Tag: Glee music

Concert Review >> Glee Live! in San Jose, CA 05.25.2011

Last Wednesday, I got my Gleek on with the best of ‘em at the HP Pavillion in San Jose for Glee Live!

Tickets to the show are a bit on the pricey side, especially if you’re making it a family outing. However, as soon as the curtain rises and Cory Monteith (Finn) and Lea Michele (Rachel) kick off Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” as part of the five original members of Glee’s New Directions, you’ll be happy that that you got to witness this spectacle live.

The stage is set up in such a way that there’s a main stage with a cat walk that leads out to another stage area, which leads into the first few rows of the crowd. Also, about three-fourths the way towards the back of the arena, there’s another small stage set up, which featured a couple of the night’s best performances.

The Glee concert set list highlights fan-favorite group numbers like “Born This Way,” “Loser Like Me,” and “Somebody To Love,” as well as wonderful solo numbers from some the main players.

Mark Salling (Puck), Chord Overstreet (Sam), Kevin McHale (Artie), Harry Shum Jr. (Mike), and Darren Criss (Blaine) come together during the show to perform an acoustic version of the Rebecca Black song “Friday.” With both Salling and Overstreet on acoustic guitar, the guys really carved out quite the moment for themselves.

Continue reading Concert Review >> Glee Live! in San Jose, CA 05.25.2011

DVD Review >> ‘Glee Encore’

Last month the latest Glee DVD hit store shelves called, Glee Encore. The DVD is right around 77 minutes of back-to-back Glee performances from season one. I absolutely love the idea of releasing a DVD like this, because there have been plenty of times when I’m watching Glee where I’ve been so excited to see the performances that I wished I could skip ahead to them.

The way the DVD is set up you can either watch the performances one  episode at a time, play them all at once, or you can click “Shuffle” on the menu screen and the performances will play in random order, which I think is a pretty cool feature.

As a fan of Glee, there are performances that I was looking forward to watching on Glee Encore, yet they were nowhere to be found. In particular, the performances I am surprised are not included on the DVD is the mash-up of “Halo”/ “Walkin’ on Sunshine,” the Regionals version of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and Vocal Adrenaline’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

To me it only makes sense to showcase both mash-ups from the “Vitamin D” episode, not just “It’s My Life”/ “Confessions Part II,” because both of the mash-ups were what made that episode stand out.

I feel like “Don’t Stop Believin’” from the “Journey to Regionals” episode should have made the cut for this DVD. The New Directions’ full set list from that episode was “Faithfully,” “Any Way You Want It”/ “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.” To leave off the full circle moment of the season just doesn’t make any sense.

And lastly, the absence of Vocal Adrenaline’s performance of “Bohemian Rhapsody” also from the “Journey to Regionals” episode is just disappointing. That was Glee guest star, Jonathan Groff’s shining moment on the show, and was also one of the best performances of the entire first season.

If you can get past the handful of performances that should have been highlighted on the DVD, Glee Encore is actually pretty fun to watch and sing-a-long to. It’s fun to kick back and relive moments from a show that add some “Glee” so to speak to fan’s lives.

Glee Encore is available now on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Originally posted on Blogcritics.

Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Funeral”

The music from the Glee episode “Funeral” highlighted the cream of the crop from the Glee Cast. The songs from this past week’s episode were in my opinion some of the best technically sung songs out of the entire season.

Amber Riley (Mercedes) took on Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness.” Riley really got the opportunity to showcase her range, as the beginning of the song calls for a more vulnerable quality that we don’t hear too often from the singer. The song builds and builds to where Riley launches into her full voice and just rocks the song out. Riley’s vocals just shine throughout the entire song.

Chris Colfer (Kurt) steps into the spotlight with “Some People” from Gypsy. Colfer injects so much personality into his pitch perfect vocal performance, which makes this song just a joy to listen to. I am so happy that his character is back with New Directions, because Colfer’s fantastic vocal chops finally get their due.

For the second time this season, Naya Rivera (Santana) steps into Amy Winehouse’s shoes. This past episode, she took on “Back To Black.” Rivera really has the perfect vocal tone and inflection to carry out this song. Her greatest strength in her singing is the ability to express emotion in a way that you believe the words she’s singing.

Continue reading Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Funeral”

Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Prom Queen”

The latest tracks from Glee’s most recent episode “Prom Queen” are quite the eclectic mix. They are also some of the best produced tracks of the season.

Last week’s tracks included the return of Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James), who alongside Lea Michele (Rachel Berry) sang Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” as a duet. After the second listen, I realized that Glee had chosen the John Legend arrangement of the song, which in context of the episode works. And it goes without saying that both Groff and Michele sound phenomenal singing together.

