Glee: The Music, Volume 4

Glee Cast | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 30, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Columbia
• ASIN: B0049IHY30
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,430 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Glee: The Music, Volume 4 features 18 brand new songs from season two, including songs from special guests Gwyneth Paltrow ("Forget You") and newcomer Darren Criss ("Teenage Dream"). The album includes such memorable Glee performances as "Billionaire", "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and "Empire State of Mind" as well as 4 songs from the much talked about "Britney/Brittany" episode, which was the most watched episode of FOX s hit TV show to date.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 89 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A strong musical start to the new season. November 30, 2010

By Sean Curley

Format:Audio CD

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.

32 of 38 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Blatant omission of certain songs December 2, 2010

By Goldie locks

Format:Audio CD

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 all iTunes 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)

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars INEXCUSABLE to not include Umbrella/Singing in the Rain November 30, 2010

By Daniel W. Kelly TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

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.