Jun 2003

This kid can really swing, that, in a nutshell, sums up the extraordinary appeal of a 25 year-old Vancouver vocalist with a gift for making the some of the greatest songs of all time, entirely his own. The thirteen tracks of Michael Bublé announce in no uncertain terms the arrival of a major new talent with a flair for infusing familiar and beloved music with a fresh, original and utterly unique sensibility entirely his own.

• Q (1/04, p.110) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]he smooth-voiced Canuck has few rivals when it comes to carrying the torch currently held by Tony Bennett."

Debut album from young Canadian crooner being touted as a "new Sinatra". Introduced to classic vocal jazz by his grandfather, here he shows a knack for making familiar repertoire his own, bringing his bold, expressive voice to a selection of standards from the 30s and 40s as well as covers of Van Morrison's 'Moondance' and the Bee Gees' 'How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,' performed with the Bee Gees themselves. Produced by pop supremo David Foster (Whitney Houston, The Corrs, Toni Braxton, Celine Dion).

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Personnel: Michael Buble, Sherree Ford (vocals); David Foster (arranger, piano, synthesizer); Dean Parks (acoustic & electric guitars, percussion); Heitor Padilla (acoustic guitar); Michael Thompson, John Pisano (guitar);
Bob Sheppard, Dave Boroff (saxophone); Gary Grant (trumpet); Randy Waldman (piano, keyboards); Brian Bromberg (bass); Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Tull, Frank Capp, Joe Labarbera (drums); Raffael Padilla (percussion); Jochem Van Der Saag, Neil Devor, Felipe Elgueta (programming); Barry Gibb (background vocals).
Producers: David Foster, Humberto Gatica, Johnny Mandel.
Right off the bat, Michael Buble has you in his corner just because you know people have been calling the poor guy "Bubble" all his life (keep that accent on the second syllable, folks). Nomenclature aside, Buble's debut album positions him as something of a Harry Connick, Jr. for the 21st century. His husky croon gives him a bearing beyond his tender years, and in fact his Sinatra-phrased, pop-jazz style bears strong echoes of Connick's singing. Accordingly, the production leans heavily on the updated swing of chestnuts like "Fever" and "Come Fly With Me," but that's only part of the story.
As a modern song stylist, Buble digs into the standards of a more contemporary songbook as well. George Michael's jazzy ballad "Kissing a Ballad" has been a standard-in-waiting for some time, and a version of the Bee Gees' soulful ballad "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" features a guest turn by Barry Gibb himself. And there are worse things that could happen to Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life" than to be given the big-band treatment. It's refreshing to hear the debut of a young singer who's simply applying a strong voice and style to quality songs instead of cynically treading the teen-pop treadmill.

Like Harry Connick in the 1980s and '90s, Canada's Michael Buble stood apart from most of his generation in forsaking contemporary rock and pop for the swing sounds of the '40s and '50s. A Sinatra-style crooner, Buble already had plenty of performing and recording experience by the time his self-titled 2003 album broke through and made him a household name.