Where It All Began

Album review

His 2011 attempt at becoming a genuine pop star didn't take, so what else was there for Glee star Matthew Morrison to do on his second but to get back to Where It All Began? Or, in other words, back to Broadway, where Morrison started his career and where he still seems most comfortable. The 12 songs on Where It All Began -- all standards, all songs you know by heart -- are given sleek, snazzy arrangements that are not at all dissimilar to what can be heard on the accompanying Glee soundtracks. Morrison grins and glides through these tunes, never inhabiting them or finding a hidden depth, but rather enjoying everything that can be found on the surface. He's amiable enough -- and when he's paired with Smokey Robinson on "Ease on Down the Road," there's some genuine cheer -- but the whole thing flirts too heavily with the glib; there's no reason to sing these songs again, not in this way, so Where It All Began elicits little more than a smile and a shrug.

© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo