Crazy Love [Expanded Edition]

by Michael Bublé

Overview

Buoyed by the popularity of the hit contemporary pop ballad "Home," singer Michael Bublé's 2005 album, It's Time, clearly positioned the vocalist as the preeminent neo-crooner of his generation. Bublé's 2007 follow-up, Call Me Irresponsible, only further reinforced this notion. Not only had he come into his own as a lithe, swaggering stage performer with a knack for jazzing a crowd, but he had also grown into a virtuoso singer. Sure, he'd never drop nor deny the Sinatra comparisons, but now Bublé's voice -- breezy, tender, and controlled -- was his own. It didn't hurt, either, that he and his producers found the perfect balance of old-school popular song standards and more modern pop covers and originals that at once grounded his talent in tradition and pushed him toward the pop horizon. All of this is brought to bear on Bublé's 2009 effort, Crazy Love. Easily the singer's most stylistically wide-ranging album, it is also one of his brightest, poppiest, and most fun. Bublé kicks things off with the theatrical, epic ballad "Cry Me a River" and proceeds to milk the tune with burnished breath, eking out the drama line by line. It's over the top for sure, but Bublé takes you to the edge of the cliff, prepares to jump, and then gives you a knowing wink that says, not quite yet -- there's more fun to be had. And what fun it is with Bublé swinging through "All of Me," and killin' Van Morrison's classic "Crazy Love" with a light and yearning touch. And just as "Home" worked to showcase Bublé's own writing abilities, here we get the sunshine pop of "Haven't Met You Yet" -- a skippy, jaunty little song that brings to mind a mix of the Carpenters and Chicago. Throw in a rollicking and soulful duet with Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings on "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)," and a fabulously old-school close-harmony version of "Stardust" with Bublé backed by the vocal ensemble Naturally 7, and Crazy Love really starts to come together. All of this would be enough to fall in love with the album, but then Bublé goes and throws in a last minute overture by duetting with fellow Canadian singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith on Sexsmith's ballad "Whatever It Takes." A devastating, afterglow-ready paean for romance, the song is a modern-day classic that pairs one of the most underrated and ignored songwriters of his generation next to one of the most ballyhooed in Bublé -- a classy move for sure. The result, like the rest of Crazy Love, is pure magic.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/18/2011
Label:	Reprise / Wea
UPC:	0093624959465
catalogNumber:	526812
Rank:	1561

Tracks

1. Cry Me a River
2. All of Me
3. Georgia On My Mind
4. Crazy Love
5. Haven't Met You Yet
6. All I Do is Dream of You
7. Hold On
8. Heartache Tonight
9. You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You
10. Baby (You've Got What It Takes)
11. Hollywood
12. At This Moment
13. Stardust
14. Whatever It Takes

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Michael Bublé   Primary Artist
Brian Bromberg   Bass
Peter Erskine   Drums
David Foster   Keyboards
Rusty Anderson   Guitar
Rick Baptist   Flugelhorn
Paul Bushnell   Bass
Lenny Castro   Percussion
Vinnie Colaiuta   Drums
Nathan East   Bass
Josh Freese   Drums
Eric Knight   Guitar
Joe La Barbera   Drums
Michael Landau   Guitar,Soloist
Jamie Muhoberac   Keyboards
Rafael Padilla   Percussion
Dean Parks   Guitar
Rob Perkins   Drums
John "J.R." Robinson   Drums
Bob Rock   Guitar
Keith Scott   Guitar
Ramon Stagnaro   Guitar
Ron Sexsmith   Background Vocals
Tom Colclough   Clarinet
Joel Shearer   Guitar
Roger Thomas   Rap
Saundra Williams   Vocals
Sharon Jones   Vocals
Victor Axelrod   Piano,Keyboards
Tiffany Smith   Background Vocals
Brad Turner   Trumpet
Angela Fisher   Background Vocals
Neil Nicholson   Bass Trombone
Neal Sugarman   Tenor Saxophone
Fernando Velez   Percussion
Naturally 7   Background Vocals
Campbell Ryga   Alto Saxophone
Tamir Hendelman   Piano
Ian Hendrickson-Smith   Baritone Saxophone
Steve Kaldestad   Tenor Saxophone
Jacob Rodriguez   Saxophone,Baritone Saxophone
Justin Ray   Trumpet
Alan Chang   Piano,Celeste
Bryan Lipps   Trumpet
Nick Movshon   Bass
Rob Wilkerson   Saxophone
Binky Griptite   Guitar
Homer Steinweiss   Drums
Mike Allen   Saxophone,Tenor Saxophone
Thomas Brenneck   Guitar
Onita Hutton   Background Vocals
Jumaane Smith   Trumpet
Nick Vayenas   Trombone
Jeremy Berkman   Trombone
Garfield Buckley   Harmonica,Tenor (Vocal)
Teresa Dowin   Vocals
Hops Hutton   Bass
Craig Polasko   Bass
Jamal Reed   Electric Guitar,Tenor (Vocal)
Dwight Stewart   Baritone (Vocal)
Graham Dector   Guitar
Warren Thomas   Clarinet,Guitar,Percussion,Tenor (Vocal)
Rod Eldridge   scratching,Trumpet,Tenor (Vocal)
Dave Guy   Trumpet
Joshua Brown   Trombone
Michael Thompson   Guitar
John Castellano   Vocals
Jason Morals   Background Vocals
Robert Scott   Piano

