GLEE - TWO Original Songs Will be Released on the Next Album

Look out Gleeks, the 5th studio album of Glee! is out! Sixteen more fun-loving, boisterous, harmonious tracks were released on Tuesday March 8, 2011 for your listening pleasure.  Just like the four volumes before it, the album is filled with a variety of music and a whole lot of talent.

Glee’s newest album has sixteen new tracks from the show’s second season.  It kicks off with a song from the season’s first episode, a mash up of  “Thriller/Heads Will Roll.” This number is reminiscent of the shows earlier tunes-a mash up of two classic songs from completely different genres made into a harmonious dance tune. This is not to say, however, that the only thing Glee can do is upbeat pop songs.

The album includes a few simply arranged beauties such as “Landslide” featuring Gwyneth Paltrow. With not much more than a banjo and three females voices, the song campaigns to receive more credit than a silly song remake. Speaking of Gwyneth Paltrow, she seems to be a new favorite on the show and was involved in a few other numbers like the popular song “Forget You” by Cee Lo. Who knew Gwyneth had those kind of vocals? In fact, it was such a hit that Paltrow actually appeared alongside Cee Lo at the Grammy’s singing it.

Finally, of course, there could not be a Glee album that didn’t include at least one show tune, and this one was diva-licious. The shows two most powerful voice, Rachael and Mercedes, belt out a song from the Broadway show Rent called “Take Me or Leave Me.” These two girls show some extreme range and attitude while making this high difficulty song sound effortless and, as the song calls for, sassy.

Overall, the album delivered most of the things that the past four have; it’s stylish, a clever mix of the new and old, and of course, talent that is oozing out from the case.

However, it seems like the Glee composers may be running short on material and innovative ideas. The arrangements on this album seem considerably less creative and stick closer to the version by the original artists. What happened to the mash-up craze of the earlier volumes that brought together a little more variety in both genre and time period? As Glee moves through its second season it may have to start renovating itself to keep up with America’s continuously fluid music scene, and this latest album, though it is a good listen, may not have the spark to hold America’s attention.

song list from the episodes ! :

From "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle":
"Thriller / Heads Will Roll" by New Directions and the football team (originally by Michael Jackson and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
"Need You Now" by Rachel and Puck (originally by Lady Antebellum)
"She's Not There" by Finn and the football team (originally by The Zombies)

From "Silly Love Songs":
"Fat Bottomed Girls" by Puck (originally by Queen)
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" by Artie (originally by Michael Jackson)
"Firework" by Rachel (originally by Katy Perry)

From "Comeback":
"Baby" by Sam (originally by Justin Bieber)
"Somebody to Love" by The Justin Bieber Experience (originally by Justin Bieber)
"Take Me or Leave Me" by Rachel and Mercedes (originally from Rent)
"Sing" by New Directions (originally by My Chemical Romance)

From "Blame It on the Alcohol":
"Don't You Want Me" by Rachel and Blaine (originally by The Human League)

From "Sexy" (airing March 8):
"Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" by Holly (originally by Joan Jett)
"Kiss" by Will and Holly (originally by Prince)
"Landslide" by Holly (originally Fleetwood Mac)

From "Original Song" (airing March 15):
"Get It Right" by Rachel
"Loser Like Me" by New Directions