Music

Michael Bublé/'It's Time' (Reprise)

By Marcos Bernal-Salas

Friday, March 11, 2005

I’m often skeptical when pop acts release albums with a jazzy sound to revive a career or fan base. I was amazingly surprised with Michael Bublé’s sophomore studio album, It’s Time, especially when one of my favorite songs of all time ‘Feeling Good’ stands first on the list track. Nina Simone is the only artist that could sing the song with such heartfelt vocals and soulful rendition. In my eyes she is one of the greatest, and my favorite, performer of jazz and blues and of this particular song. Michael Bublé does a great rendition too, perhaps one of the reasons why his voice and performance, especially in this record, is often compared to that of Sinatra.

It’s Time is a very ambitious album for a young singer with no doubt a great singing style and presence. But for me the Vancouver native is still in the search of his own identity in the big music realm. Kudos for the act of bravery especially for the different mixing arrangements and performances of songs like ‘A Foggy Day (in London)’, ‘You don’t know Me’, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ and ‘Try a little Tenderness’ and ‘I’ve got You Under My Skin’ throughout the CD. The 20 year-old crooner has a great set of pipes, as it’s often said in the biz, that combined with the orchestration and production arrangements of David Foster, and Humberto Gatica makes this an enjoyable album. Jazz enthusiasts and critics might not be so easy to persuade though, especially since many are die-hard fans of the original and classic performances of the songs. All of them stand in history as standards that often cannot be emulated.

I see Michael Bublé as the echo boomer’s response to a Chris Isaak or Harry Connick Jr. of their generation. This might be one of the reasons why there are a few pop twists here. Although I get the idea of trying to create more playful and inviting tones for the audience, the old saying less is more was definitely not taken into consideration. Such is the case in ‘Quando, Quando, Quando,’ a duet with Nelly Furtado that doesn’t quite hit the right note for my taste. Ultimately the CD gets right back on track when Tommy Lima’s production and arrangement puts Bublé back into the spotlight with ‘The More I See of You’, rescuing the swinging jazzy mood of the record. It’s Time will definitely inspire the crooner’s swooning fan base that might put this album right into the mainstream airwaves.