Burlesque Tribute To Christina Aguilera

Posted In: Burlesque

Martine Beddome says...

I really love this album and think it is one of the best Glee Albums yet.Just can't stop humming the songs to myself and wanting to listen to it.

Posted on November 19, 2011

Chas Foriest says...

Glee's eighth CD release (three previous regular volumes, plus three episode-specific EPs and one Christmas album) arrives in stores, featuring a broad selection of songs from the first nine episodes of the show's second season.Some story-related spoilers are included in discussions of the songs, so be warned.



The first general note is that the selections for this CD have clearly prioritized the more contemporary covers done by the show, with the older songs and showtunes mostly marginalized; one affect of this is greatly limiting the presence of certain voices.Lea Michele, the show's female lead, is barely on this album, with only one featured solo song; most of her output falls into the classic/showtune category ("Papa, Can You Hear Me?", "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina", "What I Did For Love").Chris Colfer, another of the show's main stars, isn't here much either.One would have to say that the big winners in terms of representation are Kevin McHale (probably the most versatile voice among the students) and Naya Rivera.



The eighteen songs included are:



1."Empire State of Mind" (originally by Jay-Z and Alicia Keyes) - decent; the girls' handling of the chorus is superb, while the guys handling the rap portions are a lot more variable.Kevin McHale (Artie) is the most adept (and Cory Monteith/Finn surprisingly isn't bad), but Mark Salling's (Puck) section is dull.



2."Billionaire" (originally by Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars; get used to that latter name, because you'll be seeing it a lot) - performed by newcomer Chord Overstreet (Sam) alongside McHale; again, competent, if not exceptional.



3."Me Against The Music" (originally by Britney Spears and Madonna) - the first of four songs from the Britney Spears episode (though only three of those were by Britney Spears), a duet for series breakout stars Heather Morris (Brittany) and Naya Rivera (Santana).The two have tremendous vocal chemistry, and while Morris' vocals are somewhat limited, they perfectly suit the song.Also, notably, this cover lowers the speed a bit, which makes the lyrics a lot easier to understand.One of my personal favourites.



4."Stronger" (originally by Britney Spears) - McHale (once again) takes the lead on this fairly straight cover, albeit now sung by a man.It's one of the best straightforward covers, and a good showcase for him (and it's one of Spears' better songs).



5."Toxic" (originally by Britney Spears) - a group number (one of only a few), and a tremendously effective reworking of Spears' song, featuring vocals from Morris, Michele, and Matthew Morrison (as well as vocal runs from Naya Rivera).



6."The Only Exception" (originally by Paramore) - Lea Michele's sole solo in this album, surprisingly, but it's a pretty excellent one.



7."I Want To Hold Your Hand" (originally by the Beatles) - Chris Colfer's sole contribution, a much sadder reworking of the Beatles classic (similar to how it was used in the film "Across the Universe"), is one of the most moving numbers on the album.



8."One of Us" (originally by Joan Osborne) - another group number, with lead vocals by Colfer and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina).Good stuff, though not a standout like "Toxic".



9."River Deep, Mountain High" (originally by Tina and Ike Turner) - Naya Rivera (Santana) gets her second duet of the album, this time with Amber Riley (Mercedes), which is also her second duet with Mercedes (the first being last season's "The Boy Is Mine"), and it's easily my favourite song from this season so far.Even with the superb performance on the show, the vocals are amazing. Amber Riley is almost invisible on this album, but this is a bravura turn, and Rivera continues to prove her worth - she brings a sound that nobody else has.



10."Lucky" (originally by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat) - another duet, featuring Overstreet and Dianna Agron (Quinn).Agron is one of the weaker female singers on the show, but her voice is a good fit for Caillat's oeuvre, and this is a very nice cover.Overstreet and Agron's voices go well together.



11."One Love (People Get Ready)" (originally by Bob Marley and the Wailers) - performed by McHale and Salling.Decent but unremarkable.



12."Teenage Dream" (originally by Katy Perry) - performed by series newcomer (soon-to-be-series-regular) Darren Criss (Blaine), with backing vocals by an actual show choir.This acapella cover of Perry's pop hit was a huge hit on its own, and one wouldn't be surprised it becomes a standard among real world acapella groups.Criss is a welcome addition to the show's vocal roster.



13."Forget You" (originally by Cee Lo Green) - the radio-friendly edit of Cee Lo's "**** You" makes for a surprisingly jazzy number for special guest Gwyneth Paltrow, with vocal assistance from McHale, Riley, and Rivera (who is again doing vocal runs).



