Oro "Grandes Exitos"

ABBA in the seventies was a musical juggernaut sweeping the top 40 of mostly all international markets. South/Latin America though was not one of these markets. So ABBA decided then to re-release their songs in Spanish. The result was a smashing success that created a loyal fan base.

While Fernando, Chiquitita, and Mamma Mia translated quite fine, their version of "Conociendome, Conociendote" or "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was a little tougher, but still sounds good. Hasta Manana and Andante, Andante are two very pleasant and personal songs that hit that nerve previous hits accomplished. Even to the untrained Spanish speaker, Agnetha and Frida still sound very well.

One of the joys of being into a group like ABBA is that every time you pick up one of their albums, you know that you'll be hearing a well polished piece of work. Not every single song may ring your bell, but it seems like there was always high quality work ethic put into each album.

This collection of ABBA's hits is one of their crowning glories that I think gets overlooked too often. The lyrics of hits like "Dancing Queen" and "Thank You For The Music" are translated beautifully into Spanish, retaining the original meaning of the song, and without awkward or incompetent rhymes.

One of my favorite tunes on this collection is "Dame! Dame! Dame! (Amor Esta Noche)," which we know as "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)." Out of all the sultry & saucy ABBA tunes, I always thought this song drove home the love-hungry theme better than any other. This Spanish cover captures the same exact passionate feeling, nothing diluted here!

There was a follow up to this CD called "Mas Oro," which was not bad at all, but paled in comparison to this collection. If you are even just a casual ABBA fan, "Oro" is worth going out of your way to buy.

This was the FIRST ABBA record I ever owned. Originally released in 1980, The LP originally titled GRACIAS POR LA MUSICA (Thank You For The Music) featured some of ABBA's big hits (and a couple of lesser known songs) sung entirely in espanol.

I must say (being a latino) that the girls sing wonderfully in spanish. The star vocalist on this album is Agnetha, since she sings most of the songs and her vocal work is superb. I prefer the spanish versions of CHIQUITITA, FERNANDO, THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC(Gracias por la musica) & GIMME GIMMIE GIMMIE (Dame Dame Dame) over the original english versions. Main reason being is that the vocals and harmonies are far more clearer and pristine in the spanish versions. Agnetha's voice sounds spotless in CHIQUITITA, GRACIAS POR LAS MUSICA, AL ANDAR (Move On), and DAME DAME DAME. We get to hear the delicacy and texture of her gorgeous voice more here than on ABBA's other albums. And since the songs here are not as textured and overdubbed like their english counterparts, we get to hear the delightful harmonies in all of their ABBA-esque splendour. Just listen to the chorus in CHIQUITITA and AL ANDAR and you will see what I mean. The english versions sound bigger but the spanish versions are crisper, less intense production-wise but far superior in vocal sound and texture. Frida also shines in FERNANDO, ESTOY SONANDO (I Have a Dream) and CONOCIENDOME CONOCIENDOTE (Knowing Me Knowing You).

With all of that said, I must also frankly state that the english version of DANCING QUEEN (La Reina Del Baile) is slightly better. Vocally the girls sound great but the overall production is slightly inferior. We don't get that intense and embellished musical production. LA REINA DEL BAILE sounds a bit watered down, less absorbing. However it's still a great song in any language and the girls devine voices and the timeless melody makes this one of the CD's showstoppers.

Commercial wise, the LP GRACIAS POR LA MUSICA was a world-wide hit- especially in Latin America and the first single taken off the album CHIQUITITA reached # 1 in Argentina, Mexico and my native Chile among several other countries. The CD version retitled ABBA ORO contains 5 songs not included in the album originally- FELCIDAD (Happy New Year), ANDANTE ANDANTE, SE ME ESTA ESCAPANDO (Slipping Through My Fingers), NO HAY A QUIEN CULPAR (When all is said and done) and RING RING. I must warn anyone reading this review that it's the cd with the black covering of ABBA ORO that contains the bonus tracks not the gold plated one. I happened to stumble upon both of them at a store here in TORONTO and I was able to purchase the 15 track ABBA ORO in BLACK.

And lastly, you don't need to know a word of spanish to appreciate this cd. The melodies are timeless and the girls voices are astonishing. This needs to be right next to your ABBA GOLD cd. It's simply FANTASTICO! !

Listen to this incredible collectors edition from a truly fine group of musicians and singers and you'll understand why folks are storming the aisles to see, "Mama Mia";
You know, a very interesting bit of trivia as regards ABBA is, they spoke little or no English for many years, yet continued to turn out song after song scoring hit after hit...in English! Just goes to show you: All the world can communicate with a song!
This is a must have for every collector.

Abba is not just one of the best European groups of all time, they are one of the best groups ever worldwide! Oro, a collection of their Spanish tracks, proves that a great band sounds good in any language! Frida and Agnetha are just as powerful on the Spanish versions of 'Dancing Queen' and 'Fernando.' So, why did they record in Espanol anyway? Well, their English tunes made a huge impact worldwide, accept in Latin America. Thus, they decided, in the late 70's, to re-record some of their best songs in Spanish to break into the Latino market. Let's just say, it did the trick! Within a short amount of time, they were topping the charts from Mexico to Argentina. Abba were way ahead of their time, and continue to have success because of this. Even if you don't speak Spainsh, this album is still highly enjoyable from start to finish. Spanish, German, French, Swedish, and English: Abba recorded in all these languages during their time together. And managed to sound magical in each one.