A Rebound from Volume 4
4 Out of 5 Stars
My thoughts on the fourth volume of music from Glee was that it leaned too heavily on one style and not enough work in the variety that has made the soundtracks to the show enjoyable fluff. For the fifth volume, the producers correct that issue by mixing everything from the musical "Rent," The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Dixie Chicks via Fleetwood Mac and, for the first time, originals written specifically for the show. While some may gripe that there are no selections from The Warblers (and, for that matter Chris Colfer/Kurt), a solo Warblers album is to be released in the Spring.
There's another bonus in the return of Gwyneth Paltrow as Holly Holiday on three songs, proving her chops as a country singer on "Landslide" but otherwise being so-so on Prince's "Kiss" (with Will Shuster/Matthew Morrison) and getting her Joan Jett on for a cover of "Do You Wanna Touch Me." The duet with Morrison is better visually than musically, although Morrison reveals a wicked falsetto. In addition to Jett, the 80's come out through a fun duet by Rachel and Blaine (Darren Criss) on Human League's "Don't You Want Me" and two runs at Michael Jackson.
The originals are both run of the mill pop, with "Get It Right" a solo for Rachel and "Loser Like Me" a bubblegummy number for the entire ensemble. The gang style vocals are missing on this disc, which makes "Loser" and the cover of My Chemical Romance's "Sing" really stand out. "Sing" is easily the best song here, and makes me long for more of the powerful, uplifting numbers that Glee excels at. But another thing that they have frequently done is take a song from another artist outshine the original; on this volume it's Katy Perry's "Firework." takes this anthem of finding your identity and completely nails it, more so than Perry (who I do enjoy, but just is not the strongest singer). There are those who may feel that this goes against singer-songwriting as an ethic, given that Glee is a showcase for glossy-pop, I find it wonderful.
Two more things: Lay off the Queen numbers. Queen is now Glee's new Journey.
And why is Sam/Chord Overstreet not featured in the CD cast shots? He's now getting prominent solos on the songs and is a strong show character. Leaving him out of the picture seems like a slight.
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