Already on its way to becoming the biggest selling album of the year like its predecessor (it's first week sales bow was the second-biggest of the year after Linkin Park's), the High School Musical 2 packs in the pop hooks, making the music the best part of the TV film sequel (the showy film is good, but lacks the magic of the first).
Opening cast number "What Time Is It," a standout celebration of the arrival of summer, gets the set started with high energy and style and a fun percussive mid-section. Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay) gets three numbers almost all to her self here. The first and best is "Fabulous," an ode to luxury draped with "Jimmy Choo Flip Flops" and other assorted imports. We'll have to wait for the DVD (or search You Tube) for her other big number, "Humuhumunukunukuapua'a," the too-silly bonus track.
Zac Efron (Troy) and Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella) get their share of mid-tempo balladry, delivering the other standout, "You Are the Music in Me," a sweet piano and guitar song that celebrates what Troy and Gabriella's relationship is all about: innocent love blossomed from the shared discovery of their musical talent. It outshines their breakup number, "Gotta Go My Way," and the climactic (unfortunately anticlimactic) "Everyday."
"I Don't Dance" is this album's "Get Your Head in Game"--the sports themed number ("hey batter batter, hey batter batter swing)--this time equating baseball with dancing over a clever blend of swing and hip-hop, refreshingly sung by two supporting characters Lucas Grabeel (Ryan) and Corbin Bleu (Chad). Efron gets his own number in the moody "Bet on It," which sounds like something N'Sync could have recorded before they broke up.
Best: You Are the Music in Me, What Time Is It, I Don't Dance, Fabulous, Gotta Go My Own Way, Bet on It
1 comment:
I am not thrilled this this one, as compared to the first.
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