Music Review: GLEE soundtrack

Oh man, I’m so excited to be able to access my blog again. I had some weird issue with WordPress for the last two days and was unable to edit or write any new posts.

But I’m also happy because I’ve been listening nonstop to the Glee soundtrack, Glee: The Music, Volume 1, which dropped this week. I’ve been dancing around my room, singing along at the top of my lungs (I think neighbors called animal control) and now I’m writing about it in case you’re still not sure what all the fuss is about.

First, let me say I usually like musicals about as much as I enjoy eating a bag o’ glass with a Tabasco chaser. It annoys me whenever the narrative comes to crashing halt for some guy to burst into song in a cornfield because he just figured out he’s in love.  Go find her and tell her already! In the four minutes it takes him to sing and prance about with a hoe to represent the object of his affection, the girl could be accepting a job in a foreign country or marrying another guy. Come on!

Despite this, I love Glee and look forward to it every week. I even get grumpy when it gets pre-empted by baseball (the show returns next Wednesday, November 11). That’s because the musical sequences are cleverly worked into the plot so they don’t slow down the pace. The recent dance number featuring the entire high school football team doing Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” on the field? All part of an exercise to loosen them up. And a teacher twirling in a wedding gown, singing “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady? She was testing if she could actually move in her dress to the song she wanted for her first dance.

But the reason I’m addicted is the phenomenal cast. When Lea Michele, who plays Glee Club diva Rachel, opens her mouth, pure magic comes out. Her voice can probably cure illnesses. Matthew Morrison, who plays the love-torn music teacher, Will, busted out in the last episode,  performing “Bust a Move” while showing off eye-popping dance moves.

That song’s included on the soundtrack, which features some of the show’s most memorable numbers to date (Volume 2 comes out December 8). My faves: “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” (might as well download it directly into my frontal lobe), “Somebody to Love” (I think Freddie Mercury would’ve approved), “Take a Bow” (defiantly sung by Michele) and “Sweet Caroline,” which seduced me completely when Puck (Mark Salling) sang it to Rachel though he’s usually an ass.

In the time it took me to write this, the disc has looped around twice already and I ain’t stoppin’ it. The neighbors might have the cops bust down my door, but first, I’m gonna bust a move.

Nerd verdict: C’mon, get Gleeky