Places is the first major musical project from Lea Michele since the end of Glee and it is strikingly different from its predecessor, Louder.
Where that 2014 album found Michele working hard to appeal to the pop mainstream, Places is a measured collection of mature pop that falls halfway between Broadway showstoppers and inspirational Katy Perry numbers.
Every one of these tracks is given a high-gloss production, constructed out of sheets of synthesizers, pianos, and overdubbed vocals -- all signifying grand power.
The songs all march to a stately midtempo beat and rely on melodies designed to showcase the full range of Michele's vocal prowess.
The problem is, nobody bothered to write a hook or a song that breaks away from this formula.
Consequently, Places plays as a glassy, monochromatic blur: individual moments bleed together, so the album seems like an extended suite of empowerment.
By that measure, Places can be considered a success.
Lea Michele intended to tap into the spirit of Katy Perry's "Roar" and Rachel Platten's "Fight Song," and even if the record comes up short in many other significant ways, there's no question that she achieved that goal.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Love Is AliveNathan Chapman, Chantal Kreviazuk | Lea Michele | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Heavy LoveChristopher Braide, Alexandra Hughes, Thomas Hull | Lea Michele | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | ProudRuth Cunningham, John Shanks | Lea Michele | Play | 02:59 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | BelieverFransisca Hall, Anjulie Persaud, Jesse Shatkin | Lea Michele | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Run to YouLea Michele, Ali Tamposi, Nick van de Wall, Stephen Wrabel | Lea Michele | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | HeavenlyEllie Goulding, Ash Howes, Richard "Biff" Stannard | Lea Michele | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Anything's PossibleMoZella, Tim Myers | Lea Michele | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Getaway CarAndrew Hollander, Dana Parish, Ali Tamposi | Lea Michele | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Sentimental MemoriesAlexandra McDermott, Lea Michele, Linda Perry | Lea Michele | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | TornadoChloe Angelides, Michael Fitzpatrick, Fransisca Hall | Lea Michele | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Hey YouLea Michele, Ali Tamposi, Stephen Wrabel | Lea Michele | Play | 03:07 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 39 mins | 91 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chloe Angelides | Composer |
| 2 | Xandy Barry | Drums, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Mixing, Orchestral Arrangements, Producer, Programming |
| 3 | Amanda Berman | A&R |
| 4 | Christopher Braide | Composer |
| 5 | Michael H. Brauer | Mixing |
| 6 | Nathan Chapman | Composer |
| 7 | Taylor Crommie | Assistant Engineer |
| 8 | Ruth Cunningham | Composer |
| 9 | Eric Ray Davidson | Photography |
| 10 | Michael Fitzpatrick | Composer |
| 11 | Robin Florent | Assistant |
| 12 | Tony Gad | Arranger, Instrumentation, Producer |
| 13 | Chris Galland | Mixing Engineer |
| 14 | Ellie Goulding | Composer |
| 15 | Fransisca Hall | Composer |
| 16 | Andrew Hollander | Composer, Drums, Engineer, Mellotron, Mixing, Piano, Producer |
| 17 | Ash Howes | Composer |
| 18 | Simon Huber | Cello |
| 19 | Alexandra Hughes | Composer |
| 20 | Thomas Hull | Composer |
| 21 | Jeff Jackson | Assistant |
| 22 | Chantal Kreviazuk | Composer, Piano |
| 23 | Paul Lamalfa | Digital Editing, Engineer |
| 24 | Joe LaPorta | Mastering |
| 25 | Jon Levine | Bass, Drum Programming, Engineer, Keyboards, Piano, Producer |
| 26 | Manny Marroquin | Mixing |
| 27 | Maria P. Marulanda | Art Direction, Design |
| 28 | Alexandra McDermott | Composer |
| 29 | Lea Michele | Art Direction, Composer, Design, Primary Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 30 | Kyle Moorman | Digital Editing, Engineer, Guitar, Percussion, Producer, Programming, Vocals (Background) |
| 31 | MoZella | Composer |
| 32 | Jamie Muhoberac | Keyboards, Piano, Programming |
| 33 | Tim Myers | Composer |
| 34 | Seth Olansky | Assistant Engineer |
| 35 | Dana Parish | Composer |
| 36 | Linda Perry | Composer, Piano |
| 37 | Anjulie Persaud | Composer |
| 38 | Sam Dent | Engineer |
| 39 | John Shanks | Bass, Composer, Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Piano, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 40 | Jesse Shatkin | Bass, Composer, Drums, Engineer, Piano, Producer, Programming, Synthesizer |
| 41 | Suzy Shinn | Vocal Engineer |
| 42 | Jon Sosin | Guitar |
| 43 | Richard "Biff" Stannard | Composer |
| 44 | Aaron Sterling | Drums |
| 45 | Shari Sutchliffe | Contractor, Production Coordination |
| 46 | Ali Tamposi | A&R, Composer, Vocal Percussion, Vocal Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 47 | Nick van de Wall | Composer |
| 48 | Steve Vealey | Mixing Assistant |
| 49 | Timothy Williams | Orchestral Arrangements |
| 50 | Stephen Wrabel | Composer |
| 51 | Joe Zook | Mixing |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |