It's Time

Michael Bubl?'s assured debut and the tireless year of globe-trotting touring he spent promoting it elevated the 20-something Vancouver native into the first rank of pop crooner revivalists. His sophomore studio follow-up largely turns on the same formula that helped make his considerable vocal prowess so attractive to mainstream audiences, mixing the nigh flawless, if expected Sinatra-channeling ("I've Got You Under My Skin") with more playful and inviting renditions of pop standards like the Gershwin's "A Foggy Day in London Town," "Feeling Good," "Try A Little Tenderness" and Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin." But it's the eclectic mix of more contemporary material the singer seasons them with -- apt tribute to Bubl? hero Bobby Darin -- that keeps him walking the narrow tightrope between artistic intrigue (a blues-tinged vamp of Holland-Dozier-Holland's "How Sweet It Is," Leon Russell's lovely "Song For You," with a guest turn by Chris Botti) and the kitsch-laden abyss ("Quando, Quando, Quando"'s Euro-centric duet with Nelly Furtado, a ring-a-ding-fling with the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" that echoes fellow Canadian crooner/rival Matt Dusk's more successful flirtation with Lennon-McCartney). Arranger/producer Tommy LiPuma offers Bubl? a welcome swinging jazz showcase on "The More I See of You," a bracing respite from the rest of producer David Foster's slick, if typically bloodless MOR production. -- Jerry McCulley [Note: A special edition including two bonus tracks--"Dream a Little Dream" and "Mack the Knife"--is also available.]

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