RECORD REVIEWS

Michael Buble

Album: “love”

Grade: B+

When people claim they are stepping away from it all to spend more time with their family, it’s usually a front. When Michael Buble said he’d do the same, it really was to take care of son Noah, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2016.

With his boy recovering, the Canadian crooner has returned to his career, including a new album and a big U.S. tour starting in February. “love” (represented by a red heart on the album cover) sounds like a new start for Buble, who has won four Grammys since his 2003 major-label debut by relying on a well-chosen mix of jazz standards and pop songs.

Like that album, “love” has David Foster in the producer’s chair and most of the tunes are evergreens, including “When I Fall Love,” “Unforgettable,” “When You’re Smiling” and “I Only Have Eyes for You.” Buble sounds totally at ease with the repertoire and the arrangements harken back to the ’50s and ’60s, with the string section especially effective.

Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night” has a Mariachi mood and vocal accompaniment from Loren Allred, while Buble duets with Cecile McLorin Salvant on “La Vie En Rose.” The only song co-written by Buble is “Forever Now,” clearly a message of love to Noah.

–Pablo Gorondi, Associated Press

Mark Knopfler

Album: “Down the Road Wherever”

Grade: B

At age 69, Mark Knopfler says he still loves touring, and even in the studio, the Glaswegian guitarist covers a lot of ground.

On his latest album, “Down the Road Wherever,” Knopfler serves up more than 70 minutes of music rooted in the Scottish Highlands (“Drovers’ Road”), piano bars (”When You Leave”) and cowboy country (“Nobody’s Child”), among other locales.

In other words, the range of styles is wide, even within single songs. “Just a Boy Away From Home” morphs from Robert Johnson to Rodgers and Hammerstein. Ditto the breadth of subject matter, as Knopfler mixes story songs with material both topical and autobiographical.

The unifying element is his distinctive Bob Dylan-via-Perry Como delivery. Knopfler’s guitar work has ranked with the best since his days in Dire Straits, but here he uses his instrument for texture and never really lets ’er rip.

“I’m a slow burner... I do everything slow,” Knopfler sings, and most of the tempos are leisurely. Even the closing chords linger. But “Nobody Does That” and “Heavy Up” find sunny R&B grooves that allow Knopfler to make like the Sultan of Swing.

—Steven Wine, Associated Press