soundtrack - mamma mia! (polydor)
July 10, 2008
You don't need to be a reviewer to realise that reviewing the soundtrack for 'Mamma Mia!' is going to be a hard slog. In all honestly, anything compared to the brilliance of the original ABBA recordings is inevitably going to suffer. You can't possibly compare the likes of Meryl Streep or Julie Waters to the pure harmonic bliss of Agnetha or Frida. It just isn't possible - full stop - end of story. After the original production soundtrack already floating around in the market, this soundtrack is only ever likely to look like a list of top name actors attempting a karaoke bar that only plays ABBA. Benny Andersson, a 'B' from ABBA has arranged the soundtrack and features playing keyboards, so you know that the arrangements are as tight as they can be however it is hard to listen to the vocal stylings of Pierce Brosnan (and, believe me, I mean "really hard") and not wish for the originals. Regardless, this is likely to sell by the bucketload since the film is released this week and go on to become one of those soundtracks you pull out after one too many Cosmopolitans at your friend's parties. Here we go again; my, my, how can I resist you?
