Rating: 
Glee: The Music, Volume 1
Rating: Glee: The Music, Volume 2
I have two confessions to make. One, despite intense peer pressure, I have only watched Glee twice. And two, I’m a sucker for covers. Love them. LOVE them. The good news is, turns out that you really don’t need to watch Glee to appreciate the Glee – The Music Volume 1 & 2 soundtracks. This is no High School Musical – you know the songs already. The only question: what’s your tolerance level for light pop renditions of tunes you adore?
This isn’t so much Guns ‘n’ Roses covering “Live and Let Die” as American Idol covering the best of Motown. Set your expectations of highly creative rethinks by monstrously talented power bands aside and slide your hopes down a spot to the best of High School Talent Show. There you go: that’s the Glee – The Music in a nutshell. Part of the issue here is that, from the little I’ve seen of the show, these songs are frequently accompanied by improbably elaborate (and hilarious) production numbers. Stripped of their visual impact, what remains is a so-so collection of songs you can safely sing to in the car and feel like you’re on par with the singer (while wishing you had a copy of the original on your MP3 player).
There are some absolutely terrific tracks. Volume 1’s standout artist is Will (Matthew Morrison), the dorky Glee club teacher. He’s an unexpected treat on Young MC’s “Bust a Move” and Kanye’s “Gold Digger”, just about the last person you would expect to break out a decent Karaoke rap. “Take a Bow” as sung by Rachel (Lea Michele) is radio-ready and soulful. Volume 2 is a little less inspired “My Life Would Suck Without You” is so appropriate here, given the talent show feel of Glee in general, and shines in the ensemble chorus. “True Colors” is a passable, although gushy in a slightly nauseating way that probably worked in the context of the show, but is a hammy by itself.
Then there are the “oh my God, they didn’t…did they?” songs. Yes, they did. The mangling of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” (sung by Puck, Mark Salling on Volume 1) made me run, not walk, to my computer to turn it off. You really need to commit to Neil Diamond, over the top, like Urge Overkill’s cover of “Girl, You’ll be a Woman Soon.” Anything less, and you’re background music at the dentist’s office. Similarly, the ensemble “Lean on Me” (Volume 2) lacks imagination and power, but tries to make up for it with sheer volume.
Glee – The Music is fun. On contemporary music (the only kind most of the cast is old enough to know), they knock it out of the park. On classics (AKA, their mothers’ music), they’re more than a little out of their depth. Glee – The Music is not going to change your world, but both volumes will make a nice edition to any Glee fan’s music collection. The good news; as long as this show continues to be a critical and ratings darling, you can expect to see additional volumes.
The Cast of Glee – Glee: The Music, Volume 1 (Special Edition)
Track listing:
- Don’t Stop Believin’
- Can’t Fight This Feeling
- Gold Digger
- Take A Bow
- Bust Your Windows
- Taking Chances
- Alone
- Maybe This Time
- Somebody To Love
- Hate On Me
- No Air
- You Keep Me Hangin’ On
- Keep Holding On
- Bust A Move
- Sweet Caroline
- Dancing With Myself
- Defying Gravity
- I Wanna Sex You Up (Bonus Track)
- I Could Have Danced All Night (Bonus Track)
- Leaving On A Jet Plane (Bonus Track)
November 03, 2009 – Sony
Get It Now: iTunes / Amazon (CD)
The Cast of Glee – Glee: The Music, Volume 2
Track listing:
- Proud Mary
- Endless Love
- I’ll Stand By You
- Don’t Stand So Close To Me / Young Girl
- Crush (Glee Cast Version)
- (You’re) Having My Baby
- Lean On Me
- Don’t Make Me Over
- Imagine
- True Colors
- Jump
- Smile
- Smile (Cover Of Charlie Chaplin Song)
- And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going
- Don’t Rain On My Parade
- You Can’t Always Get What You Want
- My Life Would Suck Without You
December 08, 2009 – Sony
Get It Now: iTunes / Amazon (CD)
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Glee's Jane Lynch in an almost shot-by-shot recreation of the 1990 David Fincher directed music video for Madonna's "Vogue"....
Jenypher enjoys writing, listening to music, drinking, sleeping, and sometimes likes to mix those activities. Most frequently, it's writing while listening to music and drinking, but sleeping and any combination of those other things works just as well. Her new favorite activity is going to the movies by herself, which sounds (and is) dorky, but is really the only way to achieve a quality, interruption-free movie experience. Jenypher's favorite book is Good Omens, her favorite movie is Pulp Fiction, she's receptive to gifts and bribes, is still waiting to be magically famous, and enjoys writing about herself in the third person (because second person would be too weird). 
