Mamma Mia! [Original London Cast]

Mamma Mia (2001). This import from Australia featured pop songs by the Swedish soft‐rock group ABBA (Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus) that were forced into a contrived plot by Catherine Johnson about a bride‐to‐be who invites her three possible fathers to her wedding. It opened at the Winter Garden Theatre where audiences, nostalgic for the hits of past decades, forgave the weak script and enjoyed the lively music and spirited performances.

• Artist: Original London Cast
• Rating:
• Release Date: May 09, 2000
• Type: Soundtrack, Cast (Broadway, television or movie), Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Soundtrack

Review

ABBA principals Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus turned to stage musicals after their band's demise and composed two, one of which, Chess, ran in the West End and on Broadway. For their third stage effort, they returned to their ABBA catalog and put together Mamma Mia!, a show that employs their old songs (with occasional lyric revisions) in the service of a libretto by Catherine Johnson about a girl who tries to discover her father's identity in time to have him give her away at her wedding. It's a hackneyed plot worthy of a second-rate Hollywood comedy film, of course, but the score is guaranteed to resonate with audiences, which may explain why the show was a success upon its London opening on April 6, 1999. With a pre-Broadway American tour starting in San Francisco in November 2000, Decca Records released the original London cast album (without identifying it as such on the cover) in the U.S. in October 2000. On-stage, of course, there is the production, complete with sets, actors, and scenes, to contend with, but a show built on familiar musical material runs into an unusual problem on record -- namely, that it is forced to compete with the original recordings. So, how does Mamma Mia! compare to an ABBA greatest-hits album? Well, the recordings are less fully produced than the originals, and in that sense less impressive. But the originals were sung by Scandinavians who sometimes sounded like they had learned the lyrics phonetically, the vocals often featuring odd phrasing and word emphasis. Here, the songs are being sung by native English speakers, and that is a distinct improvement. The recording features snippets of dialogue here and there, though the plot line is not clearly delineated, which will frustrate those who haven't seen the show. And anyone planning to sing along had better consult the lyric sheet beforehand, because there are minor differences here and there. (Though, thankfully, the creative team couldn't find a way to work "Waterloo" or "Fernando" into the story!) You are probably still better off with an ABBA hits CD, but at least Mamma Mia! is better than the A*Teens. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Overture/Prologue	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Lisa Stokke	(2:56)
Honey, Honey	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Lisa Stokke, Eliza Lumley, Melissa Gibson	(2:02)
Money, Money, Money (Lyrics)	Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus	Jenny Galloway, Neal Wright, Siobhán McCarthy, Company, Louise Plowright	(3:01)
Thank You for the Music (Lyrics)	Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus	Lisa Stokke, Nicolas Colicos, Paul Clarkson, Hilton McRae	(3:03)
Mamma Mia (Lyrics)	Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus	Company, Siobhán McCarthy	(3:21)
Chiquitita (Lyrics)	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Siobhán McCarthy, Jenny Galloway, Louise Plowright	(2:27)
Dancing Queen (Lyrics)	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Siobhán McCarthy, Jenny Galloway, Louise Plowright	(3:44)
Lay All Your Love on Me	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Lisa Stokke, Company, Andrew Langtree	(3:34)
Super Trouper (Lyrics)	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Jenny Galloway, Louise Plowright, Siobhán McCarthy	(3:56)
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Lyrics)	Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus		(3:34)
The Name of the Game	Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus	Nicolas Colicos, Lisa Stokke	(3:22)
Voulez-Vous	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Company	(3:29)
Entr'acte (Lyrics)	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson		(2:17)
Under Attack (Lyrics)	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Lisa Stokke, Company	(3:11)
One of Us (Lyrics)	Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus	Siobhán McCarthy	(2:20)
S.O.S.	Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus	Hilton McRae, Siobhán McCarthy	(2:44)
Does Your Mother Know (Lyrics)	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Company, Louise Plowright, Neal Wright	(3:21)
Knowing Me, Knowing You (Lyrics)	Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus	Hilton McRae	(2:42)
Our Last Summer (Lyrics)	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Paul Clarkson, Siobhán McCarthy	(2:42)
Slipping Through My Fingers	Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus	Lisa Stokke, Siobhán McCarthy	(3:36)
The Winner Takes It All	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Siobhán McCarthy	(4:08)
Take a Chance on Me (Lyrics)	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Jenny Galloway, Nicolas Colicos	(3:33)
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do (Lyrics)	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Siobhán McCarthy, Company, Hilton McRae	(2:29)
I Have a Dream (Lyrics)	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	Lisa Stokke	(2:58)

