Artist: Glee Music
Title: Glee The Music presents The Warblers
Label: Sony
When the first episode of Glee aired in May 2009, it didn't take long for the lovable misfits of McKinley High to become a huge overnight sensation.
Naturally, any series about a show-choir is going to have a boatload of musical numbers, and while their songs may have met resistance on screen, the real world was a different story.
With every new episode of Glee, fans scrambled to their iTunes accounts for the latest renditions of their favorite songs. In the second season though; the New Directions began sharing their screen time with a rival glee club called The Warbles, and where there's a glee club there's bound to be music.
Odds are, if you're buying this album you already know what you're paying for. Glee prides itself on delivering great music and The Warblers is no exception. Some of the albums best tracks included a crowd pleasing rendition of "Raise Your Glass" by Pink, "Misery" from Maroon 5, and Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs". Whatever the song, the album manages to pull it off with style. Heck, the A capella group even manages to make a hit out of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream".
Still, anyone listening to the album can understand why The Warblers lost to New Directions at regionals. Simply put, other Glee albums have the advantage of diversity. Lead singer Darren Criss (who plays Blaine Anderson in the TV series) is a great singer, but just doesn't have the same vocal capacity of powerhouses like Lea Michele or Amber Riley.
That being said, Criss leads 99% of the albums tracks with only a few cameos by cast member Chris Colfer. In fact, without the Glee label this could easily have been marketed as a Darren Criss solo album.
This means that while songs are all well performed, there are none that truly distinguish themselves. Again though, any fan of the TV series probably saw this coming. What really helps The Warblers win in the end is that it's fun. The album embraces the Glee mantra, and focuses on being enjoyable rather than trying to amaze its audience.
So, whether or not you're a hard core Gleek, The Warblers proves to be a fun, creative album that is well worth the ten dollar asking price.
*This review first published 5/3/2011
