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November 02, 2009

Michael Bublé, Crazy Love

It's safe to say that Michael Bublé's large-scale fanbase loves his new album, given that it just spent a couple of weeks sitting atop the U.S. album charts and has sold several hundred-thousand copies since its release Oct. 9. It wasn't a given, however, that the critics would react as favorably as they have to an album that represents a creative stepping-out of sorts for its maker. Bublé has admitted to being "terrified" of recording his previous album ("...because I knew that it had to be better than the first two," he said, "that it had to show growth without alienating anyone, and that’s a tough line"), and while we don't know about his state of mind this time out, what we can say is that he sounds utterly confident, as if he has grown into his outsized musical personality and is now, perhaps, a bit more comfortable exploring a wider range of material. And that may be why Bublé is receiving extra props for Crazy Love: He has taken his early neo-crooner persona and bent it to his maturing will, resulting in greater depth and continuity across both standards and latter-day pop. We got a taste of this on the Bob Rock-produced (!) single "Haven't Met You Yet," and the rest of the album bears it out from the get-go: Three standards (including the great Basie-style swing of "All of Me") bridged toward the future by a take on the Van Morrison classic "Crazy Love." There are multiple high points—Billy Vera's "At This Moment" is an unexpected pleasure, for example—but two of the highest are even more disarming: a hard-shuffle big-band romp through The Eagles' "Heartache Tonight" that arguably out-rocks the original, and a duet with singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith on the latter's "Whatever It Takes" recast as a bossa nova. Bublé owns them both, and it would seem from this point on, his musical destiny as well.

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Comments

I first saw Michael perform live in July 2005, and I haven't stopped talking about that experience yet!! : lol: Over the years, I've had the good fortune to see him many times, Michael and his show improve with each new tour! Next weekend I'm gonna see him again since I can get cheap tickets so I can save some dollars to the next concert ...I’m so excited!! http://www.ticketsinventory.com/concert/michael-buble-tickets/

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