GLEE ENCORE: MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC!

So everywhere I turn I keep hearing about how great a TV series GLEE is. My sister and her family are GLEE addicts. There are magazines, games, buttons and more adorned with the GLEE logo and actors. So what makes it so special? My guess, from watching this DVD, is the music.

Having still not seen the series, I gather that it revolves around a group of high school teens who aren’t a part of the “popular crowd” that become involved in the school’s glee club (what we used to call the choir). Each episode includes a musical performance, many of which use popular songs. And that’s what this DVD is all about.

There isn’t much acting ability that can be deciphered watching someone sing a song no matter how much you like the song or how much emotion the singer can put into it’s performance. But you can enjoy the music and the vocal abilities of the singer. That’s what this is all about.

Each of the actors singing here (and I for one hope that each of them does their own singing and isn’t being dubbed each week) does a stand up job and come off incredibly well. I don’t see them selling billions of CDs on their own but as part of this group they should do well.

So what songs do they offer? Here is a list for those interested:

"On My Own"

"Don't Stop Believin'"

"Gold Digger"

"I Say a Little Prayer"

"Alone"

"Somebody to Love"

"It's My Life/Confessions Part II"

"No Air"

"You Keep Me Hanging On"

"Defying Gravity"

"I'll Stand By You"

"Don't Stand So Close to Me/Young Girl"

"Lean on Me"

"Imagine"

"True Colors"

"Smile"

"Don't Rain on My Parade"

"You Can't Always Get What You Want"

"Gives You Hell"

"Hello"

"Vogue"

"Like a Virgin"

"Like a Prayer"

"Fire"

"One Less Bell to Answer/A House is Not a Home"

"Beautiful"

"Run Joey Run"

"Total Eclipse of the Heart"

"Jessie's Girl"

"Rose's Turn"

"Bad Romance"

"Beth"

"Faithfully"

"Any Way You Want It/Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'"

One thing to note about these selections. I’ve talked to kids in their 20s and late teens and trust me, most of them wouldn’t recognize these songs if it weren’t for this show. None of them would know who Burt Bacharach, Bonnie Tyler, Journey, The Rascals or Bill Withers are nor would they care. Which is kind of sad since it means they are missing so much great music that exist and only care about what’s current. With any luck by watching this show perhaps a few of them will seek out the original artists and discover what they’re missing. Until then they can enjoy the songs they love from the show with this disc and then maybe one day their children will seek out the originals.