The heart wants what it wants. And Michael Buble’s heart just wasn’t in it anymore.
Despite the massive success of his first three albums, the Vancouver crooner had fallen out of love — not with the music he was making, but with the way he was making it.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he says from the Left Coast. “I’m really proud of my first three records. But they were done in a very slick way. They sound really good; sonically, they’re beautiful. They’re all about perfection — everything is recorded onto ProTools, and if something isn’t perfect, you pull it out and fix it. There are no mistakes.
“And as much as I liked them,” he confesses, “there was something missing for me.”
So, before he set out to make album No. 4 — the romantically themed Crazy Love, which comes out later this week — Buble did some soul-searching. And like a lot of guys looking for a new spark, he started off by trying to rekindle a few old flames.
“I would listen to my records and study them,” he says. “And then I would put on a Beatles record or a Frank (Sinatra) record, an old Elvis record or a Motown record. And I would feel something — I can’t really explain it, but there was a great presence in some of those records. I kept wondering why they had this great presence and why I didn’t always feel that when I was listening to myself, or to other records that are made today. And one of the first things I realized was that we live in a ProTools, American Idol generation. We’ve become used to listening to this absolutely perfect music, but the heart and the soul are gone. It’s so antiseptic.”
At the same time, he admits, he was getting slightly tired of hearing an eternal refrain from fans and critics: That his live shows — which feature his easygoing humour and personality almost as prominently as his music — are more enjoyable than his studio albums. Putting the two ideas together led to his eureka moment. “I realized that maybe I could meet somewhere in the middle and capture the energy and the raw excitement that comes from doing it in a live setting.”
His idea: To record Crazy Love the way his favourite old records were cut — live off the floor, with all the musicians playing at once, aiming for a great groove instead of a perfect take. But he knew changing his tune at this stage of his career would be easier said than done. After selling 21 million copies of his first three albums, he wasn’t sure his Grammy-winning producer David Foster — who met Buble in 2000 when the latter sang at the wedding of Brian Mulroney’s daughter, Caroline — would be willing to redefine their relationship.
But Buble went in anyway to have The Talk: You know, the one that starts with, ‘It’s not you, it’s me.’
“I said, ‘I need to do this in a different way. It has to be far more organic. I don’t want to record to a click track. I don’t want to tape everything separately. I want to shove those microphones in the room and I want the band just to go in there and play. I don’t care if the tempo speeds up or slows down. I just want it to feel great. I want those drums to be bleeding into the bass, and the bass bleeding into the strings, and them bleeding into my vocals. I want this to have some real edge.’ ”
Foster’s response? “He said, ‘That’s not what I do.’ But eventually he said, ‘OK, we’ll give it a shot.’ ”
So Buble went into Vancouver’s Warehouse studio with his band and longtime engineer Humberto Gatica, whose credits include sessions with Sinatra and samba master Antonio Carlos Jobim.
“I got my 18-piece big band, threw them in a room, chucked up the microphones, set up a little vocal booth, and we did Stardust with (a cappella septet) Naturally 7. My rhythm section was 10 feet away, and nobody wore (headphone) cans, and we played. We played the song three times and we ended up using the first take. It was so satisfying.”
Sadly, it wasn’t love at first sight for everyone.
“I remember taking Stardust to Foster and I said, ‘What do you think?’ And he said, ‘Dude, it’s pitchy.’ And it makes you second-guess yourself. But I kept listening to the record and saying to myself, ‘I’m not crazy. If this feels so good to me, if it feels this soulful, other people have got to feel what I’m feeling. I’m not alone.’ ”
Buble stuck to his guns and eventually won out. The result is the 13-track Crazy Love, which includes a mixed bag of tunes about romance — everything from a bombastically punchy version of Cry Me a River to a hard-swinging take on Eagles’ Heartache Tonight and a gritty revamp of the Dinah Washington/Brooke Benton classic Baby (You’ve Got What it Takes) with Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings (who double as Amy Winehouse’s backing band).
“There are songs that are happy and songs that are sad and songs that are longing,” says the 34-year-old bachelor, who has been romantically linked to singer-actress Emily Blunt and, more recently, Argentine actress Luisana Lopilato. “But I chose the songs because I knew I could bring a lot to them. I knew I could dig deep. Basically, I was going into the corner and putting my head down and trying to be authentic.”
