Glee: The Music, Vol. 7

Personnel: Onitsha Shaw, David Loucks, Ravaughn Brown, Jane Lynch, Drew Ryan Scott, Tim Davis , Kamari Copeland, Cory Monteith, Zac Poor, Chris Colfer, Storm Lee, Dianna Agron, Amber Riley, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele , Damian McGinty, Jenna Ushkowitz, Heather Morris, Alex Anders, Jayma Mays, Chord Overstreet, Mark Salling, Naya Rivera, Kala Balch, Darren Criss, Emily Benford, Harry Shum, Nikki Anders, Jeanette Olsson, Windy Wagner, Matthew Morrison, Adam Anders (vocals); Martin Persson (programming).
Audio Mixer: Peer Astrom .
Recording information: Chalice Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; RFT Studios, Calabases, CA; The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA.
Arrangers: Peer Astrom ; Adam Anders.
Despite Glee's unpredictable plot twists in its third season, Glee: The Music, Vol. 7 shows that its music is as reliable as ever, a mix of traditional glee club favorites with some seemingly risky choices thrown in for good measure. Songs like "You Can't Stop the Beat" and "ABC" are such typical, and effective, choices for the cast to sing that it's almost surprising they haven't been done already, but they underscore how Glee, along with talent competition shows such as American Idol and The Voice, fill the void of the old-fashioned variety show in TV programming. The Adele mashup "Rumour Has It/Someone Like You" rises above its tricky concept and features star turns by Heather Morris, Naya Rivera, and Amber Riley. Likewise, the straightforward but successful version of "Constant Craving" shows that Glee's music still has plenty of mileage when it chooses interesting songs for the cast to sing well. ~ Heather Phares