Why So Blu?

Glee Encore Edition (Blu-ray Review)

If you enjoy the musical numbers from Glee but don’t want to sit through the rest of the show, this is the Blu-ray for you!  If you are a big fan of the show (the whole show) and do own the Blu-ray season set already, I don’t see this being a very necessary purchase.  It would be redundant since the Blu-ray set from Season One already has a music jukebox that allows you to  skip straight to the music.  This would however, be a great purchase for someone who watches the show on TV and would just like to revisit the musical numbers or for someone that only cares about the music.  If that’s the case, then Glee Encore will save you quite a few bucks.

Film

With the story-lines completely stripped out with only the music remaining, quite a lot of songs are left behind.  Glee Encore has the following songs taken straight from the show:

1. On My Own
2. Don’t Stop Believin’
3. Gold Digger
4. I Say A Little Prayer
5. Alone
6. Somebody to Love
7. It’s My Life/Confessions Part II
8. No Air
9. You Keep Me Hanging On
10. Defying Gravity
11. I’ll Stand By You
12. Don’t Stand So Close to Me/Young Girl
13. Lean On Me
14. Imagine
15. True Colors
16. Smile
17. Don’t Rain on My Parade
18. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
19. Gives You Hell
20. Hello
21. Vogue
22. Like A Virgin
23. Like A Prayer
24. Fire
25. One Less Bell to Answer/A House Is Not A Home
26. Beautiful
27. Run Joey Run
28. Total Eclipse of the Heart
29. Jessie’s Girl
30. Rose’s Turn
31. Bad Romance
32. Beth
33. Faithfully
34. Any Way You Want It / Lovin’ , Touchin’, Squeezin’

I am very happy they included  “Defying Gravity” which is my favorite of all the musical numbers they have done,  However, after watching it, it provides a prime example of why people shouldn’t only watch Glee Encore if they are interested in seeing the show.  By only seeing the music numbers, you miss the fact that Rachel (Lea Michelle) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) are competing to sing the lead in the song which plays a part in understanding their performances.

For example, there’s the number dedicated to John Lennon’s “Imagine,” which features a deaf choir but it suffers from the missing plot which makes it less touching than if you had watched the entire episode.  Madonna’s “Vogue,”  as performed by the character Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) is lacking a lot if you have no concept of what kind of a character Sue  is.  There’s also the fact that you naturally  lose a lot when most the songs are taken out of context.  On the plus side, it’s great to be able to just put in in the player and let the songs play if you’ve already seen the show or if you just want to listen to them while you clean the house or whatever.

The songs of Glee Encore, overwhelmingly feature Rachel.  She reminds me of a young Celine Dion who grates on my nerves quite a bit.  Again, this is not much different than Glee in general.  I’m guessing fans of the show will enjoy Glee Encore, as long as they aren’t expecting anything extra.  Think of this as the highlights from the show and you have a pretty good idea of what to expect.  If you are interested in the entire show, I think you should take a look at the season sets, which as I mentioned earlier, allow you to setup a jukebox that lets you select the songs for your enjoyment.

Video

Glee Encore appears identical to Season One of Glee with regard to video quality.  It is presented in Widescreen 1.78:1 ratio.  The show was not shot digitally and it has a slightly grainy appearance.  Black levels are deep and colors )of which there are many) are vibrant and the skin tones are realistic and consistent.  I often notice that Finn has pretty red and often blotchy skin and I want to suggest a calming moisturizer for the man.

Audio 

Again, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio presentation is equivalent to that of the Glee season set Blu-ray.  You can easily feel as though you are sitting in the middle of one of the performances.  The sound is spread out across all the channels and each is utilized well.  The dialogue is clear and the musical numbers are lively and well balanced.

Special Features

Sadly, there are no special features on the Glee Encore Blu Ray.   This would have been a good spot for some outtakes.  I’m sure the cast of Glee can’t hit every note perfectly.  It’s not would I would consider a Special Feature, but you are given different options for playing the songs.  You can select “play all” to play them in chronological order,  “shuffle” plays songs randomly, and “songs” lets you select them  individually.

Final Thoughts 

Glee Encore is a good compliment to the  show.  I would recommend it for fans of the show, affectionately known as Gleeks.  If you are new to the series you will be missing a lot by skipping straight to the music.  I was disappointed there were no special features at all, as I have come to expect them on Blu-ray.  I would have also really liked to had a CD included of all 34 tracks.  If you like the songs enough to buy Glee Encore, I would think you would want to have a CD for your car as well.

Order your copy today!