Customer Reviews

Call Me Irresponsible

5 star:		(220)
4 star:		(59)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Though the ghosts of Frank Sinatra and Peter Allen still battle for his soul, in his new CD "Call Me Irresponsible" Michael Buble has finally found his own voice and personality. For those who doubt that his channeling Harry Connick Jr. channeling Frank Sinatra schtick is done, jump to his rendition of the Sinatra signature song "That's Life" and listen to his unaffected vocal amid the combination of both gospel choir and big band.

Looking for other sources of inspiration has led Buble to Billy Paul for "Me And Mrs. Jones" which is done in a more matter-of-fact manner than the hand-wringing original; to Jack Jones for the title cut "Call Me Irresponsible" which is more laid back than the original despite the big band arrangement; to Eric Clapton whose "Wonderful Tonight" becomes a lovely Latin love song with assistance from the great Ivan Lins; and to Willie Nelson whose "Always On My Mind" is a beautiful song which gets the beautiful voice it deserves. A wide variety of sources and styles that Michael masters and makes his own.

Two polished diamonds that cement the new identity are "Everything" in which all previous influences are absent and it is Michael Buble emerging as his own man and the tender and laid back "I'm Your Man."

Special mention must go to the arrangements which swing when they need to and modulate for the tender moments such as "Lost." The upbeat arrangements of "It Had Better Be Tonight" (which can only be described as big band Italian salsa) and "Comin' Home Baby" (with it's backing vocals from Boyz II Men) are just brilliant.

A must for fans and a step towards world dominance by this Canadian superhero, this is a wonderful leap forward for an artist who in the past has been weighed down by his influences. But as he warns us all with the CD opener, "The Best Is Yet To Come."

For the most part, I am a Michael Buble fan. He has a very pleasing tone, a good range and an excellent sense of swing. He is also one of the few young male singers around who clearly has a genuine affinity for the Great American Songbook, and the vocal chops to pull it off. Usually, the only demerits I give Buble are for lifting arrangements directly from other singers' (namely Sinatra's) recordings. "Call Me Irresponsible" is a bit of a misstep, however. Buble's recordings typically include a sampling of numbers from the past along with more contemporary material, and he generally succeeds in bridging the gap between the two genres. On this recording, however, the differences between old and new feel more pronounced, giving the album a more uneven, less cohesive feel. Most surprising - as another reviewer has correctly noted - is the rather pronounced lisp Buble appears to have developed since his fine "It's Time" release two years ago. It does indeed sound like Buble burned or pierced his tongue prior to recording what now comes out as "The Betht ith Yet to Come" and "I've Got the World on a Thtwing". (One can only hope he finds a speech therapist before attempting "Stella By Starlight" or "Stairway to the Stars".) Finally, while Buble is to be commended for trying to infuse new life into old tunes, I have some concerns that he may be veering a little too close to Harry Connick Juniorville (an unhappy place where bizarre arrangements and inappropriate orchestrations are used to distract the listener from serious vocal limitations) on his versions of "That's Life" and the aforementioned "I've Got the World on a String". Buble is too talented a singer to have to reach into Harry's bag of tricks, and one hopes that he doesn't wander too far astray on future releases - of which there are sure to be many, given his popularity and relative youth. I could be wrong, but despite the generally positive reviews this release is currently receiving, I just don't think "Call Me Irresponsible" is going to end up being one of the more significant recordings in Buble's catalog. Better luck nextht thtime, Michael.

i bought his first and his second and his cd/dvd and this and that but this album is a bit of a dissapointment to me.
it's way too predictable,it's like they were afraid to take any chance and just leave things as they were,witch is boring i guess,i love the americain songbook but i really think most versions of the swingtracks he did are lifeless.
i like

-it had better be tonight
-me and mrs jones
-lost
-i've got the world on a string
-i'm your man
-comin'home

they are pretty decent versions not allway new and exiting but they are good but the rest of the album is uninspiring i think,everything sounds a bit too poppy for my taste nice song but that's it,as for the other interpretations,well they lack that certain something,i can't explain but overall this album doesn't exite me as his first did,it sounds just like i expected it to sound and that's predictable.his voice is like allways superb that's why i allready ordered tickets to see him live but this cd i'm not crazy about shame,next time michael be really irresponsible!!

First off, let me say that I am not musically talented myself so anything I have to say is strictly my opinion. On that note, I am disappointed with this new album. I purchased the special edition CD because I wanted "LOVE." I truly love this song. Nat King Cole sang this, right? I thought it was okay. The very best song is "Everything." I could listen to it all day. The rest of the album is mediocre. I don't like when Michael Buble sings with other people... it's distracting and he just doesn't need the help. I have two other Michael Buble albums that I like very, very much... self-titled album and "It's Time". These are definitely worth the money but this new album was not nearly as good. I hope Michael goes back to the sassier and jazzier songs on his previous albums instead of the sad and depressing ones on his new album.