Credits

Keith Airey (Guitar (Electric)), Simon Bishop (Vocals), Andy Couchman (Vocals), Joseph Noble (Ensemble), Jenny Galloway (Cast), James Barron (Ensemble), Catherine Ashmore (Production Photography), Tom Magdich (Vocals), Benny Andersson (Executive Producer), Ben Turner (Mastering), Richard Pettyfer (Ensemble), Martin Koch (Arranger), Lesley Burdett (Keyboards), Siobhán McCarthy (Vocals), Nicholas Gilpin (Producer), Torquil Munro (Assistant Music Director), Torquil Munro (Assistant Musical Director), Terry Johnston (Guitar (Acoustic)), Joseph Noble (Vocals), John Barclay (Trumpet), Dave Adams (Drums), Melissa Jaques (Ensemble), Drew Jaymson (Vocals), Wendy Mae Brown (Vocals), Julian Poole (Percussion), Nicholas Gilpin (Synthesizer Programming), Maurice Cambridge (Orchestra Manager), Lisa Stokke (Vocals), Jenny Galloway (Vocals), John Barclay (Cymbals), Martin Lowe (Keyboards), Karen Shenaz David (Vocals), Stephen McGlynn (Ensemble), Ann-Marie McCormick (Ensemble), Nicolas Colicos (Cast), Nigel Harman (Cast), Nigel Harman (Vocals), David Hunt (Mixing), James Barron (Vocals), Leah-Sue Morland (Ensemble), Björn Ulvaeus (Executive Producer), Anders Neglin (Transcription), Andrew Langtree (Cast), Terry Johnston (Guitar (12 String)), Martin Lowe (Musical Direction), Karen Shenaz David (Ensemble), Richard Pettyfer (Vocals), Eliza Lumley (Cast), Eliza Lumley (Vocals), Leah-Sue Morland (Vocals), Hilton McRae (Cast), Hilton McRae (Vocals), James Bugden (Keyboards), Andrew Langtree (Vocals), Melissa Gibson (Cast), Nicholas Gilpin (Synthesizer), Annette Yeo (Vocals), Simon Bishop (Ensemble), Timothy Walton (Ensemble), David Hunt (Engineer), Caroline Sheen (Ensemble), Paul Clarkson (Cast), Andy Couchman (Ensemble), Scarlett Strallen (Ensemble), Nick Haswell (Ensemble), Louise Plowright (Vocals), Lisa Stokke (Cast), Siobhán McCarthy (Cast), Terry Johnston (Guitar (Electric)), Lori Haley Fox (Vocals), Timothy Walton (Vocals), Tom Jenkins (Assistant Engineer), Melissa Gibson (Vocals), Claire Southgate (Assistant), Annette Yeo (Ensemble), Martin Lowe (Musical Director), Scarlett Strallen (Vocals), Martin Koch (Musical Supervision), Martin Koch (Arrangement Preparation), Martin Lowe (Recording Conductor), Martin Lowe (Conductor), Nick Haswell (Vocals), Martin Koch (Music Supervisor), Nicolas Colicos (Vocals), Emma Jay Thomas (Vocals), Jaz Lochrie (Guitar (Bass)), Louise Plowright (Cast), Drew Jaymson (Ensemble), Wendy Mae Brown (Ensemble), Neal Wright (Cast), Stephen McGlynn (Vocals), Martin Koch (Producer), Paul Clarkson (Vocals), Tom Magdich (Cast), Lori Haley Fox (Ensemble), Caroline Sheen (Vocals), Claire Southgate (Assistant Producer), Torquil Munro (Keyboards), Keith Airey (Guitar (Acoustic)), Emma Jay Thomas (Ensemble), Catherine Ashmore (Photography), Neal Wright (Vocals)