As a long time fan of Abba, I purchased the original import releases of all of their albums years ago, along with Greatest Hits volulme 2 for Gimme Gimme Gimme and Summer Night City. Then, I had to supplement. I bought More Abba Gold to get "I Am The City". I bought the "Thank You for the Music" boxed set to get a whole load of previously unreleased tracks. I RE-bought the domestic release of Voulez Vous to get the original version of "Lovelight." I bought the Definitive Collection to get the 12" of Voulez Vous. Now-I've gotten rid of ALL of that, because it's ALL on here, and the remastering sounds better than ever, even on their very first albums.

As for the packaging-the CDs are made to look like vinyl LPs, and they are black coated, so the bottoms of the discs look like Playstation 1 games if you've ever seen one of those. The box itself is a soft velvety sky blue with a pull off top. Inside, there are slots for the 9 CDs, 2 DVDs, a hardcover book of liner notes for all the CDs, and a hardcover booklet with lyrics for every single song on every disc. There are actually MORE slots than components, so the box is bigger than it needs to be, but you can at least space your discs apart to get them out easier. Each of the 8 ABBA albums comes in mini cardboard record sleeves, with the art work from the original LP on front and back. Inside, each disc is in a clear plastic slip case, and there's a single sheet insert with the track info for that disc. Unfortunately, since this box is set up so that each of the 8 albums includes all the bonus tracks recorded at the period of that album's release, the original artwork on the disc sleeves does not list the bonus tracks, so you either have to remove the insert or use the hardcover book to reference them.

The ninth CD is all the bonus material, unreleased tracks, long versions and extended versions. And here's where you find the only two big disappointments. A previously unreleased alternate mix of Waterloo is included-but as the liner notes state, it's mastered from vinyl because the original master couldn't be found-and it sounds like it. But the BIGGEST disappointment is that for the first time ever, the long version of "On and On and On" is included-but a stereo master was unavailable, so a MONO source was used. And considering this is such a clean, bass heavy dance track, the mono is painfully shrill and dull. Bummer. This version features an added bridge of lyrics and an extended fade at the end. Maybe someday a stereo master will be found, and we'll have to do supplementing once again with a future "Ultimate Abba Collection with one previously unreleased track!"

And don't forget-unless you have an all region DVD player, you won't be able to play the 2 overseas DVDs.

Bottom line: hardcore fans should not HESITATE to get ALL their Abba all in one place.

The remastering of ABBA's music (supposedly from original analogue tapes) on this mammoth box set is the best I've ever heard - there is a transparency and depth missing from even the recent 24-bit remasters (I think a different process and source materials were used). So if you want to hear ABBA at their best, this set provides the goods; however, you will be paying inflated prices for the packaging and dvd add-ons. The box itself is a nice idea, but the sleeves don't fit smoothly into the moulded plastic grooves, and if you want to view the album titles printed on the spines then the discs will fall out as you remove the sleeves from the box (a stupid design mistake). The faux-velvet coating on the box is extremely vulnerable to scuffing (and the colour should have been darker to appear less cheesy and mask fingermarks, etc). The dvd component feels like an afterthought: "The History" documentary was first released with ABBA Gold in 1999 and is inessential, and the obviously truncated Dick Cavett special seems even worse than the prospect of its complete exclusion (it's a lousy performance by a group at the end of its tether, and the omissions make it feel very choppy and unsatisfying). It's great to have all the videos, including The Last Video, on the one disc, even if there's no annotation or pics on the sleeve.

So, in summary, this is a set for fans willing to overlook its shortcomings. The sound is fantastic, which is ultimately what matters most, and bar one or two unreleased or omitted tracks or remixes you get everything ABBA actually completed and released.

Well... we all know that, somehow, ABBA has a place in music History.

After winning the Eurovision context with a song called "Waterloo", the group composed by two couples (Agnetha Faltskog/Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lynqstad/Benny Andersson) took Europe by storm with an incredible array of catchy, melodic, funny, romantic, songs that made them the must famous Swedish brand after Volvo. From 1975 until their break up in the 80's, they were an international household name.

Many were the songs that crowned the incredible output of the quartet: Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes It All, Super Trouper, Money Money Money, Mamma Mia, Voulez-Vous, Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) and Thank You for the Music... are just a few songs that everybody on Earth has heard a thousand times. And just like the great bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, ABBA belongs to the group of those bands whose work gathers new fans every day... despite the fact that the quartet has never got back together in public since their brake up nearly 20 years ago.

And that's just part of the mythology... that all fans are eagerly expecting a new comeback someday (myself included!!!!).

AND HERE WE HAVE THE ULTIMATE THING any fan must have: a big, lavish, expensive big box containing all of their work (like if we didn't have it already!!!) along with 2 tons of candy no fan can live without.

This box is composed by:

- All their original albums: Ring Ring (1973), Waterloo (1974), ABBA (1975), Arrival (1976), ABBA - the Album (1977), Voulez-Vous (1979), Super Trouper (1980), The Visitors (1981)... and Live (1986).

- B sides.

- An exclusive "Rarities" CD with versions we never heard before.

- Exclusive Live performance from Dick Cavett meets ABBA.

- A DVD with all the promotional videos.

- A documentary "The History".

- A book with the complete ABBA lyrics.

- A beautiful color booklet with lots of photos and an ABBA timeline.

Everything here is beautifully made and I am sure it is worth it. The price is a little too salty... specially if you think the ABBA CDs' average price goes around eleven dollars. But these big editions are always a feast for the eyes and the tribute the band deserves.

Beware that the box does not contain everything ever released... the 1979 live concert DVD, for example, is not here.

I am not sure if all the existing fans (who already have the nine CDs) will buy this box. But it is good to know that new fans can choose between just the CDs... and this big luxurious have-it-all-and-plus set.

Me? I'm too busy dreaming about a comeback...

I own this wonderful piece of heaven, and I LOVE IT!!! This box includes every commercially released recording by ABBA. It does not include unreleased tracks because they are not commercially released. The outside of the box is light blue and feels velvety and soft. The box includes:

-All the albums with bonus tracks and original album artwork.

-Rarities CD with 8 tracks.

-2 DVD's:

DVD 1: The History-25-minute documentary with interviews by Bjorn Ulvaeus & Michael Tretow. Live in April 1981- 5 live songs performed on the Dick Cavett Show.

DVD 2: The Videos- All of ABBA's promo clips, & bonus videos.

Book: Timeline with picures & disc contents.

Book: The lyrics to all ABBA songs.

THIS IS A GREAT BOX! in other words............BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Buy it now because it was a limited edition... AND NOW IT IS ALREADY OUT OF PRINT!!! HURRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are lucky enough to be able to find this great boxset in stock you dont need to buy anything else about ABBA. This set has it all. All songs, all videos. Absolute ABBA boxset.