Canadian Crooners

If the saying rings true that it's always cocktail hour somewhere in the world, then it should be added that Canadian clocks are permanently set to croon time. Yes, sir, we boast a wealth of men whose vocals can melt mountains and lay waste to love-struck hearts with a single long note. Heading up the homegrown crop are Michael Bublé, who raises the temperature with an exotic version of "Save the Last Dance for Me," and Paul Anka, who breezes through Van Halen's "Jump" with his tongue in his cheek. You'll be craving the onset of Dusk, in Next Steps.

Matt Dusk learned the basics of his craft with St. Michael's Choir School in Toronto, but it sounds like he had done a fair bit of living by the time he slayed us with "Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad" (2004), a contemporary lounge classic composed by Bono and the Edge from U2. He's joined by a highly versatile Gino Vannelli ("Hurts to Be in Love") and folkie Murray McLauchlan, who finds his inner croon here accompanied by a languid piano on "The Second Half of Life." Latin croon, francophone croon, crazy river croon — our playlist gets more exotic in Deep Cuts.

There's something about the French language that lends sophistication to any crooned tune, as Montreal's Raymond Berthiaume — who cut his teeth with the Three Bars at the El Morocco nightclub, a venue that had entertained the likes of Frank Sinatra and Vic Damone — perfectly illustrates on "N'oublie jamais." Robbie Robertson extends the definition of croon to include "husky narrative drawl" on "Somewhere Down the Crazy River," and Alex Cuba takes us to a very hot place with "Si Pero No."

We can all benefit from a little croon from time to time... and here's a lot of it, every track stamped with the maple leaf of quality. From Burton Cummings' brassy cabaret cover of the BTO rocker "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" to Randy Bachman letting down his jazz hair on "Summertime," and from Michael Bublé's red-hot hook up with Nelly Furtado ("Quando, Quando, Quando") to Rufus Wainwright's breezy buddy duet with Teddy Thompson ("King of the Road"), we've assembled a cache of croon classics just crying out for your company. So pull up a pew, and join them.