Original Cast Recording - Mamma Mia! [Original London Cast]

Title: Mamma Mia! [Original London Cast] Artist: Original Cast Recording Release Date: 2000 Label: Decca Broadway Duration: 74:30 Album Type(s): soundtrack, cast recording, lyrics/libretto UPC: 731454311526 Genre: Music Theater Total Copies: 3 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 1

1. Mamma Mia!, musical play
   - Prologue
2. Mamma Mia!, musical play
   - Act 1. Honey, Honey
3. Mamma Mia!, musical play
   - Act 1. Money, Money, Money
4. Mamma Mia!, musical play
   - Act 1. Thank You for the Music
5. Mamma Mia!, musical play
   - Act 1. Mamma Mia
6. Mamma Mia!, musical play
   - Act 1. Chiquitita
7. Mamma Mia!, musical play
   - Act 1. Dancing Queen
8. Mamma Mia!, musical play
   - Act 1. Lay All Your Love on Me
9. Mamma Mia!, musical play
   - Act 1. Super Trouper
10. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 1. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
11. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 1. The Name of the Game
12. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 1. Voulez-Vous
13. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. Entr'acte
14. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. Under Attack
15. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. One of Us
16. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. S.O.S.
17. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. Does Your Mother Know
18. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. Knowing Me, Knowing You
19. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. Our Last Summer
20. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. Slipping Through My Fingers
21. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. The Winner Takes it All
22. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. Take a Chance on Me
23. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
24. Mamma Mia!, musical play
    - Act 2. I Have a Dream

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.

Onstage, 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

Name Credits Andrew Bruce Sound Design Andrew Langtree Vocals Ben Turner Mastering Benny Andersson Lyricist, Executive Producer Björn Ulvaeus Lyricist, Executive Producer Bobby Aitken Sound Design Catherine Ashmore Photography Dave Adams Drums David Hunt Engineer, Mixing Eliza Lumley Vocals Hilton McRae Vocals James Bugden Keyboards Jaz Lochrie Guitar (Bass) Jenny Galloway Vocals John Barclay Trumpet Julian Poole Percussion Keith Airey Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) Lesley Burdett Keyboards Lisa Stokke Vocals Louise Plowright Vocals Mamma Mia Cast Ensemble Cast Mamma Mia Pit Orchestra Orchestra Martin Koch Additional Music, Musical Supervision, Producer Martin Lowe Conductor, Musical Direction, Keyboards Maurice Cambridge Orchestra Manager Melissa Gibson Vocals Neal Wright Vocals Nicholas Gilpin Producer, Synthesizer Programming Nicolas Colicos Vocals Paul Clarkson Vocals Siobhán McCarthy Vocals Stig Andersson Lyricist Terry Johnston Guitar (12 String), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) Tom Jenkins Assistant Engineer Torquil Munro Assistant Musical Director, Keyboards