For Michael Bublé aficionados, “The Best of Bublé” is a gift — a celebration of the Canadian singer’s best work, with a couple previously unreleased songs thrown in.
Bublé rose to fame in the early ’00s for his capacity to take staple songs from the worlds of jazz, blues and the Great American Songbook and make them his own, through his angelic and controlled vocal tone. He was quickly celebrated, too, for his original hits, many of which are present on this album: “Home,” “Haven’t Met You Yet” and “Everything.”
But this greatest hits collection does more than rehash the past. “The Best of Bublé” welcomes in the new through two unreleased songs, illustrating his range and elastic approach to genre.
“Don’t Blame It On Me” brings out the cheery side of Bublé. Beneath his voice are lively horns that fill a room, handclaps and acoustic guitars, a dance that makes it absolutely impossible to hear without smiling.
While “Quizás, Quizás, Quizás,” a cover of a Cuban classic written by Osvaldo Farrés and made famous by Bobby Capó, allows Bublé to show off in Spanish.
Those songs placed next to his best-known material makes “The Best of Bublé” the perfect present for his diehard followers, and an accelerated crash course for any newcomers wanting to familiarize themselves with his particular talents.
“The Best of Bublé” is a beautiful and nostalgic journey, one best consumed while sipping a dirty martini in an art nouveau bar, channeling a past time. His bossa nova takes the listener on a journey.
The only thing missing for this release — the only thing that could make it a truly in-depth visitation of his career — would be the inclusion of some of his Christmas songs. After all, he’s the King of Christmas — a role second only to Mariah Carey. But holiday feelings aside, “The Best of Bublé” is one to place under the tree, a delightful catalogue representing a modern classic voice.
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