Glee starts hitting some bumps 3 Out Of 5 Stars
I am, I must admit, a middle aged Gleek. "Glee" is one of a tiny number of network TV shows I bother to catch regularly and I have been mostly satisfied by the soundtracks. What I tended to enjoy most about them is their variety. With the exception of the EP's (Power of Madonna, Rocky Horror and Journey to Regionals), the cast has been matched up to everything from classic rock to Broadway numbers to current pop. Volume Four is the first full length CD in the set to stay mainly on current hits. As such, it ends up lacking.
I am OK with the multiple Brittney Spears songs, since Glee did a whole episode based on her. However, did we really need three Bruno Mars songs? All performed pretty much by rote? Especially when you open with Jay Z's "Empire State Of Mind" and follow it with the all too similar "Billionaire"? Not really. Especially when you hear the re-arrangement of Spears' "Toxic" as a group vocal. Or the way the Lea Michelle hits the bulls-eye on her version of Paramore's "The Only Exception." (Or on the flip side of that thought, the thoroughly weak, wasted space that is "Forget You.")
When Glee does hit the mark, the versions are exceptional. Chris Colfer's version of "I Want To Hold Your Hand," while closely mimicking the version from the movie "Across The Universe," is perfect. Santana/Brittany (Naya Rivera/Heather Morris) make a great team on "Me Against The Music," and Matthew Morrison (Mr Schuester) gets a solid solo on "Sway." Finally, the vocal arrangement of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" not only outshines Perry's original, it justifies owning this CD. It's a striking. original redo of a song that never meant that much to me on the first time around. More off-beat vocal arrangements like this (and "Toxic") are the reasons I like Glee for its music as well as its episodes. I only wish this volume had more of them.
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