Nobody but Michael Bublé

Why am I listening to Michael Bublé at this time? First reason is because, I missed out on his Nobody But Me, which as I now found out, is a great album. No wonder it is among the nominees for Best Traditional Pop Album at the coming Grammy Awards.

The second reason is, because I can use some relaxing times away from Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars and Sam Smith and even Taylor, the Swiftie, during these hectic days. Much as I believe in the massive talents of those guys and much as I enjoy their music, there are times when I can use something else, preferably, less harried and different.

And then, because it happens to be only a few days away to Christmas Day and Bublé has a wonderful Christmas album titled simply Christmas. So why not enjoy it now when the time is right. Do this another time and the neighbors will not think me batty for listening to Christmas music outside of the “ber” months.

As a young man, Bublé built his music career on his ability to sing the standards with just the right sort of smooth Rat Pack swagger. This has been so from the time he burst into the music scene 15 years ago, through all the hit albums and the sold-out tours. As he grew in skills and confidence, Bublé learned to spice up his song line-ups with one or two of his own original compositions.

This combination of oldies and new tunes pretty much became the successful Bublé formula. This put him in a good place that could keep his career on top for a lifetime. So there seemed to be no need for change. And then we came across something that brought on the dreaded two words, “until now.”

The “until now” came about in Nobody But Me where the title track included a rap portion. Rap in a Bublé album, once seemed like a forbidden thought, but it has happened and I see it as a step into an interesting direction. Rap has gotten quite sophisticated. A meet-up with the standards can lead to a wider market for both types of music. Bublé purists have no cause for worry though. It is Black Thought doing the well-done rap, not Michael.

Truth to tell, Nobody But Me has the best line-up of originals of all of Michael Bublé’s albums. I Believe In You and Take You Away are both very strong tracks and Someday featuring Meghan Trainor that she co-wrote with ex-One D Harry Styles is every bit a No. 1 tune.

Bublé’s dedicated fans have no cause for worry though as the ring-a-ding-ding mood remains omnipresent. Bublé channels the spirits of Frank, Dean and Sammy in My Kind Of Girl, On An Evening In Roma (Sott’er Celo de Roma), The Very Thought Of You, I Wanna Be Around, Today Is Yesterday’s Tomorrow and My Baby Just Cares For Me.

Then to close, Bublé tries his hand at the Beach Boy classic God Only Knows. It is a performance to be remembered. This Rat Pack progeny also has soul. A lot of it.

As for the Christmas album, this one is absolutely worth the expense and the storage space. Produced by David Foster, Bob Rock and Humberto Gatica, it is a treasure to be enjoyed over the years. It is now five years old but is still as fresh and filled with the Christmas spirit as when it first came out.

Christmas by Michael Bublé is a truly loaded mix of pop Yuletide favorites like Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You and the traditional, Silent Night. It boasts of big name guests, White Christmas is a duet with Shania Twain; Jingle Bells features The Puppini Sisters; and Mis Deseos/ Feliz Navidad is a duet with Marimar star Thalia. There is also an excellent original, Cold December Night, composed by Michael, that is right at home with the Holiday mood.

Also included are It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Santa Baby, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Blue Christmas, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, Ave Maria and Michael’s spoken Christmas greeting.