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The Lone Sharks
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Steve Winwood
Moneyland
Various Artists
I'm Not There (Original Soundtrack)
Various Artists
Home Before Dark
Neil Diamond
Toby Keith's 35 BIGGEST Hits
Toby Keith
It's A Shame About Ray (Collector's Edition)
The Lemonheads
About a Son
Otis Blue (Collector's Edition)
Otis Redding
Loaded
Wood Brothers
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ABBA
Talk about your ‘greatest hits’ collections…I don’t care how ‘uncool’ it might sound, but I believe that virtually anybody would be simply overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of stellar output represented on this remarkable single disk collection. If, like many naysayers, you care to judge Abba exclusively by its disco anthem Dancing Queen, then you are missing out on one of the most potent pop acts of the modern age. This disk starts off rather obviously with this selection, but it only scratches the surface of what follows. A total of nineteen hits are represented here, and one is better than the next. To my taste, Knowing Me, Knowing You, Take a Chance on Me, Chiquitita and
Fernando are mini-operettas that double as masterpieces of pop, squeezing more melody and imagination into three minutes than most bands muster in an entire lifetime.
By condensing all of their most popular recordings onto one disk, Abba makes a rather potent argument for being masters of their chosen genre. It is simply relentless, with Super Trouper segueing into I Have a Dream segueing into The Winner Takes It All segueing into Money Money Money. Judging from this collection, it is no wonder that Abba are responsible for one Broadway’s most successful musicals in recent years. It may be saccharine at times but it is also celebratory. Believe it or not, Joe Strummer of the Clash is the reason I initially gave Abba the benefit of the doubt, after reading an interview in which the influential punk-rocker stated that he thought they were simply great. He opened my mind, and I’m thoroughly grateful, and that is why, however uncool it might sound, I say to them, Thank You for the Music!
Grade: 
 
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