Clean-cut crooner is for real.

Byline: Craig S. Semon

COLUMN: TRACKS

"Crazy Love"

Michael Buble (143/Reprise)

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Who is Michael Buble and should we care? Better yet, should we stop him before it's too late? I got news for you, pilgrim, it's too late already.

It seems like overnight this clean-cut, crooning, Canuck came, saw and conquered the unsuspecting U.S. Not since Celine Dion has a Canadian vocalist struck with the precision and cunning of a cold and slippery viper.

In a time when the closest thing we have to Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland is Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga, Buble has single-handedly brought love and romance and bombast back. Setting out to make his "ultimate record about the inevitable rollercoaster ride of relationships," Buble goes through the Rat Pack rigmarole on

"Crazy Love," down to recording nearly all of the songs right off the floor in the studio with the band

right behind him. He certainly knows style and swagger and understands the classic American songbook, but, at the same time, he's very modern and is his own man.

I know who should sing the next coveted James Bond movie theme song. Buble. Michael Buble. With a

license to thrill, Buble brings a Shirley Bassey brass and Cold War cool to the taunt and riveting opener, "Cry Me a River." This behemoth opus gets the orchestra treatment, complete with menacing horns and stabbing strings worthy of a big screen Bond epic. Your initial reaction is this guy can't be for real, and then you realize that not only is he for real, he has the goods (more precisely the pipes and performance style) to pull this off.

Smartly, Buble takes it down several notches with another beloved standard (and another album's standout) "All of Me." Buble shows off his smooth vocal styling as he serves up his various body parts (lips, arms, heart, eyes, you name it) to a noncaring lover. Even the most chiseled cynic can't help but sing along.

Buble shows

respect (alas, maybe too much respect) on an understated version of "Georgia on My Mind." The artist truly understands the magnitude of the song's legacy and the gut-wrenching intimacy of the lyrics. And for a brief, telling moment, Buble bravely steps out of Brother Ray's shadow and makes the song his own.

Buble is incomparable as the hopeless romantic who's holding out hope

for someone on "Haven't Met You Yet." Happy sounding without being sappy, the song, which Buble co-wrote, is a combination intoxicated breeze and lively piano jaunt, complete with a Beatles-inspired levity that sounds natural and organic.

Buble does the Eagles proud transforming the SoCal band's party hardy classic, "Heartache Tonight" into an unlikely swinging, big band romp. And a playfully funky Buble joins forces with soulfully sassy Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings on the splendid cover of the Brook Benton-Dinah Washington duet "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)." Boasting great chemistry and sexy interplay, the duo shoots off enough electricity to power British Columbia.

In what seems like an attempt to spread a little good fortune on a fellow countryman, Buble closes out the album with a breezy, bossa nova cover of "Whatever It Takes," a song scribed by and featuring underrated singer-songwriter (and fellow Canadian) Ron Sexsmith. With their complimentary voices intermingling, Buble and Sexsmith share great chemistry playing idealistic Casanovas committed to leaving all the lonely days in the past.

Key to the Stars

* * * * ... Hot Stuff

* * * ... Good Job

* * ... Not Bad

* ... Never Mind

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Michael Buble's latest is "Crazy Love."