With a certain caped crusader and his psychotic nemesis stealing the spotlight this weekend, you might have overlooked the opening of Mamma Mia!. Something had to go up against The Dark Knight, so why not the movie version of the hugely successful stage musical based on the songs of ABBA?
On paper, it’s textbook counter-programming, but I can’t think of one person who mentioned Mamma Mia! in any conversation or had lined up for tickets. Gimme a man after midnight? Only if his name is Bruce Wayne.
I saw Mamma Mia! in Chicago a few years ago, and there’s no denying the sheer pop genius of the ABBA songbook; a good thing, since I didn’t find the story or the characters compelling. The music made the evening enjoyable, and I suspect the same is true of the silver-screen Mamma Mia!. I love me some Meryl Streep (may her Devil forever parade around in Prada), but I think I’ll save my “money, money, money” and catch it on cable.
Not all of the ABBA hits featured in the Mamma Mia! stage production made the cut for the movie. One of the songs excised was “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” which would have been a showcase for Pierce Brosnan’s character—maybe the former James Bond’s vocal limitations killed it? Digging around yesterday, I found a cover of the classic breakup track by Evan Dando of The Lemonheads. Hear here:
Dando’s version of “Knowing Me, Knowing You” appears on 1999’s ABBA – A Tribute: The 25th Anniversary Collection (a recent addition to my stacks, someone tossed it at work). According to the album’s liner notes, Dando recorded it in 1992 for an ABBA tribute disc that would have also featured alternative faves Redd Kross and Teenage Fanclub (faves at the time, anyway). That project never came together, though Dando reportedly added “Knowing Me, Knowing You” to his acoustic solo sets around that time.
As for ABBA, which broke up in 1982, band members are again emphatically saying no to any talk of a reunion. More than three decades later, songs like “Dancing Queen” and “The Winner Takes It All” remain in the public consciousness, so on one level, ABBA never really stopped. And for a short time, Sirius satellite radio subscribers can get a 24/7 fix of the band’s hits with ABBA Radio.
Purchase ABBA – A Tribute: The 25th Anniversary Collection via Amazon. The curious collection also features Information Society, Bananarama, and Peter Cetera.
