Michael Bublé

It all seemed to start with Harry Connick Jr. in 1989, when he recorded the soundtrack for When Harry Met Sally. It was the comeback of the crooner – male singers who emulated Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, and even Louis Prima and Dean Martin. They performed pop standards of the 1950s and jazz tunes of the swing era, occasionally tossing in more “contemporary” songs in a swinging big band style.

One of the most commercially successful of the current crop of crooners is Michael Bublé. There are two ways to look at his career. On the one hand, it’s nice to hear superior songs being sung in tune, with enthusiasm and in jazzy settings with a Count Basie-style backup or a string section. On the other hand, Bublé has yet to show much originality, either in his sound or in his repertoire. Sure, his vocals are pleasing, but do they rise to the level of a Joe Williams, a Sinatra, a Bobby Darin or even a Harry Connick Jr?

On Call Me Irresponsible, Bublé balances such warhorses as “The Best Is Yet to Come,” “I’ve Got The World On A String,” a surprisingly soulful “That’s Life,” “Dream” and the title cut with songs by Leonard Cohen, Eric Clapton (a version of “Wonderful Tonight” with Ivan Lins) and two of his own pop ballads. It’s a bit strange, although not uncommon among current crooners, that all of the post-’70 songs are pop rather than jazz, as if Bublé cannot find anything swinging or creative in jazz of the past 35 years.

Call Me Irresponsible is a nice, safe recording for Bublé’s fans. Whether he will someday stretch himself and grow beyond his influences is still to be decided. He’s still young enough to grow a great deal more – if that’s his desire.

Review By Scott Yanow of Jazziz.com

Artist: Michael Bublé

1. “The Best Is Yet to Come” (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh) – 3:05
2. “It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)” (Franco Migliacci, Johnny Mercer, Henry Mancini) – 3:06
3. “Me and Mrs. Jones” (Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Cary Gilbert) (featuring Emily Blunt) – 4:33
4. “I’m Your Man” (Leonard Cohen) – 4:59
5. “Comin’ Home Baby” (Bob Dorough, Benjamin M. Tucker) (duet with Boyz II Men) – 3:27
6. “Lost” (Alan Chang, Jann Arden, Michael Bublé) – 3:40
7. “Call Me Irresponsible” (Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 3:16
8. “Wonderful Tonight” (Eric Clapton) (duet with Ivan Lins) – 4:12
9. “Everything” (Alan Chang, Amy Foster-Gilles, Michael Bublé) – 3:31
10. “I’ve Got the World on a String” (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) – 2:47
11. “Always on My Mind” (Johnny Christopher, Mark James, Wayne Thompson) – 4:30
12. “That’s Life” (Dean Kay, Kelly Gordon) – 4:15
13. “Dream” (Johnny Mercer) – 5:06
14. “L.O.V.E.” (Milt Gabler, Bert Kaempfert) – 2:50

Download [Mediafire] | Michael Bublé – Call Me Irresponsible