Glee: The Music, Volume 5

Glee Cast | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 8, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Columbia
• ASIN: B004MYG6XA
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,446 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Thriller/Heads Will Roll

2. Need You Now

3. She s Not There

4. Fat Bottomed Girls

5. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

6. Firework

7. Baby

8. Somebody To Love

9. Take Me or Leave Me

10. Sing

11. Don t You Want Me

12. Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)

13. Kiss

14. Landslide

15. Get It Right

16. Loser Like Me

Editorial Reviews

Glee: The Music, Volume 5 features 16 exciting tracks from season two of the hit TV show. For the first time ever, Glee premieres two new and original songs including "Loser Like Me," an energetic ensemble track co-written by pop mastermind Max Martin (Britney Spears, P!nk) and "Get It Right," a moving ballad brought to life by Lea Michele's immense voice. In addition to these new tracks, Glee: The Music, Volume 5 features the Glee cast's take on such classics as Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now," Katy Perry's "Firework" and Justin Bieber's "Baby." Gwyneth Paltrow makes a triumphant return to Glee and is featured on such classics as Prince's "Kiss," Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" and Joan Jett's "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)." Also featured is the cast's much talked about mashup of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and the Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Heads Will Roll."

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Generally a good album, albeit with a few failures. March 8, 2011

By Sean Curley

Format:Audio CD

Glee's tenth CD release (four previous regular volumes, plus three episode-specific EPs, one Christmas album, one Valentine's Day collection) arrives in stores, featuring a broad selection of songs from episodes eleven to sixteen 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. However, compared to the preceding CD, this has not greatly limited the presence of Lea Michele (Rachel), the show's overall lead singer, who is featured much more frequently in these songs. Male vocals continue to be dominated by Kevin McHale (Artie), with Mark Salling (Puck) also making his presence much more evident on this collection than in the one preceding it. There's also quite a bit of special guest Gwyneth Paltrow.

One notable absence from this collection are any of the acapella songs performed by Darren Criss (Blaine) and the Tufts Beelzebubs (the Dalton Academy Warblers). Presumably those numbers are destined for their own independent collection.

The sixteen songs included are:

"Thriller/Heads Will Roll" (originally by, respectively, Michael Jackson and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) - the much-talked-of mash-up from the Superbowl episode, with vocals primarily handled by McHale and Naya Rivera (Santana), with Michele dueting with McHale for a piece of it. Overall, it's quite a fun piece that would make a good dance mix (though Rivera's vocals are unnecessarily overprocessed in places).

"Need You Now" (originally by Lady Antebellum) - duet between Michele and Salling that should please Rachel/Puck shippers.... It's pleasant enough, but resembles the original pretty heavily.

"She's Not There" (originally by the Zombies) - the lone solo appearance on this track of Cory Monteith (Finn), and it's actually one of his stronger efforts, though I'm not a huge fan of the original.

"Fat Bottomed Girls" (originally by Queen) - a solo by Mark Salling, which is quite fun (both in the show and by itself).

"P.Y.T." (originally by Michael Jackson) - another Kevin McHale cover of a Michael Jackson song, in this case the considerably less-
good "P.Y.T."; in the show this came with a Harry Shum, Jr. dance routine that was really impressive, but that's obviously not a factor here. It's a capable cover, though, again, I'm not a big fan of the song itself.

"Firework" (originally by Katy Perry) - Lea Michele's first solo of the collection. She's a far superior singer to Perry (who I enjoy, nonetheless), though the cover is hindered a bit with, again, some unnecessary processing.

"Baby" (originally by Justin Bieber) - ack. Chord Overstreet (Sam) gamely takes on this ubiquitous pop hit, and he does a decent job with it, even if it is hard to get past the fundamentals of its nature.

"Somebody to Love" (originally by Justin Bieber) - see above, though also featuring Mark Salling and Kevin McHale.

"Take Me Or Leave Me" (originally performed by Idina Menzel and Fredi Walker) - in one of the vocal highlights of the season so far, Lea Michele and Amber Riley (Mercedes) are unleashed on this famous duet from the musical "Rent", with Michele taking the part originated by Idina Menzel, her onscreen mother and lookalike. This is a jazzier version than is typical (partly since it's not performed in-context), but I enjoyed it tremendously. Nice to hear something a little different.

"Sing" (originally performed by My Chemical Romance) - a Finn and Rachel-led group number, something that's been very thin on the ground this year after being incredibly common in the first season. And it's one of the best in a while, in my opinion. I could stand to have the show get back to producing more of this style of song.

"Don't You Want Me" (originally by the Human League) - Michele and Criss duet for the first time on this old 1980s standard, and do a very strong job; one would like to hear them paired together again for future songs.

"Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" (originally by Gary Glitter, famously covered by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts) - the first of three numbers featuring guest star Gwyneth Paltrow (Holly Holliday), in this case backed by the full New Directions. Paltrow will never be a rocker chick, but she does well on the song overall.