I love Michael Buble's singing. But I have to say, something is up with his voice. Am I the only one out there who hears him lisping his way through this album? It is like he is singing with someone holding onto the tip of his tongue. Or maybe he got his tongue pierced. I don't know, but all the lisping is distracting from what would otherwise be a fabulous project. It ruined it for me.

This CD was such a great purchase. I'd heard "Everything" on the radio but didn't know who sang it and was asking everyone I knew if they knew the song. Luckily, I heard it on the radio again a few days later and I'd ordered it before the song had finished as I loved it so much. Even though I bought the CD for just one song, the rest of it is so great also. "Lost" has such moving lyrics and such a beautiful tune and then there's some great big band numbers.

If you like this genre of music, you'll love this CD.

There is only one extra song, LOVE. That's it. That's not worth paying double the price for this version.

Once again, as on previous CD's, Michael Buble delivers great vocals for some wonderful songs we all know and love. However, where were the arrangers; were they on vacation or taking a nap during these recording sessions????
Most of us who love Buble's style love all the "kicks" in the way he delivers a song. This is due to dynamic arrangements which include plenty of horns and strings with a great rhythm section. Even a ballad can deliver a "WOW" with the right kind of arrangement.
This CD fell short of the expectation I have of Michael Buble's recordings......Not totally his fault; his vocals are right on the money, but there is nothing exciting or unexpected about the songs.

As a performer, Bublé is the closest thing to Frank Sinatra there is today.
"Call Me Irresponsible" is the latest offering from Canadian hot-young-thing Michael Bublé. The handsome singer has already gained success in recent years with albums It's Time and Caught In The Act (CD + DVD) and singles including one of 2005's most played radio tracks Home.
With new and original material the crooner hopes to gain a new and more contemporary following.
To this end, the new album mixes old standards with new songs such as "Lost" - a melancholy tribute to a break-up - and the first single from the album," Everything".
While fellow artists trying to emulate the sounds of Ol' Blue Eyes and his gang may stick to the tried and tested formulas of Rat Pack songs, Bublé's new album departs from the crooner age, choosing classic songs that are not from the expected genre, including "Me and Mrs Jones", Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" and "Always On My Mind" - the love song made famous by Elvis Presley.
There is almost half a really good record on this studio album. But, once again, glossy David Foster productions of overly-exposed songs associated with Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett dominate.
The backing band is top-notch. "Call Me Irresponsible" was certainly not cheap to make. Bublé's voice has body and he can carry a tune well but he's not a particularly expressive singer. Thus, his Las-Vegas-style version of Billy Paul's smoldering classic "Me and Mrs. Jones "strips all the sex and conflict and lyrical pathos out of it. Bublé's British actress girlfriend Emily Blunt ("The Devil Wears Prada") coos the closing lines.
Woozy, lispy renditions of "The Best Is Yet to Come", "I've Got the World on a String" and "That's Life" are even worse; they are smarmy -- like a boozy Bobby Darin come back to life.
When Bublé isn't cynically pandering to grandmas and their granddaughters with his predictable standards, he's improving. There's a charm to his original pop composition "Everything" (surprisingly produced by Bob Rock, a man better known for working with hard rockers Metallica and Motley Crüe). Oldies by Henry Mancini and Mel Torme that haven't been beaten to death through countless covers also stand out. Mancini's The Ultimate Pink Panther song "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera--in Italian)" is terrific, boasting an exciting Italian-salsa arrangement.
If Bublé would worry a bit less about demographics and take this album's title to heart by taking more chances and ditching the safety net of Foster, he could become more than just a sales phenomenom. Bublé could maybe approach the artistry of those he emulates.
Bublé wows the most when he departs from the Rat Pack-esque tunes and brings something different to other classics. His 1970s cabaret-style "Wonderful Tonight" presents a totally different take on the classic Clapton ballad, transformed in a delightful bossa nova duet with Brazilian legendary singer/songwriter Ivan Lins, while "Always on My Mind" is a more intimate and understated version than the King's, but still hits the spot.One of the album highlights is the jazzy version of Leonard Cohen's "I'm Your Man" - wrought with dramatic pauses, crescendos and key changes but still succeeding in being an intimate ballad.
A collaboration with the harmonic Boyz II Men on "Coming Home Baby" may seem like an odd pairing, but it's just good... However, the Boyz act as mere background to Bublé's warbling. And as if "Everything" wasn't rousing enough already, the album includes the singer pairing with a gospel choir on the track creating a truly uplifting version.
All in all...Unlike those who have tried and failed before him, the young star does not fail to disappoint. There are not many artists - especially in today's Pop Idol conveyer belt of a music scene - who can be mentioned in the same breath as Frank Sinatra. And NOT just as a mere epigon on the Sinatra's footsteps.
Which is pretty darn good.

I like it, I really do. I don't love it like I loved It's Time, but I like it. I know I'm being a bit redudant, but such is life. There were a few songs that in my opinion could've been produced or arranged a little better, but overall it's pretty good. I'm a great fan of Mr. Buble so he's one of the few artist that I'll buy a cd just because he's on it, and especially any cd that he puts out because it's sure to have good music on it. So once again I don't love, but I definitely like it..