Between that authenticity and the immediacy of the recordings, Crazy Love is his favourite album, he says. And he’s so head over heels about the way it was made, he’s willing to make a long-term commitment — for richer or poorer.
“You know, I’ve had commercial success. I’ve sold 21 million records. Now I feel I have a responsibility to myself to take a risk and not worry as much about this being commercially successful. I want to have a lot more artistic integrity. I said to everyone, ‘If this doesn’t sell as many copies, I’m sorry.’ And that was a hard thing, obviously, because you want both. But I erred on the side of integrity. I tried to make a record that really moved me. And I hoped that if it moved me it would move other people.
“It isn’t perfect,” he admits. “But it feels better than anything I’ve ever done before. And now that it’s done, I don’t think I’ll ever make a record again the old way.”
Michael Buble may be crazy, but he’s not an idiot.
While his fourth studio CD, Crazy Love, is a deliberate attempt to move forward, he doesn’t want to leave any of his old fans behind.
“I need to show growth without alienating 21 million people who were kind enough to support me and buy the records and go to the shows. I think that would be a very stupid thing,” he admits. “When I was 16 years old, I started singing and working in the clubs. And I sang standards and loved it. After all that work, and getting signed 10 years later, and working harder and harder and harder for the success, I wouldn’t want to just turn around and say, ‘Now I’m going to make a pop record.’ ”
So even though he continues to expand his repertoire, don’t expect him to quit singing standards.
“I love the American songbook, and I love interpreting those songs. I would really miss interpreting some great songs. I’m proud to do what I do. I’m proud to be one of the lucky ones who gets to continue the legacy of my idols.
“But one of the reasons I feel lucky to be in the position I’m in is that I get to be a little bit schizophrenic. I get to do everything from R&B to pop to rock to big band to the American standards stuff. And I get to put it all onto one record and hope that thematically it works.”
Not everything works for everybody, he admits — neither his manager, Bruce Allen, nor producer Bob Rock like his cover of Eagles’ Heartache Tonight.
“My manager just keeps saying, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know.’ And Bob said the same thing: ‘That’s the Eagles, man. I just can’t get my head around it.’ But a lot of my friends that are a lot younger, it’s their favourite song on the record.”
There are also plenty of songs Buble can’t get his head around.
“There’s thousands of songs that are brought to me, and I go, ‘No! No! Never.’ Like Sinatra’s My Way — I can’t tell you how many people have come to me with that. I’ll never touch that. I’m 34 years old; I’m not ready to sing that song. And even when I am ready, I don’t know that I’ll touch it.”
BURBANK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Due to unprecedented demand, Reprise Records has sped up the manufacturing of Michael Bublé’s highly anticipated “Crazy Love” CD, (his first in over two years) and it will now be released on Friday, October 9th, four days earlier than previously scheduled, it was announced today by his record label.
Bublé, a multi-Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter has sold over 22 million CDs worldwide which clearly brought the fan demand for his latest release, produced by David Foster, Bob Rock and Humberto Gatica to a dizzying level. The Canadian singer’s previous CD, “Call Me Irresponsible” was a Number One album in 15 countries. His 2005 CD “It’s Time” charted for two solid years. Bublé has also co-written and performed two Number One singles “Everything” and “Home.”
“Haven’t Met You Yet,” a Bublé penned first single from “Crazy Love” has just been released at radio. A video for the single is scheduled to be filmed within the next two weeks. “Crazy Love” includes Bublé’s always unique spin on classics from “Cry Me A River,” to “Georgia On My Mind” along with the Van Morrison classic, “Crazy Love.” Bublé is also expected to make several major TV appearances in conjunction with the CD’s release.
Canadian singer Michael Bublé is releasing his first album featuring original material since 2007, his label announced this week. Entitled “Crazy Love,” after a 1970 Van Morrison tune of the same name, the album is due Oct. 13 on 143/Reprise Records.
Bublé recorded “Crazy Love” in New York and Vancouver and co-wrote both of album’s two original songs — “Hold On” and “Haven’t Met You Yet,” which is the lead single and debuts at radio on Aug. 31. The remaining 11 tracks include covers of “Cry Me A River,” “Georgia On My Mind” and “Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes),” which features Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
“I dug way deeper and was more introspective on this one,” Bublé said in a statement. “Basically, I sang the truth — made each song autobiographical — and you can definitely hear the difference.”
