Album Review: Glee - The Music, Volume 1 (3.5/5)

The Glee soundtrack is a nice guilty pleasure for fans, but I doubt it would appeal broadly to others, since, after all, this is mostly remakes of recently popular tracks performed by mostly unknowns (at the moment anyway).

Divorced from the show, the music shows which actors are the strongest musical talents. In particular, Lea Michele (Rachel Berry) really shines, and if she isn't shopping her own music contract yet, she should be. She aptly covers Kara DioGuardi's "Taking Chances," rivaling Celine Dion's 2007 cover. Also good is Mark Salling (Puck-whom we're all in love with), who shines on Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," and Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), who delivers the goods on "Bust Your Windows."

For a real show stopper though, check out Heart's "Alone," covered by major Broadway talent Kristen Chenoweth--who stole the show when she guest-starred--and Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), who is so much more engaging when he's singing than he is when rapping ("Bust a Move," "Gold Digger"). Among the full-group numbers, nothing tops the pilot's "Don't Stop Believin'."

Despite coming in at 18 tracks, there are still some notable omissions. Most surprising is the absence of the mash-ups "Halo/Waking on Sunshine" and "It's My Life/Confessions," which were so integral to the plot of one episode and were both top 40 hits. Download them separately to round out this set. And if you still haven't gotten enough of a Glee fix, don't worry, Vol. 2 is coming out next month.

Best: Don't Stop Believin', Alone, Taking Chances, Sweet Caroline, Bust Your Windows, Somebody to Love