Michael Bublé: “Love” Album Review

Story posted November 25, 2018 in Arts & Entertainment by Scott Perdue.

One of modern music’s most impressive crooners, Michael Bublé is back with his tenth studio album, Love. Receiving the sudden and unexpected news of his son’s diagnosis of liver cancer, Bublé chose to take a break from music in order to take care of his family. Now that his son is thankfully in remission, Bublé has chosen to return after his two-year hiatus with a brand-new album and a whole new perspective on his life and career.

Known best for his incredibly successful Christmas album as well as an eclectic repertoire of song covers, Bublé is a singer who isn’t afraid to bridge the ever-growing gap between classic jazz and modern pop. Bublé is also regarded as an impressive songwriter. Songs such as his “Haven’t Met You Yet” and “It’s A Beautiful Day,” were able to hold their own alongside his covers of timeless love and jazz songs. Sticking with his previous format of a mix of self-written and classic covers, Bublé focuses specifically on love songs as he attempts to craft a list of noteworthy tracks, he hasn’t yet lent his remarkable voice to.

Compared alongside greats such as the unforgettable Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong, Bublé has a bit of a challenge with successfully standing out with his personal takes on such often-covered music. Opening with the undeniably enduring, “When I Fall in Love” Bublé gives a performance that is unique to his vocal talents. His delicately passionate voice cradles the song tenderly as the music swells and builds with romantic zest and evident affection.

The album then moves to a cover of the jazz standard, “I Only Have Eyes for You” which is by no means a weak take on the song. However, with so many other recordings of the song, it becomes only more and more difficult to rise above the rest. Bublé seems to not bring anything too special to the track, except his brilliant voice, unlike how artists such as The Flamingos were able to reimagine the music in order to place their own unique stamp on the song.

Bublé then provides a dose of modern pop with the track, “Love You Anymore,” which he co-wrote alongside Charlie Puth. A nice change of pace on the album, the track comes at just the right time to bring the energy of the album back into a lively and joyful tone.

Bublé later brings an impressive reimagining of, “My Funny Valentine” which has a feel seemingly inspired by spy movie cinema. Able to achieve a perfect blend between an apparent carefree approach and an eerie tense score, Bublé delivers a Bond-esque cover similar in fashion to his powerful take on “Cry Me A River” back in 2009.

Another memorable moment on the album is Bublé’s tender duet alongside Cécile McLorin Salvant on the ageless, “La Vie En Rose”. Meshing French and English in a seamless romantic dance, Bublé’s take on the song is brimming with bright and lively enthusiasm.

The latter half of the album, however, has a significant issue with memorability. Tracks such as “Unforgettable” and even Bublé’s self-written “Forever Now”, lack enough strength to compete with the powerful opening of the album. Falling into a bit of a redundant trap, the rest of the album doesn’t seem to really bring anything new to the table in its renditions of songs that have been covered time and time again, making everything feel just a bit lackluster.

While nobody can fault Bublé for playing it safe on his most recent release, due to the devastating news that nearly made him retire from music entirely, Love, as much as any other release of Bublé’s, sticks to a tried-and-true format that has now become a bit stagnant. While some tracks are fresh and innovative, some feel they need more than just Bublé’s undeniably impressive voice to raise them above the rest.

Hopefully, in the future, Bublé will be able to bring more of an inventive adjustment to his covers, as he has successfully many times before, in order to really showcase his tremendous talents.

Rating: 7/10

 

 

Scott Perdue is a sophomore majoring in film/video. To contact him, email rsp5246@psu.edu.