Oro "Grandes Exitos"

Yes, it's true: one of the coolest "Latin" CD's comes from a band from Scandinavia. A legendary band from Scandinavia, that is. "Oro: Grandes Exitos" contains Spanish-language versions of several of the best songs from the Swedish/Norwegian quartet of Anni-Frid, Bjorn, Benny, and Agnetha. It seems even as Abba was conquering the English-language pop charts in the late 1970s, they were also prophetically anticipating the Latin explosion of the late 1990s.

What a collection: "Fernando," "Conociendome, Conociendote" ("Knowing Me, Knowing You"), "Gracias por la Musica" ("Thank You for the Music"), and more. These songs lose none of their fun in translation; in fact, you might even prefer the Spanish versions. Try "La Reina del Baile" ("Dancing Queen") and you'll see what I mean. A highly recommended cross-cultural treat.

I first heard this CD in college... it was filtering through the vents from the dorm room above mine! I went upstairs and knocked on the door... A handsome Spanish exchange student suddenly answered. "I am Alberto, and si, this is Abba." Intruiged (by everything), I stayed long enough to dub a copy onto cassette. Then his beautiful Spanish girlfriend showed up and I went back to my dorm room with only Abba to console me.
Though Alberto, college, and my worn-out cassette are only memories now, I have my CD to make it last forever. Abba is just as fab in Spanish and this CD is quite a conversation piece. You can always tell the true fans -- put this on and they go crazy wanting to know where they can buy it. If you love Abba, this is a great twist on the favorites. I highly recommend it!
(Handsome Spaniard not included.)

Don't get me wrong--I really like them. The music and the vocals are mostly superlative. But there is one problem with Abba that may have effected their popularity in the United States: dumb lyrics and concepts for songs (I refuse to see "Mama Mia" -- it looks kitsch, from the TV ads. Also, it isn't sung by Agnetha or Frida, so what's the point?) So, I recommend this album to anyone who doesn't speak Spanish. That way, you can just listen to the music, and not be bothered with childish rhymes like: "See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the Dancing Queen".

As a HUGE fan of Euro-dance, I have always held a special place in my heart for ABBA as they are pretty much the forefathers of our modern-day dance music. Their melodies and arrangements are incredible to this day. As a great ABBA fan, I tend to buy anything that is ABBA. So, when I ran across "ABBA-Oro Grandes Exitos", I went ahead and grabbed it. While the entire album is made up of Spanish language versions of some of their major hits, ABBA's spirit and excellence does not get lost in the translation. Just as rich and warm as the original English versions, these songs are given an added spark of nostalgia when turned into Spanish. This special collection of the Swedish group singing their English hits in Spanish is highly recommended.

Even the most jaded palates will find this delightful. Although the Spanish translations are sometimes awkward, they're a joy to hear, and several of these tracks are mixed differently to their original English versions.

It may be just the excellent remastering, but tracks like "La Reina del Baile" ("Dancing Queen") and "Al Andar" ("Move On") sound cleaner and fresher than ever. Recommended for ABBA fans.