Putin: "Mamma Mialovich!"

Everything I ever hear about Vladimir Putin points to the inescapable conclusion that he's one creepy guy.

This seems weird, what's reported of an Abba tribute concert they arranged for Putin and a woman, perhaps his wife. They flew in a tribute group all the way from London for a private performance. The Russian government bought new equipment for the group. Then the group performed, as "Mr Putin and a woman companion were sitting on a sofa that was veiled by a lace curtain. Half a dozen other guests were present at the hour-long show on January 22 as the group sang 15 Abba hits including Waterloo, Gimme Gimme Gimme and Dancing Queen."

“It was the smallest audience we have ever performed to but Mr Putin was really enjoying it, shouting ‘bravo’ and clapping with the others,” said one of the performers. The group, Björn Again "performed despite the distraction of a burly security guard who sat in front of the stage watching their every move. Band members were under strict instructions never to leave the stage during the show."

Mamma Mia Soundtrack

I got the Mamma Mia! soundtrack CD today. I don't usually buy soundtracks, maybe especially, not that there are so many cases of this, where the movie stars sing the songs.

But this time I really loved the film and thought the songs were great. Still, I'm thinking, it's almost 15 bucks. But I took the plunge anyway. I'm glad I did.

The songs not only recall the film, and that's happy, but they're really good, nice sounding. They sound better on the CD, maybe because there isn't all the other sound effects and things from the movie. The vocals are nice and punchy, very well done. And the instruments of course are crystal clear and lively, great.

My only complaint is that in "Honey, Honey" they have Amanda Seyfried laughing some of the lyrics, as in the film. I would have preferred to have a straight version without those laughs. One other note, which isn't really a complaint, is that they left off "Waterloo," but it was a kind of bonus in the film and wasn't part of the film proper.