THE COLLECTION VÖ: 03.02.2003 Label: Polydor/Spectrum

Titel Lyrics 01 All That She Wants 02 Voulez-Vous Danser 03 Young And Proud 04 Waiting For Magic 05 Happy Nation 06 Dancer In A Daydream 07 Edge Of Heaven 08 Angel Eyes 09 Beautiful Life 10 My Deja Vu 11 Lucky Love 12 Never Gonna Say I`m Sorry 13 Travel To Romantis 14 Cecilia 15 Cruel Summer 16 Tokyo Girl 17 Donnie 18 Everytime It Rains

They`re Swedish, two girls (one blonde, one brunette) and two boys, and their name pute them at or near the start of every alphabetically ordered record collection. They sold enough records ($36 millions worth in 1994) to figure in the business pages of the papers almost as often as the entertainment section, and their music is hummed everywhere from Stockholm to Syracuse. They are ... Ace of Base!

The 18 tracks selected here give you more than a few signs of success, and are selected from the free albums "Hppy Nation" (1993), "The Bridge" (1995) and "Flowers" (1998), plus stand-alone hit single "Everytime it Rains". Just a little rain fell in the Ace of Base world in the mid 1990`s when Jenny was attacked in her home by an obsessed fan, while Ulf`s pre-group skinhead background also briefly hit the tabloids. But the fab foursome appeared to take it all in their stride.

Ace of Base ha come a long way from the derelict house, shared with a car workshop, they turned into a rehearsal space and recording studio. Playing to 55.000 screaming fans in Israel in 1993 was the first time they realised they`d `cracked it` internationally. Jonas puts the fact they broke through in other countries as fast (if not faster) than at home down to a national obsession with style and image: "Who you are in Sweden is more important than what you do."

Since those early days, of course, they`ve made a truly global mark. And given the songs on this compilation, that`s no surprise. Just try to stop yourself singing along or tapping a toe ... and add Ace of Base to ABBA, Björn Borg, Saab cars and Sven-Göran Eriksson at the top of the list of Sweden`s most successful exports.

taken from the inlay of the compilation "Ace of Base - The Collection"