Michael Bublé: Michael Bublé

143 Records/Reprise

Harry Currie

Time was when singers of popular songs had to earn their stripes the hard way, trusting to perseverance and a lot of luck to emerge from the pack and make it on their own merit. Crosby, Sinatra, Como, Bennett, Tormé - nobody stepped forward to organize their recordings and their careers until they had already made a name for themselves. Even the Beatles first single was launched with no fanfare and no promotion, EMI just testing the waters to see if anyone would buy. In fact, when I heard them at the Cavern in 1961 doing covers of American pop tunes I made the prophetic observation: 'Nah, they'll never make it!' Not so today. If big money and influence isn't behind you with the promotion machine, you don't stand much of a chance in the modern market.

Michael Bublé (pronounced Boo-blay), a young man from Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada, certainly has the talent, youth, charm and looks to make it as a singer in the music business, and, fortunately, has some heavy hitters and financial backing in his corner: Warner Brothers/Reprise, David Foster, Paul Anka, Humberto Galica, and the arranging talents of Foster, Johnny Mandel, Bill Holman, Sammy Nestico and the late Don Costa and Billy May.

Bublé's self-titled CD proves beyond a doubt that the kid can sing and swing. Some tracks are near perfect, but others suffer from a poor choice of tune for this collection and even the occasional mediocre arrangement. Despite those drawbacks, Bublé's vocals make the best of them, and that's a great credit to his ability. The problem is that the producers have tried to showcase Bublé as a singer for all seasons, taking tunes which are so-called classics from the pop and rock genres and mixing them with great standards, and some of them sit side by side like oil and water - they don't mix. The inclusion of the Barry and Robin Gibb tune How Can You Mend a Broken Heart is a case in point. Regardless of its nostalgic popularity from the 60's era, the tune is trite and the arrangement by Foster mundane. It doesn't deserve to be in the same company as Jerome Kern or Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen. The backup vocals by Barry Gibb himself add an interesting wrinkle, but that doesn't change the poor choice. It's sung well, however. Barely a notch above this is You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine, the Lou Rawls hit - syrupy schmaltz - and Queen's Crazy Little Thing Called Love, given an Elvis style vocal and arrangement. They do nothing to establish Bublé's credibility except to suggest he's nothing more than a vocal chameleon, however good his voice is. He deserves better than this. In contrast to these bits of fluff is a superb rendition and arrangement of George Michael's Kissing a Fool, turning the song into standard material with a beautiful vocal. Van Morrison's Moondance got an up-tempo beat that made it into a real jazzer, with Bublé swinging like crazy.

Bublé's voice is lighter than Sinatra's though the influence is unmistakable. His nod to the master comes off best when he sings a Sinatra tune with a new arrangement - The Summer Wind, for example. The acknowledgement is there, but it doesn't invite comparison. The direct covers don't work as well. For Once in My Life and Come Fly with Me are sung to the original Sinatra charts, and though they're sung well, no one comes off looking good beside a direct comparison with the same arrangement. There was only one Sinatra, and there'll never be another.

Bublé's sound is closer to that of Harry Connick Jr., though his voice is smoother than Connick's and he has better control. Let's hope he doesn't shift gears as Connick did and lose much of his following.

Probably the finest track on the CD is The Way You Look Tonight, the Jerome Kern classic. Done with a light, easy bossa feel, Bublé gets inside the lyric, and his voice floats above the subtle rhythm. Great arrangement by Foster. Peggy Lee's Fever is a good one, as are Sway, That's All, and a dreamy version of mentor Paul Anka's Put Your Head on My Shoulder.

Bublé is certainly a welcome addition to the standards scene - fine voice, great instincts and musicality. He's at ease and confident, bending phrases like a veteran and not afraid to take chances. If he isn't pushed down too many different roads by his label, agent and producers, he could easily become the 21st century's definitive voice for high quality popular songs, both old and new. Highly recommended