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WATERL00 - 05.07.2008, 22:10
Best vocalist from the movie-cast?
So after I got the soundtrack yesterday I was listeing to several tracks so far playing much attention to the voices since I already know the songs for ages - so no surprised there.

After all I must say that most of the male cast-members have a reason why they became actors and not singers. Although none of them sings bad or off-key I wouldn't call Pierce Brosnan a very good singer. The only exception so far may be Dominic Cooper who has quite a good voice.

When it comes to the female cast-members Meryl and Amanda are the ones with the best voices. But while especially Benny has praised Meryl for her singing-abilites during the last months I must say that Amanda Seyfried outshines her by miles. Meryl is a good singer, no questiona nd I love her version of Mamma Mia e.g. but she has a pretty deep and low voice which doesn't fit many ABBA-tracks, especially the ones with Agnetha as a lead-vocalist. Furthermore I'm not too much into her way of "acting" the songs, like Money Money Money e.g. - maybe it's different when you have the picture and music together.

But back to Amanda Seyfried - she has a very cute voice. When I first heard her songing a few lines of I Have A Dream when the first trailers were posted I was afraid they had chosen a sweet girl with a terribly thin voice. But no, she has a great voice and sounds amazing on all songs she recorded. Of course she's neither Agnetha nor Frida but I really like the way she sings. I could imagine that a song like Slipping Through My Fingers would sound better if she had sung it althoug Meryl finally gives it the right atmosphere, a mother singing about her daughter while Agnetha back then sounded as if she was the daughter herself.

So after that loooong essay a short summary. Amanda Seyfried is not only a cute girl but a very good singer and the one I look most forward to seeing both singing and acting.

John - 09.07.2008, 13:38

Amanda is the only one I could imagine making a real recording away from the context of a musical.

platobird - 09.07.2008, 17:30

Yes, Amanda can sing, but I'm a little disappointed because she was billed as a singer turned actress. :wink: I probably set my expectations too high - or, I'm comparing her to Agnetha. :shock: The rest of the cast are actors turned singers - and dancers. :lol:

When I saw Mamma Mia! in Las Vegas, the girl who played Sophie had a great sound, but she wasn't able to control her instrument. At least Amanda has it under control. :)

For stage or screen all the voices are good, and I'm sure Benny worked hard to mix the tracks to enhance the result. :D I've got the sound track on order, but I'll have to see the movie to get the full effect. :D

Simsalabim - 10.07.2008, 08:54

From what I heard Meryl is my favourite. But I haven't seen the movie yet, will do so tomorrow, so I'll be back then :wink:

Simsalabim - 15.07.2008, 19:26

So, after seeing the movie and listened to the soundtrack nonstop for 93 hours I still think Meryl has the best voice. Amanda really can sing but I feel there's something missing. Her voice doesn't capture me like Meryl's does.

abbafreak - 16.07.2008, 08:50
Lay all your love on me
I have seen and heard Amanda's version and video on Youtube of LAYLOM and, to be honest, it sounded and looked fantastic! :D I found the video and her recording to be very nice!
ABBAFREAK
Dave

MammaMia512 - 17.07.2008, 06:54

Amanda's great, but Meryl is FANTASTIC!!! I love Meryl Streep!

Simsalabim - 18.07.2008, 18:17

Lady-Lyngstad wrote: I love her rendition of TWTIA actually. I think a lot of people don't like it, but I especially love the way she ends it, on the big belty parts at the end.

I love the ending alot too! Meryl did TWTIA absolutely wonderful, and the other songs too!!

Seems like everyone born in the 90's has agreed on Meryl as the best :wink:

xxlozengerxx - 28.07.2008, 20:17

Colin's voice actually makes me cringe...I think it's the posh English accent that does it.

DancingQueen - 02.08.2008, 23:23
Re: Best vocalist from the movie-cast?
WATERL00 wrote: After all I must say that most of the male cast-members have a reason why they became actors and not singers.

Exactly. It wasn't bad: wasn't great either, but that's not the point. To be quite honest, I even liked those songs sung by non-professionals, because it made the whole movie set-up far more realistic.

Now, the best vocalist. Definitely not the men, that's for sure. I didn't really enjoy Amanda's voice, I can't tell why. It seemed a bit superficial to me, like the lyrics didn't really mean anything to or, or like she wasn't really 'feeling' the music. (something I DO find great about Abba)

So I think it's Meryl for me. No big suprise: everything the woman does becomes a huge success! Got to admit I really liked some of the things she added (or at least preformed) to the songs which are not in the original versions. The 'uhs' in Dancing Queen (the end) and to force in her voice while singing the chorus of Mamma Mia.. Those things really added something to the soundtrack for me.

merton - 04.08.2008, 10:53

I liked all the vocalists on Our Last Summer, nice how they split the vocals up. I felt the same about Chiquitita and was relieved when they broke into harmony too.

Meryl's performance does seem to split people up, about how effective it is. I was really surprised at my reaction when I saw her perform it the second time around. Let's face it, this is pretty much Agnetha*'s jewel in the Abba crown. Yet I thought Meryl's performance second time around was actually the highlight of the movie for me, not because she was vocally as perfect, but because she acted those lines so sincerely, it was a very genuine performance.

MGBSG1 - 13.08.2008, 02:21

After seeing the movie I really couldn't pick between Meryl and Amanda for who sang the best. However, listening to the soundtrack in my car a dozen times or so, I have to say that Amanda Seyfried was definately the best singer. She does a great job on Honey Honey, Lay All Your Love on Me, Gimme x3, I have a Dream, and Thank you for the Music at the end.
I also like her singing The Name of the Game on the Soundtrack. It's a shame they couldn't put it in the movie. Don't get me wrong, Meryl did a fantastic job and put so much enthusiasm and emotion into her songs that it made the movie something special.

Simsalabim - 17.08.2008, 18:02

Toni wrote: Christina Baranski was the best singer in my opinion. The way she performed "Does Your Mother Know" with her low voice was great.

I've grown to lika Christina more for every day. The way she acts out DYMK with her voice is amazing! I still think Meryl is the best though :wink: