The Voice quickly proved itself to be more than an American Idol knockoff soon into its debut run at the beginning of 2011, the show garnering large ratings upon its premiere and sustaining its popularity throughout the season. Compared to the restricted Idol, the format seemed fresher, and having judges Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton actively coach contestants produced better more consistent results. As a record, The Voice: Season 1 Highlights is similar to the AmIdol collections where it could use some of the live energy of the TV show. Arrangements are generally similar to the originals -- Rebecca Loebe's spare, spooky Evanescence-ing of Nirvana's "Come as You Are" is the exception that proves the rule -- the songs sounding familiar enough to focus on the skills of the singers, which are indeed often substantial. Mostly, the vocalists are intent on belting out the song, striving for those glory notes, attempting to get attention as a singer, not as an interpreter of a song, but that won't deter fans of the show from enjoying the disc because it does offer spruced-up versions of what they've heard on the show, complete with two cuts apiece from winner Javier Colon and runner-up Dia Frampton. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
