The face of music was forever changed in 1981 with the debut of MTV. Suddenly, artists who had not been exposed to a wide audience were being seen — and heard — by millions. The music video format did not begin with MTV, though. Prior to MTV, bands created what were then known as "promotional clips." This was not a particularly common practice, although groups like The Beatles took advantage of film as a promotional tool.

ABBA, a band not fond of touring, were early pioneers of the music video format. ABBA: The Definitive Collection gathers a decade's worth of these videos as released by the band and its label, Polar. The bulk of the clips were directed by Lasse Hallstrom (My Life as a Dog, The Cider House Rules, What's Eating Gilbert Grape), and are now finally available collectively on DVD.

The budgets for most of the clips were miniscule. Time has not treated them well, and the DVD format only reveals those flaws. But that's beside the point. This is not a DVD for the video purist. Although the packaging states the videos were re-mastered from the original negatives, it's hard to tell at times. Grainy with artifacts and washed out colors, this is not the DVD to pop into your new progressive-scan player to impress your friends, unless your friends are all ABBA fans. Still, this is probably the best these clips have ever looked, and given the production values, some of them look pretty good. The colors in "SOS" are actually pretty vibrant, and "The Winner Takes it All" also looks great. Director Hallstrom, unfortunately, shot many of the videos against a white background, which when presented with the clarity of DVD, is fairly blinding.

Starting with 1974's "Waterloo," and concluding with the group's last video, "Under Attack," The Definitive Collection is a must-have. Almost all of the songs have been remastered to 24-bit sound (according to the packaging), so while the video quality is poor, the sound quality is pretty good. I'm assuming Dolby Digital 2.0, as the songs don't sound like 5.1, nor is that fact mentioned on the DVD packaging.

If you're a fan of Hallstrom, you'll enjoy watching this eclectic director develop his style. "The Winner Takes It All" is one of the best videos in the collection, featuring an emotional performance from Agnetha. "The Day Before You Came," while not directed by Hallstrom, is also of note due to its style and the compelling performance of (again) Agnetha. This was one of the last songs ABBA recorded, miles away from the cheesy fun of songs like "Dancing Queen."

It's also a kick to see the 1970s wardrobes on display, which range from almost normal to the bizarre. It's all part of the ABBA package. Nearly all of their singles are here (with the exception of "Lay All Your Love on Me"), as well as a few Spanish-language clips intended for the South American market, and an appearance on Swedish television, in period costume, performing "Dancing Queen" for Sweden's King Gustaf.

The DVD extras are sparse, the usual band biographies and still photographs. The liner notes booklet is actually very well done, about 17 pages, with lots of photographs and background information on the clips. It doesn't make up for the lack of a director's commentary track, but it comes close.