Technical Credits

Hoagy Carmichael   Composer
Don Henley   Composer
Bill Holman   Orchestration
Quincy Jones   Arranger
Russ Morgan   Composer
David Foster   Arranger,Producer
Nacio Herb Brown   Composer
Billy Byers   Arranger
John Clayton   Arranger
Arthur Freed   Composer
Glenn Frey   Composer
Humberto Gatica   Arranger,Producer,Engineer
Arthur Hamilton   Composer
Jerry Hey   Arranger
Van Morrison   Composer
Clyde Otis   Composer
Mitchell Parish   Composer
Lou Pomanti   Horn Arrangements,String Arrangements
Bob Rock   Arranger,Producer
Alejandro Rodriguez   Engineer
Bob Seger   Composer
J.D. Souther   Composer
Randy Staub   Engineer
Larry Stock   Composer
Billy Vera   Composer
Ron Sexsmith   Composer
Stuart Gorrell   Composer
Roger Monk   Engineer
Murray Stein   Composer
Gerald Marks   Composer
James Cavanaugh   Composer
Neal Sugarman   Horn Arrangements
Michael Bublé   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Horn Arrangements
Ian Hendrickson-Smith   Horn Arrangements
Gabriel Roth   Arranger,Engineer,Horn Arrangements
Eric Helmkamp   Engineer
Jorge Vivo   Engineer
Justin Ray   Horn Arrangements,String Arrangements
Alan Chang   Arranger,Composer,Producer,String Arrangements
Bruce Allen   Management
Bill Ross   Arranger,Orchestration
Hops Hutton   Vocal Arrangements
Jochem van der Saag   Arranger,Programming,Engineer,Sound Design
Myles Collins   Adaptation
Dave Guy   Horn Arrangements
Seymour B. Simons   Composer
Amy S. Foster   Composer
Robert Grant Scott   Composer

Editorial Reviews

Buoyed by the popularity of the hit contemporary pop ballad "Home," singer Michael Bublé's 2005 album, It's Time, clearly positioned the vocalist as the preeminent neo-crooner of his generation. Bublé's 2007 follow-up, Call Me Irresponsible, only further reinforced this notion. Not only had he come into his own as a lithe, swaggering stage performer with a knack for jazzing a crowd, but he had also grown into a virtuoso singer. Sure, he'd never drop nor deny the Sinatra comparisons, but now Bublé's voice -- breezy, tender, and controlled -- was his own. It didn't hurt, either, that he and his producers found the perfect balance of old-school popular song standards and more modern pop covers and originals that at once grounded his talent in tradition and pushed him toward the pop horizon. All of this is brought to bear on Bublé's 2009 effort, Crazy Love. Easily the singer's most stylistically wide-ranging album, it is also one of his brightest, poppiest, and most fun. Bublé kicks things off with the theatrical epic ballad "Cry Me a River" and proceeds to milk the tune with burnished breath, eking out the drama line by line. It's over the top for sure, but Bublé takes you to the edge of the cliff, prepares to jump, and then gives you a knowing wink that says, not quite yet -- there's more fun to be had. And what fun it is with Bublé swinging through "All of Me" and killin' Van Morrison's classic "Crazy Love" with a light and yearning touch. And just as "Home" worked to showcase Bublé's own writing abilities, here we get the sunshine pop of "Haven't Met You Yet" -- a skippy, jaunty little song that brings to mind a mix of the Carpenters and Chicago. Throw in a rollicking and soulful duet with Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings on "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" and a fabulously old-school close-harmony version of "Stardust" with Bublé backed by the vocal ensemble Naturally 7, and Crazy Love really starts to come together. All of this would be enough to fall in love with the album, but then Bublé goes and throws in a last-minute overture by duetting with fellow Canadian singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith on Sexsmith's ballad "Whatever It Takes." A devastating, afterglow-ready paean for romance, the song is a modern-day classic that pairs one of the most underrated and ignored songwriters of his generation next to one of the most ballyhooed in Bublé -- a classy move for sure. The result, like the rest of Crazy Love, is pure magic. [This expanded edition includes the bonus track "Hollywood."]

All Music Guide - Matt Collar