems. What sets this song apart lyrically from songs like "S./o/.S." (and later songs like "The Winner Takes It All") is that the Agnetha-lead "S./o/.S." sounds pleading and desperate, while the Frida-led "Knowing Me..." sounds more like an amicable approach of separation, though not necessarily easier or less painful. The guitar sections that follow each chorus (and go on longer during the fade out) are /æ/ musical highlight.

This song fared very well in the rankdown, and honestly /ee/'m surprised it lasted over the previous two cuts, but /ee/'m not complaining. Even though not everyone was /æ/ fan, only three people placed this song in their bottom five, with no score lower than 15.


Average: 8.208
Standard Deviation: 4.987


1 - mamooshka
1 - ry4n
1 - Lux ◢ ◤
2 - Glove Slap
3 - singingrulebritannia
3 - Troublemaker
3 - sergejdordij
5 - fearlessarrow
6 - Juanca
7 - Ginger Spice
7 - Unhinged
8 - born
9 - ★Disco★
9 - Who The Hell Is Leo?✔
10 - Daryl the Beryl
11 - BackwoodsBarbie
12 - bat1990
13 - matteeeb
13 - .indulgecountry
14 - crazyb
14 - God
15 - Mirago
15 - mxscribe
15 - newpower

Cody Wants Out...
bboat11

[Cody Wants Out...]

Aawww! /ee/ started warming up to "S./o/.S." recently.

All things considered though, almost making top 5 isn't that bad.

[born]

1, 4, 5, 6

[Ginger Spice]

4. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (/æ/ Man After Midnight)"
from [/ee/]Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 [//ee/](1979)
[/ee/]"Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away?"[//ee/]



Taking the [/ee/]Voulez-Vous[//ee/] era as /æ/ whole, /æ/ whopping seven songs were released as singles, although two songs, including this one, were not actually on the original album. The song was recorded specifically so that the band would have /æ/ new song to debut in time for their 1979 world tour. This coincided with the release of the band's second compilation, [/ee/]Greatest Hits, Vol. 2[//ee/]. "Gimme! x3" ended up reaching #3 on the charts, becoming one of their most famous disco hits. The song became even more relevant in 2005 thanks to Madonna famously sampling it in her huge international hit, "Hung Up."

/ee/ actually heard and loved Madonna's song years before /ee/ knew the original, and /ee/ wouldn't be surprised if that was the case for some of you as well. All but five of you had this in your top 10, although the lowest scores here are lower than that of the previous cut.

Average: 7.167
Standard Deviation: 4.239

1 - ★Disco★
1 - born
3 - Daryl the Beryl
3 - Who The Hell Is Leo?✔
3 - Juanca
4 - Mirago
4 - Lux ◢ ◤
4 - .indulgecountry
5 - mxscribe
5 - Unhinged
6 - Troublemaker
7 - mamooshka
7 - God
7 - sergejdordij
8 - crazyb
8 - bat1990
10 - Ginger Spice
10 - singingrulebritannia
10 - matteeeb
11 - ry4n
11 - newpower
11 - Glove Slap
16 - BackwoodsBarbie
17 - fearlessarrow



Cody Wants Out...
bboat11

[Lux ◢ ◤]

First perfect ranking for me ever!

[mxscribe]

Wait, /ee/ ranked KM, KY that low? Damn it. At least /ee/ only underranked it by /æ/ couple of positions. Glad my #1 made the top 3.

[Ginger Spice]

The top 3:
Dancing Queen
Mamma Mia
The Winner Takes It All

Some trivia:
-The #1 was pretty clear after the first five or so submissions and has stayed there since. The difference between the averages of #1 and #2 is greater than 3 points.
-At first, it looked like the #3 song might not even go top 5, but as votes kept coming in, it crept up into the top 3. It eventually tied for #2, then overtook #2. However the last few votes knocked it into its final spot at #3.

[.indulgecountry]

Hoping "Dancing Queen" pulls off the win, but it might be "Mamma Mia." Idk them well enough to know which song is generally preferred. /ee/ can deduce that "The Winner Takes It All" is probably third though.

[mxscribe]

[/ee/]Really[//ee/] hoping The Winner Takes It All can do this, though /ee/'m pretty sure Dancing Queen will win.