For me, this track was kind of a letdown. I had imagined Glee playing up the drama in the song by adding more of a rock vibe to the arrangement. I was really taken aback when I first heard the track, because it’s nothing like I imagined. I never thought that Glee would do such a blatant cover of a cover, because that just shows a lack of creativity on their end.

Kevin McHale (Artie) brings the soft and subtle vibe with Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely.” I love how the song starts out a capella. From the first note, the song makes you take notice of it, because there’s nothing else to distract from McHale’s voice.

When some light acoustic guitar strumming and drumming kick in during the second verse, it’s just the perfect accent to the song. McHale’s voice isn’t overpowered at all. I definitely think Glee showed some creativity with the arrangement on this one.

You know, prior to listening to this week’s Glee tracks, I had never bothered to listen to Rebecca Black’s “Friday,” because I had read the lyrics, and that was enough for me. So having no clue about what the original song sounds like, I think the Glee version isn’t half bad. Actually, I woke up last Friday morning with it stuck in my head. Fun, fun, fun!

Mark Salling (Puck), McHale, and Chord Overstreet (Sam) voices blend quite nicely together. They could be the Glee version of the 90’s boyband LFO. (Not to be totally off-topic, but how fun would a boyband-themed Glee episode be?)

Continue reading Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Prom Queen”

‘Glee’ Music Preview >> “Rolling in the Deep”

Check out a preview of the return of Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff) and his duet with Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) from tonight’s Glee.

I definitely like this duet in context of the show, and it’s definitely quite the entrance for Jonathan Groff’s return.

Glee’s “Prom Queen” airs tonight at 8 p.m. on FOX.

Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Rumours”

Just when I thought the “Born This Way” episode of Glee had a great mix of music; last week’s episode, “Rumours,” which featured songs from the Fleetwood Mac album of the same name, provided some standout vocal performances from our favorite glee clubbers.

Guest star, Kristin Chenoweth (April Rhodes) returned to the show last week, and had a duet with Matthew Morrison (Will Schuster) on the song, “Dreams.” I have always loved Chenoweth and Morrison’s voices together. And Glee always gives them great songs to sing. Chenoweth has such a great tone to her voice and when it’s combined with Morrison’s smooth vocal, the result is just delightful to listen to.

Kevin McHale (Artie) took on the song, “Never Going Back Again.” McHale is  usually given the big showstopper songs, but last week he had a little more of a demure track, which I liked. McHale has a big voice, and it’s nice to hear him dial it back and have somewhat of a vulnerable vocal performance. This song really proved McHale to be a truly versatile singer.

But, I must say if anyone had a standout vocal performance with their song last week, it was Naya Rivera (Santana) who took on “Songbird.” Her vocal performance on this track is absolutely stunning. You get a real sense of emotion from this track, which she conveys with such passion. This is the first track Rivera has taken the lead on where I actually believed the lyrics she was singing.

Continue reading Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Rumours”

Dulling The Magic of “Rolling in the Deep” One Cover at a Time

Late this past Thursday night, the tracks for next week’s Glee episode “Prom Queen” leaked onto the interwebz. Included in next week’s batch of tracks is Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” which is sung by Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff as a duet.

This Glee cover is the latest in a string of “Rolling in the Deep” covers that have hit the web, since the song was released last fall.  One of the issues I have with all the covers of this song is that most of them pale in comparison to the original.

As someone that loves music, I feel like “Rolling in the Deep” could possibly be on it’s way to being played out. The fact that Glee is has now covered it says a lot. And I’m not gonna front, I was excited at first to hear that Glee was taking on the song. I love Lea and Jonathan’s voices together, and I thought the result was going to be this intensely passionate, angsty vocal performance from the two of them. The Glee version actually sounds like a take of the John Legend cover of the song. To be honest, I was expecting more of a rock vibe from them, instead of a gospel vibe.

Continue reading Dulling The Magic of “Rolling in the Deep” One Cover at a Time

‘Glee’ Music Preview >> “Go Your Own Way”

Glee is all new tomorrow night featuring the music of Fleetwood Mac, in the latest episode entitled, “Rumours.”

Check out Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) singing “Go Your Own Way,” while making eyes at Finn (Cory Monteith) below!

Raise your hand if you think Rachel and Finn will get back together by the end of the season!

o/

Glee airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on FOX.

Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Born This Way”

This week’s music from Glee was quite the eclectic mix, but supplied the perfect soundtrack for the “Born This Way” episode.

Glee really brought it with the music this week. I truly enjoyed every track, but the absolute standout for me was the mash-up of West Side Story’s “I’m Pretty” with TLC’s “Unpretty,” which was sung by Lea Michele (Rachel) and Dianna Agron (Quinn).

I usually am not a huge fan of Agron’s vocals, but this mash-up really worked for her. “Unpretty” needs a soft and vulnerable vocal to make it work, and I thought she pulled it off well. I really enjoyed the contrast of her voice with Michele’s and the interchanging “I feel pretty” lines. Both ladies sound fantastic, and it was nice to hear a duet from them.

