Music Review: The Sing-Off - Best of Season Two

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun arrangements of pop songs

Cons: Took me a little while to get into it.

The Bottom Line: 

Pop songs made over

With an a cappella twist

That will entertain




Season Two Sing-Off Contestants Hit the Studio to Record Their Best Songs

I only watch one music competition TV show, but I absolutely love NBC's The Sing-Off.  Then again, I love a cappella music, so it wasn't that hard a stretch.  The show features 10 different a cappella groups and the judges whittle them down some before they let America vote for their favorite.  This past December saw season two of the show, and now a couple of months later we get The Sing-Off: The Best of Season 2.  The disc features new studio recordings from all the contestants.

The disc opens with all 10 groups singing together on "Beautiful Day."  This is the only song from the disc that didn't originate on an episode of season two.  Instead, the contestants apparently took part in the Thanksgiving Day parade and sang this down the route.  Each group gets a soloist, and the rest of the members are singing back up.  It's a great upbeat opener, and all those voices give it a pop choral feel that I like.

The individual group tracks start off with Committed's cover of "Apologize."  Makes sense since this group won.  Yes, I was rooting for Committed all along because of their impressive harmonies, and their cover of OneRepublic's hit really shows them off.  It's beautiful.

Runner-up Street Corner Symphony is next with "Creep."  They pretty much let lead singer Jeremy Lister run with this song and the rest of the group fills in with vocal percussion or harmonies.  And it sounds amazing for it.  These guys were easily neck and neck with Committed, and I would buy a full CD from them in a heartbeat.  (Are you listening out there studio executives?)

Like Street Corner Symphony, The Backbeats was formed to compete in the second season of the show.  Also like SCS, you'd never guess that The Backbeats hadn't been together much longer.  Their harmonies are tight and they sound wonderful together.  They were especially good at the slower, emotional songs, so it's no surprise that "Landslide" made the disc.  While this song doesn't have much vocal percussion, it does have vocal cello, and it sounds amazing.

It's finally back to something upbeat when Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town takes on "Mercy."  It's got a classic soul sound, and this one features the most singing of lyrics by the back up singers so far.  You can tell they are really enjoying it as they clap along to what they are singing.  I've got to admit that I wasn't a big fan of theirs on the show, but I do like this song.

From soul music we go to today's pop music with "Baby."  Yes, this is Justin Bieber that we're talking about here.  Only this time it's covered by Eleventh Hour, an a cappella group from a high school in Ohio.  They are the youngest contestants on the show, but they hold their own with the other groups.  And don't hate me, but I actually kind of like their song.  It's totally cheesy pop, but it's fun.  I find myself singing along and bobbing my head without even thinking about it.

A drastic change of genre again as we go to Groove for Thought and "Cooler Than Me."  Groove for Thought puts a jazz spin on most of their songs, and this one really seems to be made just for them.  It's got a smooth sound with great harmonies in the background and fun finger snaps.  It's one of several songs from the disc I can get stuck in my head no problem.  And I found it especially fun that a group of teachers performed this song on the show.

The Whiffenpoofs put their own spin on any song they sing.  This group of college men dresses in tuxes and does any song with a classic choral arrangement.  So you imagine how their cover of Mika's "Grace Kelly" sounds.  Yes, it's got a mix of vocals humming and everyone singing together.  Add a touch of added drama in the arrangement and you've got a song that always makes me laugh.

But we're back to pure pop with Pitch Slapped cover of "Good Girls Go Bad."  This is another toe tapper you won't want to end.  This song includes some effects that there's no way they could do live, but I like it.  And even though I know it's just voices, I still find myself playing air drums at various points in this song.  That's how great the vocal percussion is.

The final two songs on the disc were the "swan songs" the groups sang as they exited the competition.  Considering the groups only had 45 seconds or so for these songs on the show, I find this kind of funny.

The first of these is "Take a Bow" by Men of Note.  It's a great mid-tempo ballad about a break up with a drama queen (or king).  I love some of the lyrics here, and their version of the song is very catchy.

Finally, we've got On the Rocks with "The Final Countdown."  Yes, this is a cover of the song by the Swedish synth rock band Europe, and that means we've got some production beyond just their voices involved, but it's still just their voices making all the noise.  It sounds like a full rock band behind the lead singers.  It's a great and dramatic finish to the disc.

Now I will admit the first few times I listened to it, I was a little disappointed with it.  I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but this didn't quite fit the bill.  So I do what I often do, I put it away for a little while.  Now I really am enjoying it.  The songs are fun and wonderful covers.  You don't miss the instruments for a moment.

If you enjoy a cappella music, you should be watching The Sing-Off.  And you need to give The Sing-Off: The Best of Season 2 a chance.  While we could argue over whether these were the best songs the contestants did over the course of the show (I have some favorites that didn't make it), these are still great songs that show off just how great a cappella music can really be.

CD Length: 35:57

Tracks:

1. Beautiful Day - The Sing-Off Contestants

2. Apologize - Committed

3. Creep - Street Corner Symphony

4. Landslide - The Backbeats

5. Mercy - Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town

6. Baby - Eleventh Hour

7. Cooler Than Me - Groove for Thought

8. Grace Kelly - The Whiffenpoofs

9. Good Girls Go Bad - Pitch Slapped

10. Take a Bow - Men of Note

11. The Final Countdown - On the Rocks