3 out of 5 Stars
One of the reasons the original cast albums from Glee are such enjoyable outings is the variety of artists, genres and styles of music mixed together. The exuberance of the cast and the arrangements often masks any shortcomings or comparisons to the originals. By focusing entirely on a single artist, and one of the most iconic of the past couple of decades, that is a luxury not granted to "The Power Of Madonna." Because of that, this EP is the weakest of the multiple Glee soundtracks to date.
Frankly, Madonna's shadow overwhelms the songs here, with only "Like A Prayer" matching the verve of its creator. Other than the medley of "Borderline/Open Your Heart" and the cast multiple duet-ting on "Like a Virgin," the rest of the songs fall short. "4 Minutes" (despite the two stellar singers Amber Riley and Chris Colter) is the worst of the batch, and seems to be here merely as a set piece from the show. Jane Lynch (as Sue Sylvester) does a note for note recreation of "Vogue," where the show's remake of the classic video was more interesting than the recorded song.
Madonna herself overpowers the covers of her own work. While the Glee episode that featured these songs was great fun, the EP itself is strictly average. The main thing this CD (and its corresponding TV show) made me think about is how soon "Material Girl: The Musical" is from being staged on Broadway.
Having struck first gold with the season opening cover of "Don't Stop Believing," the Glee Cast make a full circle return by pulling out three more Journey songs for this season finale sendoff. "Faithfully" is given a full-soaped duet treatment with Rachel and Finn (Lea Michelle and Cory Monteih), the full cast tears it up with a medley of "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'/Any Way You Want It," and then a slightly more energized second recording of "Don't Stop Believing."
What follows is a version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," done with no particular flair. (Looked great on the show, though.) The full cast gets a crack at the chestnut of cheese "To Sir With Love," and without doing much to the original arrangement, knock it out of the park. Finally, Mr Shuester (Matthew Morrison) goes all Jack Johnson on us by serving up a ukulele and guitar version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." While that particular song is one I have often stated should be retired from public performance, I must admit, this arrangement was thoroughly enjoyable. "Journey To Regionals" is a nice addition to the Glee discography, but the lack of variety makes it only so-so. I got it as a completist; casual fans can probably pass.
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