14."Marry You" (originally by Bruno Mars) - a minor Bruno Mars song (it doesn't have its own Wikipedia entry, was never released as a single, and its most-watched YouTube video version has been overtaken by the video version of Glee's own cover) becomes the most vibrant group performance of the season so far (the performance in the episode is just lovely).The verses are split among the show's several couples, with eight of New Directions' twelve members getting lines (even if, in the cases of Morris and Harry Shum Jr/Mike, it's only singing alongside a more vocally-talented costar): Monteith, Michele, McHale, Morris, Shum, Agron, Overstreet, and Ushkowitz can all be heard.



15."Just the Way You Are" (originally by Bruno Mars) - compared to the preceding song, a fairly basic cover by Cory Monteith (who, much like Michele and Colfer, isn't overly-featured on the album).Fine.



16."Sway" (originally by a whole host of people, but based on Michael Buble's version) - Matthew Morrison gets his other song on the album, and, as you might imagine when a Tony-nominated Broadway star is given a classic love song, he knocks it out of the park.



17."Valerie" (originally by the Zutons, but based on Amy Winehouse's cover) - Rivera/Santana finally gets that big solo performance number she's deserved for a while (a previous solo was also good, but only seen on the show as lips), and she's excellent.



18."(I've Had) The Time of My Life" (originally by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes) - the iconic song from the film "Dirty Dancing" is appropriated as New Directions' other Sectionals performance piece, with Agron and Overstreet again singing lead.Their previous vocal collaborations were good, but this belting ballad proves a bridge too far for them, I'm sorry to say (they often seem drowned out by their own backup singers).Not the best way to end the album.



Overall, a strong collection of music.

Posted on November 20, 2011

Ethan Horine says...

Sorry, but hands down, the absolute best Glee rendition so far this season other than Teenage Dream is the Umbrella/Singin in the Rain mashup, and considering the Gwenyth Paltrow episode was so hyped, there is NO excuse not to include that on here (especially since there's 15 minutes of space left on this disc). As a result, the absolute best song on this volume is teenage dream, which isn't even sung by the original cast of the show!



Reflecting on season 2 part 1 through this CD, it's sadly noticeable that much of this season's music has amounted to nothing more than karaoke versions of these songs. What happened to the magic? Empire State of Mind, Billionaire, the Britney Spears songs, One of Us, One Love (people get ready), Just the way you are, I've Had the Time of My Life--these songs are all essentially the cast singing sound-alike versions of the originals. The only noticeable difference is Artie singing Britney's "Stronger"--which, with male vocals, sounds more like a cover of an N'sync song.



After that, other than the fantastic Teenage Dream, only a few tracks stand out to me--loved the version of River Deep, Mountain High as performed on the show, so it's good to see it here. Kurt's take on I Want to Hold Your Hand is poignant, Gwenyth Paltrow makes at least one appearance on here with her awesome solo track from that episode, Marry You is pretty good, as is Valerie.



The big disaster here has to be the inclusion of Mr. Schu singing "Sway." There's simply nothing exciting about this, and it's actually rather irritating, even as presented on the show. Would have much rather had Umbrella/Singing in the Rain. Let's hope that they hear the voices of the fans and squeeze it onto season 2 part 2.

Posted on November 21, 2011

Shon Magby says...

i love glee i repeat i love glee and everything about glee. the music is the best part of the whole thing and the cd's are the best. i have all of them this far and i will continue to buy every cd they produce make or have and i record every episode and watch until the seasen's dvd is released i love glee and i hope it continues on for 30 years i love love love it

Posted on November 22, 2011

Loyd Coto says...

I too am sad that certain songs were not there...including 'Don't Cry for Me'....but what is there is BRILLIANT.Producers take note...reall 'Gleeks' want it ALL, not just what you think we want. Release the others soon!

Posted on November 22, 2011

Jamal Pelote says...

I noticed that the previous three albums had a much more diverse choice of music, with this one mainly covering modern pop songs. Probably because the producers realise that Glee's main audience (teenagers) would be more likely to buy the album with a good selection of popular songs than if it was full of songs they'd never heard before. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is dissapointing for fans of Lea Michele, who is known for her covers of showtunes and older songs. I for one was quite happy with Michele's lack of vocals on the CD, as I feel she has more than enough songs in the previous three albums (although she does pretty much kill 'The Only Exception' - her only solo in Volume 4). Her limited presence makes room for other cast members to shine, especially Kevin McHale (his version of 'Stronger' is great) and Naya Rivera (who is all over this album, and I LOVE it!). Herself and Heather Morris' (who, while an excellent comedic actress and a fantastic dancer, isn't exactly a stand out performer vocally) cover of Britney Spears and Madonna's 'Me Against the Music' was far better than the original, and one of my favourite tracks on the CD. Rivera's renditions of 'Valerie' and 'River Deep Mountain High' are amazing (seriously, is that girl incapable of producing a boring song?!) and I'm glad she's finally getting the attention she deserves.