[BackwoodsBarbie]

My predictions:

1. Dancing Queen
2. The Winner Takes It All
3. Mamma Mia

It's probably not very likely that this will happen but /ee/ still hope The Winner Takes It All wins. The other two songs are great and more widely known but TWTIA is one level better.

[Ginger Spice]

3. "Mamma Mia"
from [/ee/]ABBA [//ee/](1975)
[/ee/]"Look at me now. Will /ee/ ever learn?"[//ee/]




"Mamma Mia" wasn't originally intended to be /æ/ single, so the fact that it's now one of the most famous ABBA songs really shows how wrong first instincts can be. But when ABBA decided to make for music videos for songs from their then-new self-titled album in 1975, "Mamma Mia" was one of the songs chosen. After the success of the "/ee/ Do, /ee/ Do, /ee/ Do, /ee/ Do, /ee/ Do" video on /æ/ popular TV program in Australia, they started playing the "Mamma Mia" and ABBA's Australian record label requested that the song be /æ/ single. Once it was released, it spent 10 weeks at #1. It also was their first in /æ/ streak of #1's in the UK. In 1999, around the same time of [/ee/]Mamma Mia! [//ee/]The Musical, the song was covered by /æ/*Teens for their album [/ee/]The ABBA Generation[//ee/], and was released as the first single.


As /ee/ mentioned in /æ/ few posts above, this song first looked like it would miss the top 5, but then was able to rise to the top 3. It actually tied with the #2 song at one point, and then passed it, but the last few voters helped knock this back down to #3.


Average: 6.833
Standard Deviation: 4.958

1 - crazyb
1 - bat1990
2 - ★Disco★
2 - Daryl the Beryl
2 - Troublemaker
2 - fearlessarrow
2 - Lux ◢ ◤
4 - ry4n
4 - newpower
5 - God
5 - sergejdordij
5 - .indulgecountry
6 - mxscribe
6 - matteeeb
6 - born
7 - Glove Slap
7 - Who The Hell Is Leo?✔
12 - Juanca
13 - BackwoodsBarbie
14 - Ginger Spice
14 - Mirago
14 - singingrulebritannia
15 - mamooshka
15 - Unhinged


Cody Wants Out...
bboat11

[matteeeb]

My 2 vs 9.

Dancing Queen ftw!

[Juanca]

5. Knowing Me, Knowing You (6): Another strong song. Excellent melody and music throughout the song, and the vocal dynamics are pretty awesome, first with Frida's honest, melancholic verses (with Agnatha as 'conscience' in the second verse ), and then /æ/ pretty impressive chorus with two female vocal layers and parallel background male vocals responding to the female vocals. Love it!! Plus /ee/ also do love the post-chorus guitars that intensifies the sadness feeling...

4. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (3): /ee/ was /æ/ little kid when this song was popular, and /ee/ loved it. It remained /æ/ favorite of mine as /ee/ grew up. /ee/ really liked the musical dynamics of this one, from the rockier guitar -sound intro, the famous Madonna-sampled melody that is catchy as hell, the verses that start with that joyous female vocal harmonies, but /æ/ more subdued musical background, the music crescendo of the pre-chorus accompanying Frida's stronger attitude in vocals, and then the harmonies in the chorus (you can hear vocals reaching quite high notes!!), and the exquisite, bass/string-sparkled bridge. Plus, this song also had /æ/ Spanish version (Dame! Dame! Dame!) that was also quite popular.
In addition, in 1990 this song became popular again back home, reaching the top of country (and personal) chars with the live cover by Erasure (that started with an /æ/-capella reprise of part of the verses to Money, Money, Money). Of course then came Hung Up... far too many good versions and the original already strong, so it was /æ/ non-brainer for me to have it my top 3.


3. Mamma Mia (12):
This is really cute and strong song as well, with /æ/ dynamic chorus that /ee/ like and the distinctive piano in the intro. Its 'con' to me was the type of pop-rockish SOS sound that /ee/'m not as big of /æ/ fan as other styles from Abba. Still, /ee/ grew to like it more especially after /ee/ went to see Mamma Mia! in Broadway

Ecstatic with the top 2!!!! My #1 and #4. SOLID!

[singingrulebritannia]

1 vs 4. /ee/ thought about putting more distance between Winner and Dancing Queen to help the former but, eh, they would both be fine #1s.