“Crazy Love” was produced by David Foster, Bob Rock and Humberto Gatica, and Bublé says it was recorded more organically than his past records. “The musicians and I all sat in the room, recorded it right from the floor and we let the sounds all come together and bleed into one another. It’s not contrived. Not too perfect. It just feels really good,” he explains.
Bublé’s last studio album, 2007’s “Call Me Irresponsible,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has sold 1.9 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Here is the track list for “Crazy Love”:
“Cry Me A River”
“All Of Me”
“Georgia On My Mind”
“Crazy Love”
“Haven’t Met You Yet”
“All I Do Is Dream Of You”
“Hold On”
“Heartache Tonight”
You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You”
“Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes)”
“At This Moment”
“Stardust”
“Whatever It Takes” (bonus track)
First Single - The Bublé Penned “Haven’t Met You Yet” Hits Radio on Monday, August 31st
BURBANK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–“Crazy Love,” Michael Bublé’s first CD in two and a half years featuring two original songs along with his always original take on 11 standards from various eras is scheduled to be released this Fall, October 13th, it was confirmed today by 143/Reprise Records.
The multi-Grammy winning artist hunkered down in recording studios in LA, Brooklyn, New York and his hometown of Vancouver for the last six months to make his “ultimate record about the inevitable roller coaster ride of relationships.” The first single, “Haven’t Met You Yet,” written by Bublé (with Alan Chang and Amy Foster) is scheduled to be released to radio on August 31st. Additional tunes on the album include “Cry Me A River,” “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You,” “Georgia On My Mind” and “Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes)” which was performed with Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings. The title song is a cover of the Van Morrison gem “Crazy Love.” The CD closes out with a haunting version of “Stardust” which is performed with the a cappella group Naturally 7. The album was produced by David Foster, Bob Rock and Humberto Gatica.
“I started this record knowing I was going to record it differently than my previous ones. I dug way deeper and was more introspective on this one. Basically, I sang the truth - made each song autobiographical - and you can definitely hear the difference. I went back to the way my idols made their records. I wanted an organic feel - so people could feel like they were in the studio with me. The musicians and I all sat in the room, recorded it right from the floor and we let the sounds all come together and bleed into one another. It’s not contrived. Not too perfect. It just feels really good,” commented Bublé on the recording process for “Crazy Love.”
Singer and songwriter Michael Bublé has sold over 22 million CDs worldwide. His previous CD, the Grammy winning “Call Me Irresponsible” (2007) was a number one album in over 15 countries. His 2005 CD “It’s Time” holds the record as the longest running title to remain on the Billboard Traditional Jazz charts - a full two years. It sat in the Number One position for over 80 weeks. He has had two Number One singles, “Everything” and “Home,” which was also a Number One hit for Blake Shelton on the Country charts.
MICHAEL BUBLÉ “CRAZY LOVE” TRACKLISTING:
Cry Me A River
All Of Me
Georgia On My Mind
Crazy Love
Haven’t Met You Yet*
All I Do Is Dream Of You
Hold On*
Heartache Tonight
You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You
Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes)
At This Moment
Stardust
Whatever It Takes (bonus track)
NEW YORK - (Business Wire) Famed musical showman, producer and songwriter David Foster and some of his talented friends will be embarking on a 10-city tour of “David Foster and Friends” starting in Chicago on October 21st, including stops in New York, Boston, LA, Vancouver, Miami and other markets, it was confirmed today by Warner Bros. Records. In addition to such artists as Philip Bailey from the chart-topping Earth, Wind and Fire, Oprah protégé Charice, Chicago’s Peter Cetera and American Idol’s Michael Johns, fans can expect surprise visits at every show.
Foster, who has an unparalleled four-decade career producing, writing, discovering and nurturing some of the greatest talents in music, has added a special event to the “Foster and Friends Show” - a HIT MAN Talent Search for emerging artists that will take place in each city. Talent in each market will compete to be the next mega-artist by submitting video performances to NAMEDROP.COM. Following the pre-selection, radio and TV stations in their markets will air the selected video/audio clips and viewers/listeners will vote for the two finalists via station websites. The two finalists get to perform with Foster in front of a live audience during the Foster and Friends Concert. The audience and Foster will choose the final winner, who will be flown to Vancouver on November 8th for a final showdown in Foster’s home town.