"Kiss" (originally by Prince) - the second Paltrow number, sung alongside Matthew Morrison (Will), the best male singer in the cast by far who has been rather underused this season. Even securing the rights to cover a Prince song is something of a coup for the show, given Prince's past reluctance to license his work. Unfortunately, the result is...bad; neither Paltrow's nor, surprisingly, Morrison's voices really work (the latter is working a particularly strange falsetto in places).

"Landslide" (originally by Fleetwood Mac) - Paltrow's third number, performed here alongside Naya Rivera and (in a minor vocal role) Heather Morris (Brittany). It's truly beautiful; Paltrow was born to sing country, and her voice mixes very well with Rivera's.

"Get It Right" (originally by no one) - the first piece of original music ever performed on the show is a solo for Michele (Rachel being the putative author of these works), with some harmonies provided by Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina). It's a nice little ballad that fits the character well.

"Loser Like Me" (originally by no one) - the second piece of original music, not nearly as successful as the first. Another New Directions number with Michele and Monteith as the leads, it's pure bubblegum pop, and not even a particularly good example of the genre. Read more ›

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a MUST BUY Glee album March 10, 2011

By Melanie S

Format:Audio CD

Here is my review of Glee's Volume 5 soundtrack album:

Track 1: "Thriller/Heads Will Roll" - mash-up song of Michael Jackson and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The song was performed during the Super Bowl Episode (s2x11). Thriller is a classic and there is not a cover to top this original. In my opinion, their choice to do a mash-up was an excellent choice.Leads by Artie (Kevin McHale) and Santana (Naya Rivera). It may look a little over-processed song at first, but as you listen to it once or twice, you'll get the hang of how fun this number is.

Track 2: "Need You Now" - Lady Antebellum's latest album that snagged five grammys last month. It is the first ever duet between Puck (Mark Salling) and Rachel (Lea Michele). They nail the song, and the mood of the scene is just perfect of how badly Rachel needs a someone to be with (...and to make Finn jealous). The song looks very similar to the original, but the emotion by both singers make it very Glee-ful to hear.

Track 3: "She's Not There" - it's a Zombies' classic song. Finn (Cory Monteith) takes the lead, it's pretty much a solo - and i feel he has improved so much. Although his "Jessie's Girl" will always be my favorite. This song is for Finn to bring back Quinn (Dianna Aggron) back to the Glee club. The remake of many faded-away Rock songs is something I appreciate Glee for. Hey, it's not easy to remake a song, let alone appeal to the 21st Century.

Track 4: "Fat Bottomed Girls" - from the band Queen's repertoire. It is a solo by Puck (Mark Salling) and it's like a love letter for Lauren (Ashley Fink), a new member of the club and he wants to express his feelings to her. Although she thinks it's offensive, he meant it in a good way. The song is very fun to watch!... It's not pitch perfect as Mercury, but hey, that's what makes it his version.

Track 5: "P.Y.T" (Pretty Young Thing) - by Michael Jackson, and I want to just say this, Kevin McHale was born to sing Michael. He has such a great voice and I'm glad the show is using his talents. In the show, the song begins as a dream sequence of Artie and Mike (Harry Shum Jr.)in the hallway, and then as an assignment for the club. Harry's dance moves are mind-blowing.

Track 6: "Firework" - originally by Katy Perry. This is a solo by Rachel (Lea Michele). As always, she puts her full effort into the song and makes it really great to hear. That being said, since the original was released months ago, her vocals might seem very processed and might resemble Perry's. I listened it couple of times to grasp that it was Rachel singing and not Perry in the background.

Track 7: "Baby" by Justin Beiber - Sam(Chord Overstreet) takes the lead and he sings it to Quinn to reassure her that he still loves her. In the show, the song is only on Sam. However, on the audio/CD/mp3 version, Artie (kevin) is substituting Ludacris, who was featured in the original. The scene with Sam singing was downright HILARIOUS! he was making dance moves while the group's facial expressions were fun to watch.

Track 8: "Somebody to Love" - also by Justin Beiber - this was sung by Sam/Artie/Puck/Mike - although most vocals come from Artie and Sam - it was again another hilarious moments to watch on the episode called "Comeback" -(s2x13)

Track 9: "Take Me or Leave Me" - from the musical "RENT" - the only broadway number on the entire album, but this was that Big number that was so fun to watch: a diva- off between Rachel and Mercedes (Amber Riley). They sing it as a duet,and frankly the song part is different from the original where Idina Menzel and Freddi Walker sang it. How could anyone forget RENT? We really need more Mercedes solos. She's been left out in the second half so far. Hope the writers bring her diva moment soon!

