Totally

After the success of Michael Buble's self-titled debut, DRG belatedly released this jazzy soundtrack from the 2001 film Totally Blonde in which Buble had a co-starring role as a nightclub singer. Capitalizing on Buble's newfound stardom, DRG basically ignores the music's connection to the film by altering the title and putting a shot of Buble on the cover making it appear as if this was a proper Michael Buble release. The slight misrepresentation was not lost on Buble who has stated on his website that he did not want these songs released but that it was out of his control. In reality, the disc is not the complete disaster he makes it out to be, but buyers should be wary of the disc and understand what it is they are purchasing. The film's director, Andrew Van Slee, wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on this short, energetic disc while an as-yet unsigned Buble does his best to breathe some life into these imitation swing-style songs. As with the standards he interpreted on his debut disc, Buble sounds in command and comfortable fronting these slight tunes, making the songs sound much more interesting than they really are. Throughout most of the tracks Buble channels his inner Sinatra in a way that is complementary but not imitative, as in the swagger of the disc's opening number, "That's How It Goes," where his Frank-ish vocals get revved up and zoom into a final Bobby Darin growl. His youthfulness does show through on the ballad "Anyone to Love," a boozy ode to losing at love in which Buble's vocals lack the experience needed to truly portray the song's older, depressed character, but that is his only vocal misstep throughout these seven audio tracks. Although one could understand why Buble would not want these early recordings to sit beside his stellar debut in CD bins, he shouldn't be too concerned as Totally Buble does show what this gifted vocalist can do with even second-rate material. ~ Aaron Latham