12/10/09
Michael Bublé - ‘Crazy Love’
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X-Factor favourite and general film/music/stage crossover expert, Bublé releases his fourth record.
Canadian singers tend to have a special place in most Brits’ hearts, not least one with that old-school swing style, so it’s not surprising that Michael Bublé’s new release is somewhat of an anticipated disc.
Opener, ‘Cry Me a River’ (thankfully not a cover of the Timberlake pop hit) is a dramatic beast of a tune. It has all the ingredients of a Bond theme with
eclectic strings, dramatic pauses and strong vocals – just too soppy a subject for that genre, great song though.
‘All of Me’ is your classic swing tune. Filled with classic piano, smooth brass
accompaniment and of course, a confident singer, this is truly modern swing in
all its glory. Continuing this vein is the movie-laden ‘Georgia on My Mind’. If you weren’t aware that Bublé’s roots are in
the silver screen, you surely would be after hearing this. A tune with beautiful
arrangement, there’s just an air of long-lost romanticism about it that makes it shine.
Surprisingly, the title-track is quite a disappointment and almost ends up
sounding like something the Lighthouse Family might have been proud to call
their own.
Bublé further catches us all off guard by penning a song on upcoming single, ‘Hold On’. This is only one of two original tracks and sadly does not hit anywhere near
the heights of... where the order is restored on the just-as-startling up-tempo
belter, ‘Haven’t Met You Yet’. While you might be tempted to write this off as horrendous easy-listening, it’s just so hard to mark down an effort that oozes contemporary class.
His cover of Eagles’ ‘Heartache Tonight’ takes the tune a bit too far away from its comfort zone to a strange
brass-laden, almost X-Factor-like karaoke performance. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, it’s just not right for the song.
If you’re having trouble sleeping, your doctor may prescribe sleeping pills, I’d point you in the direction of ‘You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You’. There’s reviving a classic and there’s making a record just like the old one and there’s no need for this.
Soul sensation Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings lend a hand for ‘Baby (You’ve Got What it Takes)’ and it works fairly well, almost like going to a live show really than a studio
recording. ‘At This Moment’ provides more formulaic crooning, whereas ‘Stardust’ with Naturally 7 is once again, an authentic version of the original. There’s also a ‘bonus’ track (that appears on every edition, so it’s actually track 13) with Ron Sexsmith, his own ‘Whatever It Takes’ which is listenable, but nothing spectacular.
Key Tracks:
‘Cry Me a River’
‘Haven’t Met You Yet’
‘All of Me’
‘Georgia on My Mind’
Worst Tracks:
‘Hold On’
‘You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You’
‘Crazy Love’
To call Bublé contemporary is an easy mistake to make, though his style is obviously not
meant to be. Whilst it’s different, there’s something soul-destroying about an album full of covers. In parts, he adds a
nice new spin, in others, it’s just blandly predictable. Still it doesn’t look like the one-man swing army is stopping anytime soon. 6/10 CM
Verdict
The Saturdays - ‘Wordshaker’
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One of the contenders for top UK girlband, The Saturdays release their second.
The Saturdays have made somewhat of a minor scratch in the public domain with a
few extra column inches and comparisons to girlband-electro-pioneers, Girls
Aloud. Their second record follows the same digital route that has seen their
peers succeed, so how will it work for them?
Opening single, ‘Forever is Over’ is a souped-up assault on the GA crown. Charged to the max with processed beats,
the song is wrote generically, as expected, but is actually more disserved by
the mediocre vocal lead.
Second effort, ‘Here Standing’ adds a few Leona-wannabe strings and other touches of general theatrical
tension. All circus tricks of course
and the sum of these parts is that the song is average at best. ‘Ego’, however, just works better. It’s a bit copy-cat in terms of the blatant reproduction of Cheryl’s ‘edgy’ distorted vibe. It somehow hides the vocal flaws between a strong chorus and
this is a good tune.
‘No One’ uses similar electro tricks with a gently progressive melody being joined by a
reasonably strong lead. It does have a likeable charm about it and could pass
as a decent attempt. ‘One Shot’s dirty vibe is no less than a virtual gauntlet falling at the feet of the
chameleons, Sugababes. It’s supposed to be smart, sassy and powerful, but does come off as more than a
little cheesy.
The title-track is further evidence of increased attitude, if somewhat disguised
as confidence. It’s just one of these tracks you hear all the time that has a lot of potential but
never gets around to realizing it in its three-and-a-half minutes of fame.
It’s ballad time on ‘Denial’, about every girl group’s specialist subject - relationships. It does take a slightly unexpected upbeat
detour which just about saves the day in the end. Nothing particularly
outstanding though.
‘Open Up’ sounds like cheap American-pop trash and that’s pretty much how it turns out. Its catchy, but then isn’t every annoying song? Just too sugar-coated to be taken seriously. ‘Not Good Enough’ pretty much epitomizes my general feel of reviewing this record, “just not good enough/not good enough/for me”, and it isn’t. The irony won’t be lost on the fact this is the best song either.
‘Lose Control’ further walks the tightrope of the catchy/annoying vibe but ultimately wins the
day with its overwhelming noise assault. You certainly can’t accuse the girls of lacking effort. It doesn’t take too much brains to work out ‘Deeper’ is anything but and ‘2 a.m.’ is not much better either.
Key Tracks:
‘Ego’
‘Not Good Enough’
‘Lose Control’
‘Just Can’t Get Enough’
Worst Tracks:
‘Here Standing’
‘No One’
‘One Shot’
‘Deep’
‘2 a.m.’
It’s pretty easy to see what the problem is here. You simply cannot recreate Girls
Aloud without the individual talent that each member has. There simply isn’t enough finesse in the group to sparkle, however much glitter you douse it in. 5/10 CM
Verdict
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