QR Music Review: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Soundtrack (and potential spoilers)

A sequel to Mamma Mia! has been much anticipated, and fans don't need to wait much longer (with the film hitting cinemas Friday 20th July), and the film release isn't the only highlight - the soundtrack is nearly as important! 

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on Friday 13th July, and with it, answering many of the questions we had surrounding the original's plot. So if you're not looking for spoilers you might want to stop reading.

The cast doesn't disappoint. However, the singing talent isn't as strong across the board. Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Cher, Meryl Streep and Dominic Cooper bring an edge to this film's soundtrack with powerful solos, upbeat classics and a whirlwind of nostalgia with ABBA's top hits.

Highlights (and let downs) in this sequel's soundtrack include:

When I Kissed the Teacher sung by Young Donna (Lily James) and her Dynamos (Alexa Davies, Jessica Keenen Wynn) along with the aforementioned Kissed Teacher (Celia Imrie). Imrie's solo verse is by no-means an award winning rendition but no doubt it's fitting to the comical element expected in the film. 

Have a watch of the Lyric Video! 

One of Us is performed as a duet between Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and Sky (Dominic Cooper). This romantic duet is no doubt going to be in-line with the news of Sophie's pregnancy. Cooper might not be everyone's 'cup-of-tea' but I personally find that his voice is well suited to this song.

Waterloo, the en-core phenomenon from the original film is back! Unfortunately, there's less glitter, less spandex and sadly, overall it's not as amazing as the encore piece. In this rendition Young Harry (Hugh Skinner) proves his love to Donna (Lily James) through his fantastic singing - and dancing, supposedly! Have a watch of the Behind the Scenes video released by Universal Studios Australia.

If I was to list all of the highlights from this soundtrack I'd be here some time. But others that sound brilliant - and I feel will come across even better on screen include; Why Did It Have to Be Me performed by Young Bill (Josh Dylan), Young Donna (Lily James) and Young Harry (Hugh Skinner), The Name of The Game performed by Young Donna, Fernando performed by Ruby Sheridan (Cher) and Fernando (Andy Garcia), Angel Eyes performed by Tanya (Christine Baranski) Rosie (Julie Walters) and Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and The Day Before You Came performed by Donna (Meryl Streep).

One thing we can take from the album is that the original girl-power trio (Streep, Baranski and Walters) won't be singing together for this film. Yet, this isn't too much of a disappointment as they do have their own solo parts, duets and of course we've got Cher singing Fernando  - so I'm sure fans won't mind if the original Dynamos aren't together!

I still have not decided whether I am glad or disappointed at the number of songs from the original film that have made a return in the sequel, including; Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen,Super Trouper and I have a Dream. No doubt the new versions will be as much fun as they originally were 10 years ago - but can we cope with Pierce Brosnan singing Dancing Queen?!

Fans believe that the release of this soundtrack has given away some further hints of the plot line (which have remained relatively ambiguous until now). In the majority of promotion for the film, Meryl Streep made very few appearances - in fact, the majority of the shots of Streep were from the original film. This had left fans unsure of whether her character, Donna, would actually make a feature. 

However, following release of the soundtrack album fans have come to two potential conclusions. The concluding song of the album (and the film) The Day Before You Came is about going through major life changes - it was originally released by ABBA as their final single as a band (until 2018). Many fans believe this will result in the death of a character (potentially Donna and the song is sung from beyond the grave). Yet other fans have been left believing the song marks the end of Donna and Sam's relationship and the parting of their ways. 

The film comes out this Friday (20th July) so fans don't have to wait too long to see how this soundtrack is accompanied on screen!

By Scott Duffield