Michael Bublé

By Cindy Lee · Urbanwire
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Drawing from the golden jazz age of Sinatra to the hard rock edge of Queen, this 25-year-old Canadian heartthrob ambitiously croons the best of the last 6 decades of jazz, pop and rock, putting them all together in this major label, self-titled debut album.

Breathing the soul of swing and the passion of pop ballads into his interpretation of each classic, Bublé [say boo blay] is the much-needed refreshing addition to the pop/jazz generation, which has long been dominated by female songbirds like Diana Krall and Norah Jones.

Under multi-Grammy Award winning producer, David Foster, who has created stars out of Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Josh Groban, Bublé is almost ensured a stellar music career with top Latin producer Humberto Gatica on the mixers and multi-talented veteran singer/songwriter Paul Anka on the musical arrangements, and he even shares Madonna's publicist, Liz Rosenberg.

His boyband good looks coupled with the well-chosen repertoire of standards like Peggy Lee’s “Fever”, Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me”, make Michael Bublé a likely winner even with listeners who are not acquainted with music from the 40s, 50s and 60s. The easy-going pieces each represent the tenderness of romance and the charming swing of yesteryear. Even though this approaches fails for his interpretation of George Michael’s “Kissing a Fool”, Bublé manages to marry the intensity of love with a twist of swing to create a captivating revamp of the Steve Tyrell’s classic, “The Way You Look Tonight”.

However, any discerning jazz aficionado would soon dismiss young Bublé and continue to revere their prized collection of the time-honoured iconic albums. In the classic Bee Gees’ hit, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart”, Bublé even has Mr Barry Gibb himself on backup. While Bublé’s interpretation is one that is lighter and younger, he lacks the ease and sentiment the Gibbs Brothers exude.

Bublé tries to put a twist in classic hits like Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me” and Steve Tyrell’s “The Way You Look Tonight”, while retaining the approach and tonality of the classic crooners. However impressive the comparisons might be, Bublé still falls short when placed beside these icons. One cannot but help compare his slightly unpolished voice to the melting, velvety richness of Sinatra’s vocals. Bublé’s tenor voice lacks the depth and the spontaneity essential to any jazz singer. And his attempt to deliver perfect diction unravels a forcedness, which breaks the slickness of his delivery.

Although Bublé has been acquainted with jazz since his childhood and had won the Canadian Youth Talent Search at 17, he still has a long way to go before rising to the ranks of Sinatra, Bee Gees and Queen. However, the young Bublé is extremely promising and might just enthrall you with this swinging album.

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