For Buble, there’s no going backward

By GLENN GAMBOA

NEW YORK — Michael Buble is a little antsy as he walks around Warner Bros. Records’ Manhattan headquarters.

The Grammy-winning crooner knows his new album, “Crazy Love” (143/Reprise), was a bit of a risk, and he is waiting to see if it paid off, if he was able to sell enough copies in three days to land his second No. 1 in a row. (He did, thanks in part to the new hit single, “Haven’t Met You Yet,” which Buble wrote, and to an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”) Buble is also wondering whether fans will like his new, more ambitious direction.

But regardless of how it turns out, Buble says he is happy he tried something new.

Q. You take a lot of chances on this album and tackle a lot of different styles. Was that the plan?

A. It’s amazing to hear how polar opposite people are on some of these songs. I’ll give you an example, “Heartache Tonight.” I have a lot of young fans — kids — and they seem to love it. ... Yet most older people, say, over 40, were like, “How dare you! How dare you take the Eagles’ song!” It’s so strange. ... This song was on the Game 7 of the Vancouver Canucks vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs — for one team losing. I have sat three or four years listening to the Eagles’ version on my iPod and thinking, “I can take this into my world.” To me, it’s like the perfect Elvis Presley song.

Q. It’s still such a risk, though.

A. I really made a decision that I wanted to have enough respect for myself that I could take the risk. ... I talked to my family about it. I talked to my girlfriend about it. I said, “Listen, it’s my responsibility now. I sold a lot of records and it’s my responsibility, not just to myself, but to the fans, to show growth.” I can’t think about recording a song because it’s so popular, because people will look at the back of the CD and say, “I love that song.” It’s up to me to try to make an honest, great record. It was a really hard decision. I would be lying if I didn’t say it was hard and that I didn’t second-guess myself.

Q. How do you come up with an approach like “Cry Me a River,” to give it that James Bond feel?

A. I wrote the opening for that about two years ago in my bathtub. I love great hooks, great bass lines. ... I love John Williams and “Star Wars” and “Superman” and all that stuff. I’m a huge fan of building that drama, of that cinematic feel. ... For the opening of a record, I thought it was bombastic. It slaps you in the face and says, “Here I am.”

Q. Then your approach to “Stardust” is the complete opposite.

A. That was the first thing I recorded for this album. I was looking for that presence. It was just magic, man. We did four takes — all of us in the same studio, no headphones, all hearing the same sound — and (producer Humberto Gatica) gave me a rough mix that night. I put it in my Discman and I knew right away. I knew I was on the right track for this record. The next day we recorded “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You” and “All of Me.”

I was getting more and more excited about the feeling of the record and, honestly, more and more nervous. I sat with (longtime producer David Foster, who discovered Buble) and said I want this to be a really raw record and he said, “That’s not my kind of thing.” Here’s a guy who’s sold half a billion records and loved me enough as a person and an artist and believed in me enough to just come with me. I hope he’s proud of it.

Q. Are you going to go further in that direction?

A. Oh, yes. I’ll never go backward.