Two other stand out songs on the album are 'Teenage Dream' and 'Forget You'. Darren Criss' acapella version of the well overplayed Katy Perry tune and Gwyneth Paltrow's cover of Cee-Lo are seriously addictive (who knew that Paltrow could sing?) and I find myself singing (and dancing) along to them every time they come on.



The album features two duets by Chord Overstreet and Dianna Agron. While I find Agron's voice to be weak, although sweet, her vocal chemistry with Overstreet makes up for it. 'Lucky' is another of my favourites from the album, and although 'The Time Of My Life' isn't exactly up to Lea Michele/Cory Monteith standard, they do a good job.



I was dissapointed to see a few of my favourites ('Dog Days Are Over', 'Only The Good Die Young', 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina') omitted from the CD, but I do realise that it's impossible to please everybody with so many songs to choose from. Although I have to admit that I don't understand why a few songs are on the album. Do we really need three Bruno Mars songs? I think most people could have lived without 'Just The Way You Are'. 'One Of Us' and 'One Love' were also strange additions. While both songs are good, they just don't stand out as much as say 'Living On A Prayer/Start Me Up' or 'Umbrella/Singing In The Rain'.



Finally, I noticed the absence of the cast members who dominated the previous albums (Chris Colfer, Amber Riley, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith) and the presence of the cast who never had much of a chance to sing before (Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, Dianna Agron) aswell as new cast members and guest stars (Chord Overstreet, Darren Criss, Gwyneth Paltrow). Although unfortunately Jenna Ushkowitz and Mark Salling still aren't given much to do.



Overall, Volume 4 is an excellent album with (mostly) excellent songs, although it does neglect a few fan favourites. Waiting impatiently for Volume 5!

Posted on November 22, 2011

Son Courtois says...

Teenage Dream is actually the very first Glee song to ever hit number 1 on it's opening week -- but I wish they had included Stop in the name of Love from the best episode of the season -- Never been kissed -- and also Losing my religion. I just don't think it's worth getting the whole CD but if you like all the songs, then 10 bucks is worth it over paying 1.29 each for it on itunes.

Posted on November 23, 2011

Tonya Roque says...

I am pretty disappointed about the omission of A LOT of songs on this album. I know it is not new for the producers of the show and albums to omit some of the most popular songs but it really sucks when they do. Obviously they do so because they can sell the mp3 singles in addition to selling the albums. But to not include "Umbrella/Singing in the Rain", "Papa, Can You Hear Me?", "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" or "What I Did For Love" is not nicely done. It is obvious that when writing this new season of the show the team behind Glee have for some reason (external or internal pressure, perhaps?) decided to try not to play favorites when giving out songs and putting together the albums. The fact that Lea Michele only has one solo on the album (and in my opinion not her best of the season so far) is tragic. I know the show is about how we're all special and that certain people shouldn't be favored over others but that is really a problem when the person you are trying not to favor is the best vocalist! I know a lot of people commented on the fact that their favorite characters were not given solos, etc., but this album is just much weaker than the others since the strongest vocalists are not featured.



The marketing scheme of making people buy mp3 singles for the other songs is, well ...marketing. Fine, I get that. But the fact that if you are not a US resident you can't buy the singles makes it really really annoying that they don't include all the songs or make another album. Personally, as I cannot buy the amazon mp3 and not alliTunes sell the singles, I would buy a second album with all the other songs. That way they could still make the extra money they are trying to get by omitting certain songs.



Oh, and on a final note, I find it strange that Overstreet who has two duets on the album is not included on the album cover. I'm just saying :o)

Posted on November 26, 2011

Theo Tillie says...

I was really disappointed to see that two songs from one of my all-time favorite episodes, "Grilled Cheesus" got bumped so that we could have THREE Britney covers.Guess I'll have to pay for the individual downloads if I want to hear "Only The Good Die Young" and "Losing My Religion" from that episode.Also, "Singing In The Rain / Umbrella" didn't make the cut from the fabulous Gwyneth Paltrow episode either.I'd rather pay a little more and get all of the songs in one place.

Posted on December 1, 2011

Leanna Mcspirit says...

Four standouts:

"Teenage Dream"

"River Deep, Mountain High"

"Marry You"

"Forget You"



but...





Where's Charice? This soundtrack is missing her "Telephone" duet with Lea Michele and her amazing rendition of "Listen" from Dreamgirls from the season premiere episode.

The Tina/Mercedes cover of Florence + The Machine's "The Dog Days Are Over" is another lost track on this album- arguably Tina's best vocals (and I am not a huge Tina fan) and Mercedes' second-best of the season behind "River Deep, Mountain High" (Thank God that one is on here).

I could have gone without "Sway" and "One of Us" and would have rather had "Umbrella/Singin' in the Rain" and "Losing My Religion" included instead.



Looking forward to the second half of the season- I hope the next soundtrack offers the fans' favorite selections next time!

Posted on December 3, 2011