Watching "Glee" is a two-part process: 1) Watch the show on Tuesday night, and 2) Purchase (or illegally download) the latest episode's music and listen religiously until next week. But the series' latest album, "The Power of Madonna," will leave you Gleeks a little dry.
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The album doesn't provide the range or the variety that we've come to expect from the show. The songs are ripped from Madonna's greatest hits album without much invention or embellishment, and the track "Vogue" is nearly note-for-note identical to the original. While one can appreciate the '80s gimmick, the tracks themselves, by virtue of being Madonna covers, inherently limit the singers' diverse abilities.
Fortunately, "What It Feels Like for a Girl" can be salvaged from the album. More mellow and subdued, the track is ironically sung by the entire male "Glee" cast. Hearing the strong jock types sing about "hands that rest on jutting hips repenting" is at least noticeably different from Madonna's 2001 version.
"4 Minutes" contains much more typical "Glee" flair and is definitely worth a listen. The tune replaces the poppy Madonna and Justin Timberlake vocals with characters Mercedes (Amber Riley) and Kurt (Chris Colfer). The result: Note-belting that reaches the range that adviser Will Schuester demands from his dear Glee club.
If you're really craving some retro Madonna beats, buy her greatest hits album "Celebration." It'll set you back a few extra bucks, but at least you'll get the real thing. And should the hankering for some classic Rachel-Finn musical romance persist, wait for next week. Madonna is the real star of this one.
