My Amazon Reviews: Glee Cast "Volume 7"

Not so lucky 7
3 Out Of 5 Stars

The Glee Third Season has seemed to be a bit forced, and so has the music. With the exception of the Michael Jackson episode, the songs seem random. I would have been more appreciative had the producers done a "West Side Story" and Michael Jackson whole disc, then cherry picked from the rest of the best for this disc.

That doesn't leave the disc without its highlights. Matthew Morrison does a nice job on Coldplay's "Fix You" and the Adele mash up of "Rumor Has It/Someone Like You" is a knockout. The cast version of Jackson's "Man In The Mirror" is a standout as well, but again, a full Jackson CD would have been even better (ala the Madonna disc a year ago). Instead, we get cheese like Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" and a poor imitation of the original Warblers (The Tufts University Beelzebubs Glee Club, now replaced by studio singers) doing Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl." "Hot For Teacher" made a great video moment, but stalls out without the visual.

   

My Amazon Reviews: Glee The Music "Volume 6, Season 2"

C'Mon, Bite The Big Apple
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Glee has become a reliable and predictable machine in the pop music productivity factory, which also means that the music tends to be reliably decent. I'm glad that the Nationals edition of the series has taken another turn towards Broadway, one of thew show's aspects I've found endearing. Along with three originals written for the cast, Volume 6 is the most diverse disc of the second season's offerings.

This disc encompasses the Fleetwood Mac episode, with ""Dreams," "Don't Stop," "Go Your Own Way" and "Songbird." (It also propelled the classic Rumours album to rechart at #11...how cool was that?) Gwyneth Paltrow, Christine Chenweth and Charice take their guest appearances and make standout appearances on Adele's "Turning Tables," Mac's "Dreams" and the new song (and the best of the three originals) "As Long As Your There," respectively. Speaking of Adele, Jonathan Groff (who was wasted in this season with an inconsequential part) does a dynamic return, pairing up with Rachel (Lea Michelle) for "Rolling In The Deep." While it doesn't out-do the original, it was a great pairing. The same can be said for Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," which is as perfect a pop song as you'll hear this year. The gang gets it right, because the song's message and exuberance would be near impossible to botch.

Still, it is the Broadway/Movie music that fairs the best. Curt (Chris Colfer) lets loose on "As If We Never Said Goodbye" (from "Sunset Blvd), Rachel lets her Streisand out with "My Man" and a light-hearted "Bella Note" (from Disney's "Lady And The Tramp") now makes me wonder if a Disney tribute would be outside the show's realm of episode probabilities. Lastly, it was the New Directions' covering "Pure Imagination" that was this season's bona fide tearjerker. Along with Kenny Loggins' cover, the Glee version now is my favorite recording of that song.

   

My Amazon Reviews: Duncan Sheik "Brighter: A Collection"

Before the Awakening
4 Out of 5 Stars 

This review is from: Brighter: A Duncan Sheik Collection (Audio CD)

In the late 90's, Duncan Sheik released his debut album on Atlantic Records. It was a modest affair of semi-confessional singer-songwriter material, but a minor hit began to get attention, and "Barely Breathing" became his first and only top 40 record. He seemed to be keen on the moodiness of Nick Drake (that the double disc of this set is called "Brighter/Later" makes the point obvious), yet often cleaves towards Elton John at that artist's most introspective.

That makes the 16 songs on this disc all satisfying listens; Sheik matches his poetic lyrics to low key but memorable songs. It made him perfect for the emo-soundtrack set, and his contribution to the teen angst-fest "Great Expectations" is included. There's also a telling previously unreleased cover of Joni Mitchell's "Court and Spark," which fits in among his own work quite well. He could also rev up a guitar on occasion, and the power-pop contribution to this set is "Bite Your Tongue."

However, Sheik is far more at home with the folkier aspects of his music, and the big reveal was the album "Phantom Moon." There are three songs from that album here, and they are the ones that come closest to realizing his Nick Drake aspirations. They're also noteworthy in that they mark the moment when Sheik began his collaboration with Steven Sater. This partnership would help bring Sheik back into the spotlight, when the two of them took home a pile of Tony Awards for the musical "Spring Awakening" and, I would bet, finally nudged this collection into being.