Michael Buble [ECD] - Buble, Michael (CD 2003)

Preamble
Don't ask me why but sometimes I need to listen to something besides pop and nu-metal. There are times when I like to hear older music, especially those songs interpreted by newer artists. That's how I stumbled upon Michael Bubl .

Who Is Michael Bubl ?
Michael Bubl (pronounced boo-blay) is 25 years old and from Vancouver, Canada. From a very young age, he was exposed to the music of the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's. Although he had an appreciation for the music of his own time, it was the earlier stuff that appealed to him.

When he was 17, he won the Canadian Youth Talent Search and went on to release a couple of independent albums.

Although he had his hands full with Josh Groban, super-producer David Foster took Michael under his wing, signing him to his record label and working with him on this debut cd.

The Cd
Overall, I felt like Mr. Buble was all over the place. Although he has a nice voice, his interpretation of some of these classics is - well - it ranges from fine to just plain horrible. David Foster would have been better off focusing him on material that seem to fit his personality, like Frank Sinatra's tunes.

Tracks
Fever (****)
Moondance (****)
Kissing A Fool (***)
For Once In My Life (***)
How Can You Mend A Broken Life (****)
Summer Wind (***)
You'll Never Find Another (***)
Crazy Little Thing Called Love (*)
Put Your Head On My Shoulder (**)
Sway (***)
The Way You Look Tonight (**)
Come Fly With Me (*****)
That's All (***)

I want to start out with perhaps, the very worst re-make I have ever heard - Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Maybe it's because I'm a huge fan of Freddie's. Maybe it's because I think that Queen's songs are too good to be covered by another artist. Maybe it's because Michael's version of the classic was so far out of reach that I couldn't reconcile my other feelings around it. Whatever the case, I simply cannot stand to listen to this track and I must hit skip every time I get to it.

I love Michael's version of Peggy Lee's, Fever. He has that Rat Pack pizazz in his voice when he teases us with the lyrics. This is no Madonna remake :).

The cover of Van Morrison's Moondance has a lot of bounce to it and the instrumentation beckens back to the Big Band era.

A couple of the songs like Kissing A Fool and You'll Never Find Another seem to drag. His voice is fine but Michael seems to be missing some of the heart and soul of the actual intent of the songs.

I can't help think about when Leif Garrett sang, Put Your Head On My Shoulders. Yes, I realize that it was a Paul Anka song, but in my mind, it really belongs to Leif :). Michael takes it in a totally different direction, giving it that cabaret feeling.

The Way You Look Tonight was one of my favorite things from the Father of the Bride movie. That version, sung by Steve Tyrell sounds more natural than what Michael put out here.

My very favorite re-make track is Frank Sinatra's, Come Fly With Me which was featured in the movie, Two Weeks Notice. Michael's voice seems to mimic the style and approach of Mr. Sinatra and instead of it coming out as a cheesy tribute, he makes it sound fresh and new.

Mr. Foster's production is a little dull and safe. I expected him to take more chances with Mr. Buble but maybe he was too busy with Josh :).

The End
While there are definitely songs on this cd that I like a *lot*, there are also some tracks I could do without. David Foster could have made the perfect cd had he been a little more selective and focused the material he chose for Michael Bubl . Maybe next time, eh?