New ABBA Release Live At Wembley Arena 2 CD or Vinyl

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

So I am just now seeing that ABBA is set to release a new live 2 CD deluxe book set or a vinyl edition on Sept 30, 2014.

"This fantastic live release is available on CD and vinyl and encapsulates 25 songs from ABBA's landmark gig at Wembley Arena, London in 1979. As well as featuring a full rendition of classics, this is also the first time the track 'I'm Still Alive' has ever been released."

I've never heard this song, should be an interesting release, the label says UME so is this an official release?

http://www.amazon.com/Live-Wembley-...ic&ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=1-1&keywords=abba

Disc: 1
1. Gammal fäbodpsalm
2. Voulez-Vous
3. If It Wasn't For The Nights
4. As Good As New
5. Knowing Me, Knowing You
6. Rock Me
7. Chiquitita
8. Money, Money, Money
9. I Have A dream
10. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
11. SOS
12. Fernando
Disc: 2
1. The Name Of The Game
2. Eagle
3. Thank You For The Music
4. Why did it have to be me
5. Intermezzo no 1
6. I Am Still Alive
7. Summer Night City
8. Take A Chance On Me
9. Does Your Mother Know
10. Hole in your soul
11. The Way Old Friends Do
12. Dancing Queen
13. Waterloo

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

How odd that if you go to Amazon UK, they are selling the same 2 CD set cheaper than Amazon US and not only that they will let you listen to 1 of the live tracks right now, "Knowing Me, Knowing You. So this gives you an idea what the sound quality is going to be like. I thought it might sound a little better than this, of course it's always hard to tell from a stream but it sounds really bassy. Amazon UK is showing the label as Commercial Marketing?

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Further description from Amazon UK

'ABBA’s concerts in London at the end of the 70s became the stuff of legend. For a group that toured only a handful of times, these shows were a pinnacle, coming near the end of their touring life. By the time ABBA played London’s Wembley Arena in November 1979, they had spent five years in the public spotlight and that night they delivered some of the most exhilarating performances of their career. When ABBA took the stage, their experience and professionalism showed. Audiences and critics were astounded that ABBA could reproduce their studio sound live. The set covered highlights throughout their career and contained a rare performance of Agnetha’s ‘I’m Still Alive’, unreleased on any album. It is now time to hear Abba at the peak of their live performance again on ABBA – LIVE AT WEMBLEY ARENA.

 

[Timmerman]

As a huge ABBA fan I've been following the news on this upcoming release with baited breath. Yes, it's an official release.
There was a lot of criticism when the album "ABBA Live" came out in 1986. The recordings were heavily remixed and tweaked, making it anything but a "live" album. This had partly to do with the fact that the songs were taken from several different performances throughout the years and the sound has to be modified to make the overall sound coherent. But it's a botched job, if you ask me.
ABBA have been reluctant to release a live set as they (correctly IMHO) considered themselves a studio act. Nevertheless, with their legacy riding revival after revival and at an all-time high (not to mention it's the 40th anniversary of their Eurovision breakthrough with "Waterloo"), they finally relented. As you said Chris, there will be a 2CD and a 180 grams 3LP release. Rumour has it there'll also be a digital release with a bonus set of as yet undisclosed tracks, possibly from a different tour.

Benny Andersson himself announced this upcoming set some months ago, stating it would be the entire concert (minus back-up singer Tomas Ledin's solo performance) with as little studio doctoring as possible. Fans immediately started discussing the possibility that Agnetha's self-penned (along with recent ex-husband Bjorn) "I'm still alive" would be part of the set. This song has been making the rounds on bootlegs for decades but always in awful quality, taken from copies of copies of recordings from somewhere in the audience. It will be great to finally hear it in clear audio. Long overdue.
Is it a brilliant track? Perhaps not, but it is one of those oddities in ABBA's history that have remained unreleased until now. From a historic standpoint I think it's a very interesting track, just because this was written so shortly after Agnetha and Bjorn's divorce. And it's only the second song Agnetha composed during the ABBA-era that was presented under the group's banner. (The other being "Disillusion" on the group's debut album "Ring Ring" in 1973).
Other highlights I'm looking forward to on the set are the energetic performances of "Hole in your soul" and "Summer night city", and the "truly live" rendition of "The way old friends do". The latter track appears as a "live" track as a closer on the group's seventh album "Super Trouper" (1980), but that version has so many rerecorded bits from the studio that it hardly qualifies as a live track.
Quite simply, what it boils down to: this is the first original album (and not a re-re-re-re-release) by ABBA since the eighties.

Now it only a similar Carpenters release would appear as part of an anniversary celebration...

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I was going to order this CD set from Amazon UK but I'm concerned it might be a different set than the US version. Amazon US is saying it's a deluxe edition book for about $40.00 but Amazon UK doesn't say deluxe edition and their price is only 11.99 UK which is about $20.00 in US funds.

 

[Timmerman]

Chris, I just checked and apparently there are two different CD editions: a regular jewelcase and a limited "digi book" edition. The German Amazon has both versions listed. Strangely, I can't find the deluxe at Amazon UK. But that might explain the difference in price.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Chris, I just checked and apparently there are two different CD editions: a regular jewelcase and a limited "digi book" edition. The German Amazon has both versions listed. Strangely, I can't find the deluxe at Amazon UK. But that might explain the difference in price.

Thanks for the heads up...I thought that was the case since the UK was selling it for only $20.00, can't decide which I want to order, if it's just another rehash of photos and dialog may just get the cheaper packaging. I wish we knew what the digi book looked like. That cover photo is cool but it Frida face is blocked by the mic cord and when you zoom on that photo it's not the best clarity hence the reason I thought maybe this was a bootleg.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I just noticed Amazon US is now showing another listing for this release on Oct 01, 2014 for $67.99 import 2 CD set in addition to their 2 CD Deluxe for $39.99 and LP's for $53.98

This is getting confusing, I'm going to cancel my pre-order until I can find out what is really being released.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

It appears that the October release of this title will be a Japan SHM-CD