This came out in 2005 — or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery — but when it comes to music, it’s also the sincerest form of futility. For a living, breathing example, look no further than Michael Bublé and his pleasantly pointless disc It’s Time.
On this sophomore set, the Canadian-born neo-crooner reunites with soulless svengali David Foster for another set of bland, derivative jazz and pop aimed squarely at grandmas and Idol fans. Nostalgic big band swing, groovy Latin duets, silky smooth ballads, they’re all here — and all artfully, faithfully reproduced with the calculation, precision and accuracy of a Civil War re-enactment. And about as much real blood and guts.
Sure, Bublé can sing just swell. And he can wear a suit with a loosened tie as well as the next kid going out as a member of The Rat Pack on Halloween. But neither he nor Foster seem to grasp that he needs a little individuality to freshen up that iconography. Whether he’s delivering the millionth soundalike cover of chestnuts like I’ve Got You Under My Skin or Try A Little Tenderness, sharing the mic with Nelly Furtado on Quando, Quando, Quando or jazzing up pop ditties like Can’t Buy Me Love or How Sweet it Is, Bublé displays all the personality and originality of a Steve Lawrence impersonator on the soundtrack to Ocean’s Thirteen. It’s time for Mr. Bublé to get real or get lost.
