A couple of early bubble-gummy tracks ("Ring Ring," "So Long") are the only reminders on The Collection that ABBA were one infectious junk-pop machine. Most of this disc, something of a laidback companion to the two ABBA Gold CDs, is given over to big- production adult-contemporary ballads like "Thank You for the Music," "The Winner Takes It All," and "Fernando." So your buying choice depends on whether you"re a fan of the rather stultifyingly "mature" ABBA herein displayed or of the fab outfit that produced "Waterloo," "Dancing Queen" and the (grown-up!) "Knowing Me, Knowing You"--all of them absent here. --Rickey Wright