The upcoming ABBA In Japan DVD celebrates ABBA’s adventures in Japan in 1978 and 1980. The centrepiece of the release is “ABBA Special”, a television extravaganza filmed when the group visited Japan in November 1978.
This legendary television special is now released on DVD for the first time. Moreover, it has been reassembled from the unedited material, which means that you will get more ABBA for your money! ‘Fernando’, which featured a couple of verses and a chorus in the original broadcast, is now seen in complete form for the first time. And the performance of ‘Summer Night City’, originally presented in a split-screen format with ABBA only taking up a quarter of the screen, is now focused entirely on ABBA. Finally, ‘The Name Of The Game’, which was edited out of the original broadcast, has been reinserted in its rightful place.
Every song in the television special has been synchronised with the latest stereo remasters, except for the three live numbers: ‘Money, Money, Money’, ‘SOS’ and ‘Thank You For The Music’.
The DVD comes with two bonus selections. The first is the fascinating fly-on-the-wall documentary ABBA In Japan Nov. 1978, which covers the group’s visit at the time of the television special. The disc also features the performance of ‘If It Wasn’t For The Nights’ from the special, but with the original, slightly different sound mix as featured in the broadcast – at the time, the song hadn’t been released on record yet and it was subject to further mixes by ABBA before finally being issued on the Voulez-Vous album.
ABBA In Japan is also released in a 2-disc Limited Special Edition. The contents of the first disc are identical to the single-disc version. The second disc in the Limited Special Edition features a very rare behind-the-scenes documentary from ABBA’s concert tour of Japan in March 1980. The disc also features two galleries: one containing photos from the visit in 1978, and one offering a generous selection of Japanese single and album sleeves. Further goodies come in the shape of three ABBA photo cards and the original tour sticker from ABBA’s concert tour of Japan.
Both versions of ABBA In Japan feature a fully illustrated booklet with an essay by Carl Magnus Palm detailing ABBA’s adventures in Japan and the making of the television special.
The international release date for ABBA In Japan is October 26, 2009, although the date may of course vary a little from territory to territory.
Tags: ABBA, ABBA in Japan
23 October, 2009 at 15:27 |
Hi Ian
I might be stupid but I went to BJ HI Fi today at Liverpool and they didn’t have the Deluxe Version of this DVD. They have the one that cost over $19 though.
Is there two versions: 1) ‘Standard’ & 2) Deluxe?
23 October, 2009 at 17:26 |
Hi Samuel,
Yes there are two versions. The standard 1 disc edition and the Limited Special Edition 2 disc version. I suspect that the special edition is imported from the EU in Australia, as the special edition of ABBA – The Movie was, so we’ll have to wait for the shipment to come in.
Check out the new ABBA in Japan website.
2 November, 2009 at 11:19 |
ABBA in Japan charts in Australia at No. 22.
http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display_music.asp?chart=1V40DVD
B TW LW TI HP Title Artist Accred.* Company
1 1 3 1 FUNHOUSE TOUR: LIVE IN AUSTRALIA P!nk 15 LAF/SME
2 2 3 2 SOUND RELIEF Various 4 LIB/UMA
3 3 174 1 #1’S Michael Jackson 18 EPI/SME
4 4 5 1 CELEBRATION: THE VIDEO COLLECTION Madonna WAR
5 5 117 1 LIVE FROM WEMBLEY ARENA P!nk 14 LAF/SME
6 9 89 2 LIVE IN BUCHAREST: THE DANGEROUS TOUR Michael Jackson 10 EPI/SME
7 8 10 1 HOT AUGUST NIGHT NYC Neil Diamond 2 COL/SME
8 6 8 5 LIVE IN MAASTRICHT III Andre Rieu UMA
9 10 153 1 P!NK – LIVE IN EUROPE P!nk 8 JVE/SME
10 7 11 6 THE VERY BEST OF FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR SEASONS Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons SHK
11 34 5 11 LIVE IN LIVERPOOL The Shadows UNI/UMA
12 11 5 4 TRIPLE JS HOTTEST 100 OF ALL TIME Various ABC/UMA
13 – NEW 13 LIVE AT THE ISLE OF WIGHT 1970 Leonard Cohen COL/SME
14 – R/E 6 GOLD The Carpenters A&M/UMA
15 12 6 1 BELIEVE AGAIN AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2009 Delta Goodrem SME
16 14 47 1 LIVE IN AUSTRALIA Andre Rieu 21 UNI/UMA
17 20 96 3 THE CONCERT IN CENTRAL PARK Simon & Garfunkel 6 SME
18 19 175 3 HIGHWAYMEN LIVE! The Highwaymen 7 COL/SME
19 36 140 1 ONE NIGHT ONLY! ROD STEWART LIVE AT ROYAL ALBERT HALL Rod Stewart 6 J/SME
20 13 2 13 RUST NEVER SLEEPS Neil Young & Crazy Horse UNI/UMA
21 21 32 8 THE BEYONCE EXPERIENCE LIVE Beyonce COL/SME
22 – NEW 22 ABBA IN JAPAN ABBA UNI/UMA
23 18 247 2 BLACK & WHITE NIGHT Roy Orbison 9 WEA/WAR
24 22 140 4 S & M Metallica 6 WAR
25 16 10 8 CHAMPAGNE MELODIES Andre Rieu UMA
26 26 232 1 LIVE AT THE ALBERT Robbie Williams 9 CAP/EMI
27 23 165 1 FAREWELL TOUR 1 (LIVE FROM MELBOURNE) The Eagles 10 WAR
28 27 58 2 ONE VOICE: THE GREATEST CLIPS John Farnham 5 SME
29 – NEW 29 KONFIDENTIAL & X-TREME Kiss UMA
30 32 83 4 THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION Billy Joel 4 COL/SME
31 33 12 2 THE DVD Parkway Drive SHK
32 30 55 5 LIVE AT THE GREEK Il Divo 5 UNKNOWN
33 17 7 17 BE MY LOVE Andre Rieu UCJ/UMA
34 24 33 1 HAARP Muse WAR
35 25 39 6 IN CONCERT: TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN Cat Stevens SHK
36 28 44 10 FINALLY…THE FIRST FAREWELL TOUR Phil Collins 2 WAR
37 31 77 4 ELVIS: THE KING OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL Elvis Presley 2 RCA/SME
38 35 121 1 DVD Led Zeppelin 7 RHI/WAR
39 37 18 5 VIDEO GREATEST HITS: HISTORY / HISTORY ON FILM VOLUME II Michael Jackson SME/QA
40 15 2 15 LIVE AT WOLF TRAP Doobie Brothers UNI/UMA
16 November, 2009 at 13:57 |
http://www.sundaymercury.net/entertainment-news/pop-music-news/cd-reviews/2009/10/25/abba-live-in-japan-66331-25004821/
ABBA: Live in Japan
Oct 25 2009 by Paul Cole, Sunday Mercury
ABBA
Live In Japan
(Universal DVD)
wIT’S alarming how quickly what was once thought trendy can look so outdated. This double-DVD captures Abba live in Japan during 1978 and 1980. Most of interest is a 55-minute TV special in which Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid, dressed in the primary colour costumes of the day, self-consciously introduce their hits. Take A Chance On Me, SOS, Waterloo, Money Money Money, Dancing Queen – they’re all here, even if an enthusiastic troupe of dancers have a habit of prancing about in front of the band, Strictly Come Dancing-style. PC