The latest album from unstoppable ‘musical dramedy’ series Glee, Volume 5 differs from the previous, er 4 volumes, because it has two original songs on it. The decision by Glee’s producers to start writing their own music instead of covering everyone else’s (but not Kings of Leon’s or Coldplay’s) music has split Glee fans; some think it will be super awesome, while the older and wiser sages think it might be a bit of a stinky idea, taking away from the joy of Glee’s occasionally excellent covers and mashups.

The first 14 tracks on this album are just that; occasionally excellent, with some mediocre tracks and a healthy dash of cringey tat. Lea Michele’s cover of Katy Perry’s Firework sees Glee’s leading lady crush Perry’s dreadful vocal with her own set of titanium-plated pipes, while the Hallow’een episode’s mash up of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Heads Will Roll with Thriller is actually really bloody good, standing apart from the Glee stable as a genuinely good number. We also found ourselves quite enjoying Somebody to Love, too, until we realised it was a Justin Bieber song. Anyway, also enjoyable are the covers of Afternoon Delight (always a winner, but we defy you to hear it without your brain doing the Anchorman ‘rocket’ noises) and Fat Bottomed Girls (because they really do make the rockin’ world go round; it’s just physics, ask Brian). Stinking the place up, we have a cringeworthy cover of Prince’s Kiss by Matthew Morrison and Gwyneth Paltrow; falsetto from him and self-indulgence from her, no thanks. A cover of the Human League’s iconic Don’t You Want Me could have been great; it’s sung by two of the best voices in the show, but the mix kills the nifty harmonising/autotuning and draws attention to the Casio-keyboard backing track.

The original tracks come at the end of the album, starting with downtempo ballad Get It Right, which takes full advantage of Lea Michele’s great voice, but ultimately doesn’t excite. It sounds like something you’d hear from Kelly Clarkson, but without the balls, which is a shame considering Glee usually veers away from the totally maudlin. Second original track, Loser Like Me is also a bit rubbish; it’s too High School Musical and the weird rap bit at the end is just...no. The verdict, from this proper grown-up reviewer who definitely doesn’t watch Glee with a glass of Shiraz and a facemask on, is that Glee should stick to covering songs everybody knows, or get some proper songwriters in; two of the current songwriters were responsible for Britney’s execrable If U Seek Amy, so that should’ve been a sign.

Glee- The Music, Volume 5 is out NOW but unless you’re a big fan, you don’t need the CD, just download the good ones off of iTunes, all legal-like. UK Glee viewers can catch the original songs in all their glory in upcoming episodes on E4, Mondays at 9pm.