With one of Hollywood’s most impressive phone books, Foster has yet to reveal which guests might visit him on stage during the tour. “Cher and Donny Osmond both surprised me in Las Vegas so I think people won’t be disappointed. I can certainly say each show will be very special and loads of fun. You never know what’s going to happen with this much talent on stage,” commented Foster who performed two sold out shows at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas recently.
Foster, a 15-time Grammy winner whose PBS Great Performances Special, “David Foster and Friends” was the highest pledged PBS show in history, will perform with his friends some of the hits that have paved the way for the many artists that he has worked with over the years, including Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Michael Bublé, Andrea Bocelli, Chaka Khan, Madonna, Chicago and The Corrs. Foster recently produced Seal’s critically acclaimed, “Soul” CD, Michael Bublé’s upcoming “Crazy Love” CD and a cut on Whitney Houston’s new CD. He is also in the studio with Oprah discovery Charice, who received five standing ovations during her recent performance in Las Vegas. David Foster’s current DVD/CD “Foster and Friends” is available on 143/Reprise Records.
Tour dates are as follows:
21-Oct Chicago, IL Wed Rosemont Theatre
23-Oct New York, NY Fri WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden
24-Oct Newark, NJ Sat Prudential Center
25-Oct Boston, MA Sun Agganis Arena
28-Oct Atlanta, GA Wed Fox Theatre
30-Oct Tampa, FL Fri St. Pete Times Forum
1-Nov Hollywood, FL Sun Hard Rock Live
5-Nov Los Angeles, CA Thur Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City Walk
6-Nov San Jose, CA Fri HP Pavilion
8-Nov Vancouver, BC Sun General Motors Place
Multi-Grammy award winning Michael Buble is scheduled to release a new DVD/CD Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden on June 16, it was confirmed today by 143/Reprise Records. The DVD/CD documentary will include a masterful Buble performance, which breathlessly captures all the elements surrounding the show including an intimate and complex portrayal of the Canadian singing sensation in the days, minutes and seconds leading up to this historic event.
Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden also shows footage of Buble’s emotional visit to the famed Blue Note Club where he first performed in New York City over six years ago before exploding onto the music scene. In addition, fans get to observe Buble in action backstage at the Garden with his band along with heartfelt moments with his family.
Highlights on the performance element of the DVD and accompanying CD include Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man,” the classic romance song “Me and Mrs. Jones,” the swinging “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and the haunting Buble penned love letter and No. 1 hit single, “Home.”
“The cavernous Garden felt like an intimate nightclub,” raved the NY Times critic Stephen Holden of Buble’s performance that evening. The Michael Buble Tour lasted two years and played to one million fans worldwide including 80 sold out appearances in the US.
Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden was directed and produced by Jason Hehir on the documentary side with concert footage directed by Dick Carruthers.
Buble’s albums have sold over 15 million copies. His most recent CD, the Grammy winning Call Me Irresponsible (2007) was a number one album all around the globe including the US. His previous album, It’s Time (2005) sold six million copies worldwide and holds the record as the longest running title to remain on the Billboard Traditional Jazz charts for two full years. It remained in the number one position for over 80 weeks. In Australia, Michael Buble is the biggest selling artist of the decade.
Michael Buble is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on his new 143/Reprise Records CD, produced by David Foster and Bob Rock, which is scheduled for a fall release.
Filipino singing sensation Charice added another milestone in her career after she performed at an Oscars after-party dubbed “A Night to Make a Difference: Oscar Night at Mr. Chow” on Hollywood.
Charice, who is now in the US to record her first international album, sang the Dreamgirls movie hit song, “Listen.”
But before her performance, Charice was introduced by her handler, international musician-composer David Foster. He guaranteed that Charice would be a global superstar in just one year.
“She is one of the most amazing talents you will ever see, and you’re gonna see history tonight, because one year from now, this girl will be one of the biggest stars on the planet, guaranteed 100%,” Foster said.
After her song “Listen,” the young diva received a standing ovation from the audience.
During the party, Foster also revealed that Charice started recording her album last February 21.
Charice even tried to sing one of the songs in her upcoming album, “Fingerprint.” But due to technical difficulties, Charice wasn’t able sing the full song since the CD skipped.
Charice also performed an all-time hit, “I Will Survive,” for the fundraising event.