Cory Monteith (Finn) took on Sammy Davis Jr.’s “I’ve Gotta Be Me.” After listening to this track, I found this to be the best that Monteith has sounded vocally all season. It’s a very clean vocal from him, and his personality is infused throughout the song. I was taken aback a little bit when I saw this song on the track listing this week, but after seeing the episode last night, the song was a great choice for not only Monteith’s voice, but the overall theme of the “Born This Way” episode.

One of my very favorite songs, “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane was sang by Darren Criss (Blaine) and the Dalton Academy Warblers. Seriously, what can’t this dude sing? Criss has a way of emotionally connecting to every song that he sings. With “Somewhere Only We Know,” the listening audience gets to hear a very vulnerable and sincere vocal performance from him. I definitely think Glee did this song justice. And of course, shout out to the Tufts University Beezlebubs for the great backing vocals.

Chris Colfer (Kurt) returns to the solo spotlight with “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from Broadway’s Sunset Boulevard. Colfer’s vocals on this track are just stunning. The track is truly just absolute ear candy. I am hoping since Colfer’s character has now returned to the New Directions that we will be treated to a couple more solos before the season’s end.

When I found out that Glee was planning on using Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” for this episode, I thought the song was just too new to utilize for the show. But, what do I know anyway, since this song fit this week’s episode like a glove. With Colfer, Amber Riley (Mercedes) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) on lead vocals, Gaga’s “Born This Way” was hit with a dose of attitude and sass – Glee-style. I am all for uptempo group numbers, and “Born This Way” delivers in a big way.

I think this week’s bundle of Glee music may just be the best of the season, if not a close second after the music from the episode “Never Been Kissed.” Hats off to Glee’s music producers and music supervisors; the song choices and overall production were very much on point this week.

The music from “Born This Way” is available now on iTunes.

Glee airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on FOX.

Originally posted on Blogcritics.

Music Review >> Glee Cast – “A Night of Neglect”

Last week Glee returned with four new tracks to try and make us forget that the show had been on hiatus for a month. The new tracks also marked the return of guest star, Charice.

Charice (Sunshine Corazon) took on the Eric Carmen power balled, “All By Myself.” At the beginning of the season I was wasn’t initially blown away by any means by Charice’s voice, but after listening to the full studio track of “All By Myself,” I now understand why this girl is kind of big deal.

Charice’s vocals on this track are absolutely flawless. Her voice really embraces that feeling loneliness and desperation of the lyrics. Seriously, the girl’s voice gave me chills. If there’s one song from “A Night of Neglect” that is a must-download, it is definitely “All By Myself.”

Gwyneth Paltrow (Holly Holiday) also lent her voice to the music from Glee last week, and took on Adele’s “Turning Tables.” I think we can all agree that this wasn’t an ideal song choice for Paltrow. Adele’s latest album 21 is probably the best thing to come out of the music world so far this year. Having said that, I knew at some point Glee would try to tackle one of her songs.

I think Paltrow gave the song a good old fashioned try, but came up short because she simply doesn’t have the chops to pull this song off. I thought her voice sounded really good in the verses and as it slowly builds up into the chorus. It was her singing in the chorus itself that made the song kind of unbearable to listen to. Paltrow’s falsetto is not one of her strongest vocal features, and I wish that the Glee music producers had adjusted the key in the song that would have been more complimentary to Paltrow’s voice and not as grating on my ears.

I was thrilled to see a track sung by Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) in last week’s bundle of Glee music. Ushkowitz took on Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers.” It is seriously such a shame that Ushkowitz’s voice is not utilized more on this show. She has a fantastic tone to her voice that really is the balance between Lea Michele’s (Rachel) stellar vocals and Dianna Agron’s (Quinn) somewhat lackluster vocals.

I really thought that “I Follow Rivers” really fit Ushkowitz’s voice nicely. I am not familiar with Lykke Li’s catalogue of music, so I can’t really make any kind of comparison, but my ears were in favor of what they heard while I was listening to the track.

The last track to come out of last week’s episode of Glee was Aretha Franklin’s “Ain’t No Way,” which was sung by Amber Riley (Mercedes). This was my other favorite track of the week. I really thought Riley sounds just fabulous on this song. It’s a little dialed back at parts, which I liked. We all know that Riley is capable of hitting some big notes, but it’s nice to hear her have a really nice vocal without as many embellishments upstaging her talent.

The songs from Glee’s “A Night of Neglect” were an interesting mix of songs. After being on hiatus for so long, I guess I expected a song that would really stand out of the pack, and the closest they came to delivering that was with Charice’s “All By Myself.”

Glee airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on FOX.

Originally posted on Blogcritics.