Michael Bublé's Christmas; My Kind of Christmas

To some people Michael Bublé is their guilty pleasure. To me, Michael Bublé is simply my pleasure. His voice, like melted chocolate, will jolt women’s ovaries into overdrive as he rumbles his way smoothly through Christmas classics on his latest Christmas album.

His wife had better know how lucky she is. And how perilous her life is.

The album includes all the best Christmas songs, harking back to the days of Crosby, Sinatra and Nat King Cole. Santa Claus is Coming to Town opens with a simple bass and high hat before the brass band introduces itself midway through the first verse. Innovations like this make Bublé’s Christmas album a must have for this Christmas. Drunk uncles everywhere will be absolutely loving Michael Bublé’s swingin’ version of Jingle Bells which could have been taken directly from a 1940s Christmas party; you can almost hear the show girls’ feathers ruffling. My personal favourite is Bublé’s version of Cynthia Basinet’s Santa Baby, in which he makes Basinet’s original Christmas list every so slightly more masculine – though I would love to see Bublé in sable.

Little Sandy sought therapy after she found this under the tree at Christmas.

The best part of Michael Bublé’s rendition of the Christmas greats, is that while they are all immediately recognisable, he makes them sound fresh and quite literally jazzes them up. Think Louis Prima – his songs were repeatedly covered by swing musicians, but no one else had that tsa tsa tzu largely created by his Italianisms and penchant for brass. Rather than Italianisms, Canadian born and bred Michael Bublé has his Michael Bubléisms that create the same kind of musical magic that can be attributed to very few swing artists.

Strings are also well represented in the Christmas Album. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas will give your guaranteed goosebumps and an immediate craving for a warm fire and glass of mulled wine.

There is a little something for everyone, however, and Bublé does not limit himself to swing. He covers Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas and includes a few more modern Christmas songs such as the Hispanic Feliz Navidad and his very own Cold December Night.

A timeless album to put on the Christmas playlist for hopelessly drunk Christmas Days everywhere.