Hollyscoop.com reported:
Leeza Gibbons and Olivia Newton John teamed up with music legend David Foster to present the first annual Leeza Gibbon’s Night to Make A Difference, at the iconic Mr. Chow restaurant in Beverly Hills.
The “party with a purpose” included an Oscars viewing party, a ten course meal, twittering with the stars, a live webcast from the event and an auction that brought money to various foundations. One of the big highlights of the night was when Michael Buble gave an unexpected, impromptu performance following Charice Pempengco’s rafter-shaking ballad, “Listen”.
Buble in the booth for Canucks-Hawks game
Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, February 06, 2009
Burnaby-born crooner Michael Buble has a new gig, and he’s done it without the benefit of an audition.
Buble will join play-by-play man John Shorthouse in the radio booth Saturday night to provide colour commentary for the Canuck-Chicago Blackhawks game at GM Place.
The Grammy Award-winning singer will be filling in for regular analyst Tom Larscheid, who is in Utah where he is being inducted into the Utah State Sports Hall of Fame. Buble is currently in Los Angeles recording a new album with producer David Foster and will fly up Saturday.
“I think he’d like to be at the morning skate, but recording a new album probably takes precedence,” Shorthouse said today with a chuckle. “My anticipation is Michael is going to watch the game, talk about it and maybe reference some old Canuck stuff, which he’s very good at and very faniliar with.
“It should be fun. Michael is a huge Canucks fan and hopefully it will make for some decent radio.”
Buble recently became a part-owner of the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants.
“HITMAN: David Foster and Friends” CD/DVD will be released on November 11, 2008 by Warner Bros.
The event was the star-studded David Foster & Friends concert held Friday, May 23 at the Mandalay Bay Event Center. It was an almost fourhour musical extravaganza that featured tour de force performances from Foster’s friends such as Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Michael Buble, Katharine McPhee, Charice, Renee Olstead, Peter Cetera, Brian McKnight, Babyface, and Boz Scaggs.
Here’s the CD/DVD track listing:
Disc 1:
1. Love Theme From St. Elmo’s Fire (Kenny G.)
2. Home (Michael Buble and Blake Shelton)
3. I Have Nothing/I Will Always Love You (Charice)
4. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Josh Groban and Brian McKnight)
5. Somewhere (Katharine McPhee)
6. Look What You’ve Done To Me (Boz Skaggs)
7. Wildflower (Blake Shelton)
8. Hard To Say I’m Sorry/You’re The Inspiration/Glory Of Love (Peter Cetera)
9. The Prayer (Andrea Bocelli and Katharine McPhee)
DVD content:
Act I
1. Andre Agassi Intro
2. St Elmo’s Love Theme (Kenny G.)
3. Can’t Help Falling In Love (David Foster)
4. Beauty/Man In Motion (Michael Johns)
5. Mornin’/After The Love Has Gone (Brian McKnight)
6. Video (Barbra Streisand)
7. Somewhere (Katharine McPhee)
8. Through The Fire (Renee Olstead)
9. Got To Be Real (Cheryl Lynn)
10. Wildflower (Blake Shelton)
11. Video (Urban Cowboy)
12. Love Look What You’ve Done (Boz Skaggs)
13. Jo Jo (Boz Skaggs)
14. Chocolate Legs (Eric Benet)
15. Hard To Say I’m Sorry/You’re The Inspiration/Glory Of Love (Peter Cetera)
16. Amapola (Andrea Bocelli)
17. Because We Believe (Andrea Bocelli)
18. The Prayer (Andrea Bocelli and Katharine McPhee)
Act II
1. Asturias (William Joseph)
2. Video-Because You Loved Me (Celine Dion and David Foster)
3. I Swear (Babyface and Kevon)
4. Feeling Good (Michael Buble)
5. Home (Michael Buble and Blake Shelton)
6. Save The Last Dance (Michael Buble)
7. Video-Bodyguard w/Kevin Costner
8. I Have Nothing/I Will Always Love You(Charice)
9. Alla Luce del Sole(Josh Groban)
10. Bridge Over Troubled Water(Josh Groban with Brian McKnight)
11. You Raise Me Up(Josh Groban)
12. Got To Be Real(All)
The David Foster official biography “Hitman: Forty Years Making Music, Topping the Charts, and Winning Grammys” will be also released in November 2008. A 272 pages hardcover book that every David Foster fan should pre-order it !