Yesterday Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2 hit stores, iTunes, and Gleeks’ holiday playlists, although you might have already listened to it streaming in full on AOL Music beforehand (shh…don’t tell).
Following in the fa-la-la footsteps of last year’s first Christmas album, you just know Volume 2 is going to be rockin’ and “extraordinary” to say the least. But in case you have a hard time deciding if you want to fork it over for the full CD (as if there was any doubt), I’ve put together a review for you guys of all the songs featured on the album – some holiday favorites from all your favorite cast members, including tracks featuring all four of The Glee Project winners!
1. All I Want For Christmas Is You / Mercedes (Amber Riley)
I remember listening to Mariah Carey’s version of this holiday classic every year off an old family Christmas album. It is the perfect choice for Mercedes’ character and Amber’s voice, the song just silently screams diva. And while no one can of course hold a candle to Mariah, I must say that I much prefer Amber’s version.
2. Extraordinary Merry Christmas / Rachel & Blaine (Lea Michele & Darren Criss)
Nice…. Now that we’re past Glee doing original songs, we get one on the Christmas album! Not as fantastic as I would expect out of the only original song on the album, but it does have a great beat, a good melody – the chorus is definitely the best part. My only complaint is that it should have been the album’s first track.
3. Santa Baby / Santana (Naya Rivera)
This is the Glee holiday song I was looking most forward to this year. It fits Santana to a T. You can just tell that Naya had a real good time singing the song, her voice has a fun presence throughout. I’m just dying to see this season’s Christmas special to see if she performs it in the episode.
4. Christmas Eve With You / Will & Emma (Matthew Morrison & Jayma Mays)
Not a carol, but a very nice addition to the album. I really like holiday songs like this one, they’re so pleasant to listen to – and Matt and Jayma make it all the more enjoyable. I love anything Will/Matt sings, and to finally hear him in a duet with Emma/Jayma is amazing. Hopefully for Wemma fans, there’s a story behind the song. Guess we’ll have to watch the Christmas episode (season 3, episode 9) to find out.
5. Little Drummer Boy / Artie (Kevin McHale)
I might be the only one, but I was a tad disappointed that this song was given to Artie (Kevin) to sing. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Kevin’s voice and this Christmas carol is one of my all-time favorites, I just imagined a different voice for it, I think (though it would fit Finn’s character, lol). All that aside though, Kevin does a dynamite vocal job as always, and it’s still a very enjoyable track. Artie/Kevin fans will definitely be overjoyed with this one.
6. River / Rachel (Lea Michele)
This Joni Mitchell holiday song is just lovely with Lea’s beautiful Broadway voice, it’s one of my favorite tracks to listen to on the album. I prefer it much better to her rendition of “O Holy Night” on last year’s Christmas album. Plus, Finchel fans will love it. The “cutting down trees” lyric keeps reminding me of season 2’s Christmas episode with Finn and Rachel looking at trees. 
7. Do You Hear What I Hear? / Alex Newell & Lindsay Pearce
This is where one of my favorite Christmas songs ever meets my not-so-favorite Glee Project contestants ever. So you’ll understand how cool it is when I say that I am positively thrilled with this track. Alex and Lindsay never fail to send chills down my spine every time I listen. Their voices meld beautifully together, and where they do choose to mix up the original a bit, it’s breathtaking. Kudos to Adam Anders for the arrangement on this one, I am so impressed.
8. Let It Snow / Kurt & Blaine (Chris Colfer & Darren Criss)
And what would a Glee Christmas album be without a Klaine duet? For me, it’s extremely hard to beat last year’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, so when comparing the two “Let It Snow” makes me go “meh” a little bit. But Kurt (Chris) and Blaine (Darren) together is never a bad thing musically (or otherwise, ha). This song completes the album for sure, but it’s not one I’ll listen to over and over (while “Baby It’s Cold Outside” is).
9. Santa Clause Is Comin’ To Town / Cory Monteith (Finn), Mark Salling (Puck), & Samuel Larsen
Finn (Cory), Puck (Mark), and Glee Project winner, Sam Larsen is a triple-threat combo that will make you want to jump up and do your best holiday jig. Okay, so Sam doesn’t get a solo like his fellow Glee Project winner, Damian McGinty (see track review below of “Blue Christmas”), but that’s totally cool with me because I say he sounds all the better for lumping him with the vocal likes of Cory and Mark. It’s rockin’. Can’t wait to see his character on the show later this season.
10. Christmas Wrapping / Brittany (Heather Morris)
This one’s the fun track. For Brittany/Heather, what other kind of song is there? I’ve never heard the song before now (original done by The Waitresses, remember them?), so I have nothing to compare it to, but I think that’s a good thing. It’s kind of crazy (another good reason for it to be a Brittany S. Pierce song, lol). You’ll want to put it on repeat just to see if you can catch all the lyrics.
11. Blue Christmas / Rory (Damian McGinty)
I think my insides melted a little bit the first time I heard Damian’s voice on this song. The song not only fits his character, Rory (missing his family back home in Ireland, aw…), it fits Damian’s Frank Sinatra-ish style. A lovely choice, as a big Damian fan I couldn’t be happier.
12. Do They Know It’s Christmas / Glee Cast
This song’s melody gets stuck in my head like crazy. A good feature for a lot of the different cast voices, you can pick out not just Lea’s big voice but Naya’s too. A super Christmas anthem ending to a great Christmas album.
While I would still love to hear the Glee cast cover all sorts of other Christmas carols and holiday songs, I thoroughly enjoyed Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2. Head on over to Amazon and get your copy today.
