Gracias Por La Música

Gracias Por La Música is a Spanish-language album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in Spain on 5 April 1980 and Latin America on May 10. Gracias Por La Música was originally released due to the unexpected surge in popularity for the group in Latin American countries such as Mexico and Argentina after the release of the Spanish-language versions of "Chiquitita" and "I Have a Dream" in 1979. These tracks were both released as singles and went on to become big hits. Encouraged by this success, the band therefore decided to record another eight tracks in Spanish and release a full-length album especially for the Latin American market. The album was also released on ABBA's native Sweden on June 23, and in Japan on July 21 after ABBA played eleven successful concerts earlier in March.

Gracias Por La Música
Compilation album by
ABBA
ReleasedApril 5, 1980 (Spain)
May 10, 1980 (Argentina)
June 23, 1980 (Sweden)
July 21, 1980 (Japan)
RecordedJanuary 1980
StudioPolar Studios, Stockholm
GenrePop
Length43:00
LabelSeptima (Scandinavia)
RCA Victor
Producer
ABBA chronology
Greatest Hits Vol. 2
(1979)		 Gracias Por La Música
(1980)		 Super Trouper
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]

Background

The album's title is the Spanish translation of the title of one of ABBA's hits, "Thank You for the Music". The couple Buddy and Mary McCluskey, both working at RCA Records in Argentina at the time, were again called in to translate the lyrics. During the recording sessions which took place in January 1980 in the Polar Music studios the lead vocalists Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad were helped with the pronunciation by Swedish/Spanish journalist Ana Martinez.

Neither Benny Andersson nor Björn Ulvaeus played an active role in the creation of the eight new Spanish tracks, leaving the production in the hands of the group's sound engineer Michael B. Tretow, who recorded the new Spanish vocal overdubs onto existing backing tracks at his home studio. The absence of Andersson and Ulvaeus is most apparent on "Al Andar" (the Spanish version of "Move On") where the original opening speech from Ulvaeus was replaced by a more conventional opening verse sung by Agnetha. Meanwhile, some of Tretow's new Spanish mixes were significantly different from their English counterparts, reflecting his own personal preferences regarding the handling of drum sounds as well as the significant time gap between the two versions, with some tracks being revisited up to six years after their original completion.

Gracias Por La Música was certified Platinum in Spain, and stayed on the charts for twenty-one weeks.[2]

Gracias Por La Música saw numerous CD issues in the 1980s including releases in Japan in 1986 (on Polydor), Spain in 1989 (on RCA), and a rare CBS issue of an unknown date. The album was deleted in most territories after the compilation CD ABBA Oro: Grandes Exitos, which contained the ten tracks of Gracias Por La Música, was released in 1992, rendering this album obsolete. However, the original version of the album continued to be available in Japan and Argentina until the late 1990s.

A CD/DVD 'Deluxe Edition' release of the album was released worldwide on 10 November 2014, it peaked #47 in Spain,[3] and #106 in Belgium.[4]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus with Spanish lyrics by Buddy & Mary McCluskey except where noted.

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gracias por la Música" ("Thank You for the Music") 3:48
2."Reina Danzante" ("Dancing Queen")Andersson, Stig Anderson, Ulvaeus, McCluskey, McCluskey4:02
3."Al Andar" ("Move On")Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, McCluskey, McCluskey4:44
4."¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame!" ("Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)") 4:45
5."Fernando" (Spanish version)Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, McCluskey, McCluskey4:15
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Estoy Soñando" ("I Have a Dream") 4:44
2."Mamma Mía" (Spanish version)Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, McCluskey, McCluskey3:32
3."Hasta Mañana" (Spanish version)Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, McCluskey, McCluskey3:05
4."Conociéndome, Conociéndote" ("Knowing Me, Knowing You")Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, McCluskey, McCluskey4:02
5."Chiquitíta" (Spanish version) 5:26

2014 re-release bonus tracks

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Ring Ring" (Spanish version)Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus, Doris Band3:00
12."Andante, Andante" (Spanish version) 4:39
13."Felicidad" ("Happy New Year") 4:24
14."No Hay a Quien Culpar" ("When All Is Said and Done") 3:13
15."Se Me Está Escapando" ("Slipping Through My Fingers") 3:52
2014 re-release bonus DVD
  1. "Chiquitíta" (300 Millones, TVE)
  2. "Chiquitíta" (Aplauso, TVE)
  3. "Estoy Soñando" (Promo Clip)
  4. ABBA on Spanish TV (Especial Aplauso 100, TVE)
    1. "Conociéndome, Conociéndote" (Promo Clip)
    2. "Gracias por la Música" (Promo Clip)
    3. "¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame!"
  5. "Felicidad" (Promo Clip)
  6. "No Hay a Quien Culpar" (Promo Clip)
  7. International Sleeve Gallery
  • All songs in Spanish translation by Buddy and Mary McCluskey, except where noted.
  • The Spanish version of "Dancing Queen" was originally titled "Reina Danzante", but was retitled "La Reina del Baile" for the 1993 ABBA Oro CD release.

Charts
Year Chart Position
1980 Argentina 4
Spain 2[2]

Sales and certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[5] Platinum 100,000

References
  1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r30
  2. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  3. "ABBA – Todo ABBA (album)". Spanishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  4. "ABBA – Gracias por la Musica (BE)". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  5. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
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