Track 10: "Sing" by My Chemical Romance originally, and it was a group number with leads by Finn and Rachel. For me personally, this was the "Don't Stop Believing" of this season so far. The style is so unique. Again, I love that Glee brings Rock type songs and it recreates some music/band groups we've never heard of probably. That's what makes Glee not a KidsBop version. I would love to see more Rock-based group numbers.

Track 11: "Don't You Want me" by the Human League (woohoo the 80s!)- the only track from the "Blame it on the Alcohol" episode (s2x14). It was the first ever Blaine (Darren Criss) and Rachel duets. The raw vocals with heavy music, it was fun to hear. It was weird for me to realize that Blaine-Rachel sang it after getting drunk.

Track 12: "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah!)" by Joan Jett - lead by Holly Holliday (Gwyneth Paltrow) and it was a great dance number. It was crazy fun to watch a substitute teacher doing a lesson on sex-education, her one-liners are pretty hilarious. Though Paltrow's voice is not very suitable for Rock songs, at least it's nice to hear something new from her. A solid performance.

Track 13: "Kiss" by Prince - a duet between Will (Matthew Morrison) and Holly - they did a tango version of this song. Since the episode was named "Sexy" i gotta say that this version was 'sexified' - sorry for my language. It was really awesome to watch the amazing dance routine they did. The beginning parts were a little not promising because it sounded like Prince hitting that high note, but as the song progressed, it was well done!

Track 14: "Landslide" originally by Fleetwood Mac. It was sung leads by Paltrow and then leads into Santana and Brittany singing along. It was very emotional to watch this scene. My mom started crying because the scene was powerful. Apparently, i heard Stevie Nicks actually appearing on the set and listen to them perform and i was a little happy about the fact that said that music is passed from generation to generation by different singers. This song gives a Bluegrass feel (different from the Dixie Chicks' version that gives you a country feel). This song is truly beautiful and it sets the mood of how Santana feels about Brittany.

Track 15: "Get It Right" - this is the Glee Cast's FIRST original song. It was co-written by songwriter Max Martin's wife and Glee's music producer Adam Anders. This is a solo from Rachel (Lea Michele) and it is a mind-blowing ballad. I cannot find words to express how good the song is written based on her character and her journey throughout. One of the best lines is '..my best intentions keep making a mess' - Michele puts so much emotion and it kind of tells why Rachel is a lead character.

Track 16: "Loser Like Me" - the second original song by the Glee Cast. It was written by Max Martin, and this song has leads from both Finn and Rachel and it is a group number for Regionals. It gives a very 90's feel in an upbeat way. The song relates back to what this Glee club is really about. It was really fun to hear,and I cannot wait to see it next week on TV.

I feel like I may have written a little too much, I apologize. This is a very solid album with 14 covers and 2 originals. From Pop to country to Rock, it fits almost every genre, and if I have one problem with this album, and I do. It is that there is no Kurt (Chris Colfer) solos or duets on these songs - I hope they get it soon. Also, I want to clear a doubt that none of these songs are auto-tuned in any way - the show's music producer Adam Anders in an interview actually mentioned it. They edit the background music vocals, not the pitches. One more thing, please don't give low ratings because the Warblers' songs are not featured because they will be released as a separate album later. Again,This is a MUST-BUY album that showcases many classics in our music history! Read more ›

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the most upbeat soundtrack so far March 8, 2011

By Daniel W. Kelly TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

As always, there are various songs from the episodes this soundtrack spans that are left off, but some of the most memorable highlights are here, including covers of Katy Perry, two of Michael Jackson (one mashup with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Queen, Justin Bieber, the Human League, Joan Jett and Prince. Some good modern electro pop arrangements make these renditions fresh and new. Of course, there are some ballads, the standout really being Gwenyth Paltrow's modest interpretation of the Fleetwood Mac staple "Landslide" (she handles this one better than Do You Wanna Touch Me, which fails to capture the bad girl growl of Joan Jett's cover, which she is obviously doing). The fun of this volume seems to reflect the fun that Season 2 Part 2 has been so far--the episodes are getting better and better as the season comes to a close.

Overall, this is one of the best Glee soundtracks so far I think--still wish they would have listened to the disappointment of fans and included the cover of Umbrella/Singing in the Rain that was left off the last soundtrack...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, We Are Suckers For Glee September 29, 2012

By terster

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

We have bought every volume to date. We are suckers for Glee. WE like the tv show, even though it's a bit adult and we love the music for in the car, it's more family friendly when you can only hear and not see the video that goes with the songs. We recommend the CD's.

5.0 out of 5 stars The best performance of thriller June 18, 2013

By María José Gómez

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

With moving song's and wonderful performances. If you are a good glee's fan you will have to buy it. To sum up awesome.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice music. May 22, 2013

By Rebecca Lynn Harrison

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am enjoying this CD. The music is very pleasant and I enjoy it while driving or doing paperwork. Goodbye.