Come Fly With Me

Album Review

For Michael Bublé, 2003 was a whirlwind year that included the release of his successful debut album, an international tour, a Christmas EP, and tons of promotional appearances and press interviews. Therefore, it is not surprising that, in lieu of a proper follow-up, Bublé has elected to keep his fan base happy with Come Fly with Me, a CD/DVD combo package that features live performances from several of his tour dates along with two new studio tracks. The DVD is the more interesting of the two discs, as it gives a glimpse into the fast-paced world of a rising star, combining musical numbers and candid footage shot during the tour. Bublé is seen vivaciously performing with his band while snippets of behind-the-scenes interviews act as interludes between the songs. The brief moments provide a little background history and make him out to be an average guy who was blessed with talent and enjoys what he is doing. Although it is nice to get a feel for the person, what is most important is the music, and he more than proves that he is both an excellent vocalist and entertainer. He sounds great, the band is hot, and Bublé appears to genuinely love performing for an audience. However, the editing of the musical footage is a major distraction. Although the audio track sounds as if it came from one uncut song performance, the visuals are made up of several filmed concerts and are spliced together in a rather jarring fashion. Every two to three seconds a different shot of Bublé singing a song is edited in (often in layers), but the specific shot onscreen may not be from the same performance as the recorded concert audio. Therefore, there are times when the visuals don't match the audio track (much like a foreign film dub). While this technique may be interesting and thematic for the opening title track, it quickly becomes annoying when done for over an hour. The CD includes live versions of six songs featured on the DVD along with two new studio tracks produced by David Foster. "Nice 'n Easy" is just like its title, as Bublé sings with a relaxed swagger that charms the listener, but "Can't Help Falling in Love" suffers from a schmaltzy Foster arrangement that Bublé tries his best to overcome. The song sounds even worse when followed by a brilliant live rendition of "My Funny Valentine." Although the DVD may be more enjoyable if played with the television off, Come Fly with Me has enough excellent musical moments to keep fans tuned in to Bublé's one-man revival of standards.