Hmmm...I Just brought back in my mind the feeling in early Xmas period of 1981 when I had bought that album both on vynil and casette.I had already heard from the radio an ABBA special with OOU/The Visitors and i think WAISAD with the DJ commenting that maybe this is their last offering since the members of the band aren't getting on very well and might split.But i thought "ok same rumours had it back in 1978 so it might not be true'.Well It was a dark feeling...both the heavy news the atmosphere on Abba and the album cover too.

I don't own this but do have the original album..Thanks so much for showing this..I always enjoy your vids..Take care..

Good to see you here again, always great videos.

Mate Can't hear you?

Great, I’m intrigued now so have just ordered the Visitors half speed master now, though considerably more, ordering in Australia… Great video, have a great Christmas, look forward to your videos in 2024..

OMG.. I want more ABBA albums...How did you get these!!

I compared the half speed master edition to my original Polydor release. It's all subjective of course but I prefer the new edition. Where the 1981 version is a bit sharp sounding in places the new one is a bit more balanced without losing punch or transparency. To flip the sides after two or three songs is the price we have to pay for those 45 rpm vinyls but it's worth it.

I am thinking of buying this and just to let you know there is a chance that ABBA's 1980 Spanish album 'Gracias Por La Musica' might get a Half Speed Master it did get a Deluxe Edition in 2014 so let's hope that album gets the same treatment.

AbbaDiego caught that ABBA misalignment also. QC was having a bad day. He really liked the recording though. 👍

i loved this video so much if only the audio was a bit better 😭

Sadly, it’s one of ABBA’s most shambolic new releases. Two years in the planning yet they get the basics wrong. From advertising it as 47th anniversary, then 40th anniversary. Advertising the release date in UK as 1st, then sneakily changing it to 15th. (Your local store obviously had the stock and sold early). Sleeves in the box set have some awful over saturated Colouring. Text layout is all over the place. The list is endless. It makes me angry that my favourite album has been treated this way. And I have still haven’t got any of it delivered as they don’t split shipping. Rant over. 😩

🙂I remember well when the album first came out in late 1982. I was 19 years old and it seems like it was yesterday. Prior to the release there was quite a bit of promotion in the record stores here. I remember posters hanging from the ceiling announcing: "The Visitors The New Album from ABBA". I also remember that the album was banned in the (former) U.S.S.R. It was also given bad press in the Soviet publication, "Pravda", as were all ABBA releases, and even ABBA: The Movie, which I clearly recall reading the horrifying review it gave upon its cinematic release. Nonetheless, "The Visitors" became a Nº1 phenomenon in all of Europe, and was critically acclaimed as a musical masterpiece (and rightly so). By this stage of their career, ABBA had achieved a high level, not only with their music, but also the lyrics had also matured nicely, as compared to their first albums ("Ring Ring", "Waterloo", etc.).

While the sound quality is fine on the half speed master albums, I'm getting more and more frustrated about the bad quality of the covers. The album as well as the singles look like scans of scans of the original nowadays. I do recommend to buy the original albums (and the singles, if issued...) from Japan. You will be surprised how good the original picture quality is in opposite to those re-releases!

wow, I think the misalignment of the lettering might very well show this is a Half speed set, maybe not. I have the Super Trooper and just obtained the Voulez-Vous half speed mastering over the holiday season. I would like to get all the half speed mastering studio albums, especially ABBA The Album. I live in the USA (Texas) so getting them shipped to me can be a bit of a struggle. Nice unboxing video sir thank you!!!!

What speed is used for playback? 33 or 45 rpm?

So nice to see that you are so happy with this new album. And you noticed those details. I think the album looks amazing. Really beautiful. Do you hear a difference in the sound? And what is the speed: 33, 45 of 78?

Seems like there's no quality assurance in the design and packaging of the re-issues.

How many times can Abba re-release their old albums? A lot! We've had multiple versions of the CDs and now multiple versions on vinyl (at £40 a pop, what a rip off, thanks multi-millionaire ABBA band members). It sounds like they aren't even produced with much care or attention to detail. Yes, I know we don't have to buy them, it's just way overboard IMO. Plus, the records probably sit on a shelf gathering dust most of the time anyway. Save your money for a trip to London and see ABBA Voyage instead (and just stream the same music online).