BWW Album Review: HERE WE GO AGAIN with MAMMA MIA 2

Let's be honest: it doesn't really matter what I, or any critic, have to say about Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again. We know what we're signing up for: campy, fun covers of ABBA songs, a plot that only sort of matters, a bunch of stars having an absolute blast, and pretty island panoramas. The movie's soundtrack, much like its predecessor, rides more on the delightful fun of the songs than on their emotional depth or Broadway-ready performances. The key difference between this soundtrack and the 2008 original is that the former plays, at least in part, to audiences' affection for the latter. In fact, several moments correspond almost directly, giving us a chance to see how far these characters have (or have not) come, which covers for the fact that most of these songs are pulled from ABBA's second tier.

Here We Go Again is both a prequel and a sequel: half the story flashes back to Donna's (Meryl Streep) younger self (Lily James) when she first met the three men who could potentially be her daughter's father, while the other half focuses on her grown daughter, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), who is trying to deal with personal struggles and reopen her mother's beloved inn. This soundtrack wastes no time in getting us acquainted with James's take on Donna, with her and flashback-mates Alexa Davies and Jessica Keenan Wynn tackling "When I Kissed The Teacher." James has energy and charm to spare, and her voice, if not quite Broadway caliber, is pleasant and lively.

James's vocals are scattered throughout the album, and she makes her strongest case on "I Have A Dream" midway through. Excepting a hilarious duet of "Waterloo" (which we'll get to in just a moment), this is the first direct callback to the original Mamma Mia, as this song, then sung by Seyfried's Sophie, bookended that story. Casual listeners might not notice, but the melody is notoriously difficult to sing, with one of the most famous lines falling right in a tricky part of the voice for most women. James does it beautifully.

On to "Waterloo," one of the surprising highlights of the first section of the album. In the first film, it was the climax of the "bonus tracks" that ran during the credits; here, it's a sweetly goofy duet between James and Hugh Skinner (as Colin Firth's young doppelganger). Skinner is one of the more experienced vocalists in the film - eagle-eyed musical geeks may recognize him from the 2012 Les Miserables film - and it shows. Other highlights among the cast are - no surprise - Julie Walters and Christine Baranski, who are absolute international treasures.

Plenty of the soundtrack involves callbacks or parallels to its predecessor. "One Of Us," sung by Seyfried and Dominic Cooper, is a bittersweet part-two to their original duet "Lay All Your Love On Me." The title track and "Dancing Queen" are both revamped from their earlier versions, although "Mamma Mia" is the more changed song, with a slowed-down intro that effectively conveys an emotional beat in the story. And one of the highlights, an emotional duet between Streep and Seyfried ("My Love, My Life") neatly calls to mind their touching moment in the original, "Slipping Through My Fingers." It also reminds us that, as much as the "three possible dads" rom-com element is played up, at heart, this is a story about female friends, mothers, and daughters.

We have to talk about the buzziest part of the album: Cher singing "Fernando." Again, it really doesn't matter much what any reviewer says because, it's Cher. Singing ABBA. But for what it's worth, it's an excellent track and tons of fun. The other notable thing on this soundtrack is the restoration of two songs cut in the screen-to-stage adaptation of the original. Here, "The Name of the Game" returns, as does "Knowing Me, Knowing You." The latter brings together both versions of Sam Carmichael: Pierce Brosnan in the present day and Jeremy Irvine in the past, whose vocals are unexpectedly nice, given his counterpart's infamous inability to locate a pitch.

Ultimately, Mamma Mia 2's soundtrack is mostly what you expect (although I definitely would recommend listening to it more than once - ABBA's music is more sophisticated than it seems at first glance), and for this glossy, cheery summer brand, that's what matters most. That, and the fact that I made it through this review without making a single pun.

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