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

Sometime around 33AD in the Middle East a man called Jesus, who was a prophet/Son of God/hippie/cult leader/philosopher/whatever-your-fancy, was executed in a particularly grisly manner. In fact, there was nothing particular good about that day as according to some sources it was a day also filled with earthquakes and thunderstorms and general meterological terrors. It was a particularly bad day for Jesus and two other chaps who had the misfortune to share his fate on the same day.

For reasons unknown, the day is memoralised as 'Good Friday' although, clearly, there was nothing good about it all. If you take the biblical tract, nothing good really happened until the following Sunday. If you take a historical tract, nothing good really happened for some time- years in fact.

Good Friday 2004 saw me at work, which was really rather exciting as it was triple time. I was rostered on something called 'Michael Buble'. I vaguely knew of him- primarily that he was Canadian, sang jazz and was kinda hot.

I'm pleased to report that I was right on both counts. The boy can sing jazz and is not just kinda hot, but very hot. The concert was spent with me having the equivalent of an aural-visual orgasm. The concert coincidentally was exactly the same music on the CD. I was so impressed I rushed out and bought the CD the very next day.

Fever is just hot. I've never heard this song sound so full of sex and lust. I have never wanted to be so ravished by a singer. I have never heard the word 'chicks' ejaculated so. Buble very bravely tackles Van Morrison's iconic Moondance with elan and class. It's a very sophisticated Rainbow-Room version, not in the same league as the original but still nonetheless very elegant.

The George Michael song Kissing a Fool is also given the jazz ballad treatment and works surprisingly well- partly because of the faux-sentimentality of Michael's lyrics. The first nod to Sinatra comes with For Once in My Life which Buble neatly accomplishes. Buble seems his best at tackling the big band classics but at the same time giving them a fresh, youthful voice. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, by two of the Bee Gees, drags a little after the more energetic tracks before it.

Buble is back in his element with Summer Wind, another classic. The schmaltzy version of You'll Never Find Another Live Like Mine sounds like it should be being played on a boat deck under the moonlight while people dance and drink concoctions from pineapples and coconuts. Asides from this rather charming mental image, the recording itself is a little boring.

The Queen tribute to rockabilly Crazy Little Thing Called Love cops the most flak on the album. But the thing for me is that after suffering Queen being crucified in We Will Rock You (puke puke puke) Buble's version is not that bad at all. He's not trying to be Mercury (thank god) but Buble singing a great song. At the same time though, I hope we don't have Buble doing a Queen Tribute album anytime soon.

Put Your Head On My Shoulder gets the jazz ballad treatment (again) but is smokily and nicely sung by Buble nonetheless. It's hard to go wrong with the very sexy Sway and Buble makes it unbelievably sexy indeed. Another track where I want to be ravished by the singer.

The Jerome Kern song The Way You Look Tonight is also classily done with a bossa nova rhythm, as is the second Sinatra nod, a traditional rendition Come Fly With Me which is also played with a good instrumental arrangement. The melancholic That's All ends the album on a bit of a downer.

Buble's voice is too silky and refined to be considered 'crooner'- it's nowhere near croaky or smoky enough. Possibly because at 25 Buble hasn't had enough time to abuse alcohol and cigarettes. He does have a sublime empathy though with jazz (and faux-jazz) which is coupled with an electric presence- both onstage and on recording. The boy can sing, and sing well.

The downfall of Buble is that vocally he comes across as somewhat arrogant- it's still very sexy but arrogant nonetheless. He knows he's hot. The music is also squeaky-clean in its recording quality (David Foster produced) and strangely suffers a little from it. Onstage and off, he has a very slick persona which has been criticised as too manufactured. He is also delightfully sexually ambiguous- clever marketing tool (Buble admits that around 25% of his audience are gay men) or a natural?

To his credit, Buble has reinvigorated the big band genre to a new legion of fans young and old, gay and straight and is been brave enough (or is it the naive optimism of youth?) to tackle some songs more seasoned pros have been afraid of (Moondance for example) and had a good enough shot.

It will be interesting to see where Buble goes next- one hit wonder or lasting sensation? He has become quite the 'it boy' but will he maintain it as he gets old and, god forbid, his looks fade? Which, incidentally, will be a tragedy for all of us.

The CD can be put into your puter for a video about the making of the album which is interesting for a look and a bit of a perv on Buble pouting with his sexy lips and long eyelashes. Unfortunately, the CD is only forty eight minutes long- which is very disappointing for a big budget release and actually somewhat offensive.

This is a great CD nonetheless, with a polished ambience of slick, smooth and sultry sex.