Glee Sings the Beatles
2013 soundtrack album by Glee Cast
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Glee Sings the Beatles is the fifteenth soundtrack album by the cast of the American musical television show Glee. It was made available for pre-order on iTunes on September 10, 2013, with the expected to be released date on September 24, 2013, two days before the fifth season premiere.[1] The album features fourteen songs recorded for the first two episodes of the season: "Love Love Love" and "Tina in the Sky with Diamonds".[2]
- Pop
- rock
51:04 (Japanese edition)
| Glee Sings the Beatles | ||||
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| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | September 24, 2013 | |||
| Recorded | 2013 | |||
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| Length | 40:13 51:04 (Japanese edition) | |||
| Label | Columbia / 20th Century Fox TV | |||
| Producers | Dante Di Loreto (exec.), Brad Falchuk (exec.), Adam Anders, Peer Åström, Ryan Gillmor, Ryan Murphy | |||
| Glee Cast chronology | ||||
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Background
This is not the first time the cast of Glee pays tribute to famous artists. Recurring guest star Demi Lovato is also featured in one of the tracks of the album. Back on August 3, 2010, Paul McCartney, reportedly a fan of the show, sent a mixtape featuring his music to Glee creator Ryan Murphy in an attempt to convince Murphy to include some of the songs in the upcoming season. "I received some fantastic mixtapes from Paul McCartney a couple of weeks ago. I thought I was being punked!" Murphy said at 2010's Television Critics Association panel in Los Angeles.[3] However, The Beatles' tribute episode was never planned to be aired on season two, three or four of the show.
The two-part premiere episodes of the tribute featured glee club director Will Schuester, portrayed by actor Matthew Morrison, assigning the students in the club to sing songs by the early Beatles (on "Love Love Love") and by the late Beatles (on "Tina in the Sky with Diamonds").
The Japanese version of the album features Beatles songs that were sung by the cast in earlier episodes (seasons 1 to 3)
Reception
Critical response
The album has received generally positive reviews from professional critics. Heather Phares of Allmusic wrote: "The July 2013 death of Cory Monteith, cast a pall on the beginning of Glee's fifth season," adding that two of the album's songs, "Yesterday" and "Let It Be" were "bookended versions of the Fab Four's cheerier fare with subdued renditions of two of the band's most poignant songs". Phares also commented positively on how "[the album] could have left the cast's women stuck on the sidelines as screaming Beatlemaniacs, [but instead] it had the ladies front and center [on songs] like the sweet rendition of "Here Comes the Sun" and the playful take on "A Hard Day's Night". In other words the Allmusic review calls the album as "a promising start to season five's music".[6]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 38 on the US Billboard 200.[7]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Lennon–McCartney, except tracks 10 & 11, which were written by George Harrison.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Yesterday" | 2:33 |
| 2. | "Drive My Car" | 2:32 |
| 3. | "Got to Get You into My Life" | 2:29 |
| 4. | "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" | 2:43 |
| 5. | "Help" | 2:18 |
| 6. | "A Hard Day's Night" | 2:27 |
| 7. | "I Saw Her Standing There" | 2:40 |
| 8. | "All You Need Is Love" | 3:16 |
| 9. | "Get Back" | 2:26 |
| 10. | "Here Comes the Sun" (featuring Demi Lovato) | 3:00 |
| 11. | "Something" | 3:01 |
| 12. | "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" | 1:54 |
| 13. | "Hey Jude" | 4:51 |
| 14. | "Let It Be" | 4:03 |
| Total length: | 40:13 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Hello, Goodbye" | 3:29 |
| 16. | "I Want to Hold Your Hand" | 2:38 |
| 17. | "Blackbird" | 2:20 |
| 18. | "In My Life" | 2:24 |
| Total length: | 51:04 | |
Personnel
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Charts
| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart[9] | 48 |
| Irish Albums Chart[10] | 92 |
| UK Albums Chart[11] | 89 |
| US Billboard 200[12] | 38 |
| US Billboard Soundtracks[13] | 2 |
Release history
| Region | Release date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom[14] | September 23, 2013 | Twentieth Century Fox | Digital download |
| Canada[15] | Sony Music Canada Inc.[16] | CD, digital download | |
| Ireland[17] | Twentieth Century Fox | ||
| Taiwan[18] | |||
| Italy[19] | |||
| Sweden[20] | |||
| Thailand[21] | |||
| United States[22] | September 24, 2013 | ||
| Australia[23] | October 4, 2013 | ||
| New Zealand[24] | |||
| United Kingdom[25] | October 7, 2013 | Music Division | CD |