Album Review

The gran friendly croon meister returns to bother girlfriend's Christmas stockings everywhere.

With shocking inevitability, Michale Buble delivers an album of his favourite Christmas songs. While not the foulest confection ever plopped out of Canada (hello Bryan Adams), Buble remains astonishingly popular while steadfastly refusing to believe that the 60s ever happened. For him, its forever Bing, Bob, Frank and Dean. Nothing wrong with that in principle plenty of folk singers still seem to think its 1735 but it still all seems a little contrived, a little too polite and very market aware. Hes never put a foot wrong. Surely there must be some scandal to ruin his career? Some scent of unsavoury behaviour? Maybe hes a bad tipper? Maybe he owns a puppy farm? Perhaps he nibbles on fruit in Tesco before paying for it?! Come on tabloid hacks, get phone hacking!

The sugar coated nature of a Christmas album by definition makes this latest Buble offering so sickly sweet its like drinking a pint of Golden Syrup. Yet, in small doses its not completely unpalatable. There are no surprises, no disastrous remixes and no attempts to be anything but a radio friendly crooner. The first half of the album is Buble by numbers with a festive theme dull but lush arrangements of standards including Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, All I Want for Christmas etc etc. Santa Baby improves things slightly by Buble altering the words to Santa Buddy (see what hes done there?) and dribbling something about putting a Rolex under the tree. Cadburys Selection Box and some Lego not good enough for you Michael? Cold December Night is a new original composition and isnt a bad addition to the seasonal canon. Its got sleigh bells in it and everything.

The Puppini Sisters pop up to remind everyone about the war during Jingle Bells (Merry Christmas Mr Buble.) and Shania Twain pops up to remind everyone that the sound of kittens being stamped on is preferable to her caterwauling during a disastrous White Christmas. So far, so meh. Much better is Mis Deseos / Feliz Navidad which is enlivened no end by Thalia and a MASSIVE choir and cheering at the end. Theres even a special seasonal message from Michael himself that will have women of a certain age reaching for the pills and cold compress.

Dont think that youll be able to avoid this over the next few weeks. You wont. Itll be on in every shop and on every radio non-stop. Your intelligent, cynical brain will be awash with sleigh bells, strings and cheese. Oh well. At least its not Sir Cliff.