The sound of Bublé hits the screen

I do not recall if Totally Blonde ever made it to the local theaters. It came out last April in the US. If that means we missed watching the movie last year and are not likely to see it make its big screen splash hereabouts, we should check it out in video shops where it should by now be available.

Now, why do you think should we bother with an unheard-of romantic comedy, which got bad reviews, failed at the box-office and was fated to be just quietly forgotten? It has Michael Bublé, that’s why. The swinging heartthrob from Vancouver with the Sinatra-like style is also a movie actor and he appears in Totally Blonde. Of course, given the fact that he is also a promising singing star, he plays the role of a rich nightclub owner who sings like, who else but Sinatra?

According to the synopsis, Totally Blonde is a romantic comedy about the superficial belief that blondes have more fun. Bublé is the good guy of the story who is in love with a brunette, played by Baywatch Hawaii star Krista Allen, who has dyed her hair blonde with the hope of attracting another guy played by Brody Hutzer. There seems to be nothing earthshaking about the entire thing but Bublé fans would surely enjoy watching him do his musical numbers.

The soundtrack of Totally Blonde has been released locally. It is made up of seven new originals, Love at First Sight, Anyone to Love, Guess I’m Falling 4 U, That’s How It Goes, Peroxide Swing, Me & Mrs. You and Tell Him He’s Yours. These were composed expressly for the movie by the director, Andrew Van Slee who also produced the album. Also included in the enhanced CD are three videos of Bublé lifted from the movie. It is not the sleekly-packaged David Foster kind of production found in the popular Michael Bublé CD. But the songs are well-written and arranged in the way required by the movie. They could have easily become hits had Sinatra recorded them in the ‘60s.

It is not really too late though. If Bublé sings them often enough, then perhaps these compositions would seep into the consciousness of his fans and join standard melodies like The Way You Look Tonight that he is now associated with. Besides, Bublé is in top form in the album, singing and thoroughly feeling the part of a nightclub crooner. In fact, his tones are fuller, the cadences more pronounced and his delivery infused with the carefree nonchalance of a young Sinatra.

Long Ago Tomorrow

If you have lately been listening a lot to those wonderful new albums from Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, Bette Midler, Cyndi Lauper and other adult contemporary releases, you should also get hold of Long Ago Tomorrow by Siobhan Pettit. Like those more familiar names, the Irish song artist has taken on old songs, in her case all composed by Burt Bacharach, and given them new interpretations. That is no easy task as these compositions are among the most loved in popular music history, have been recorded a number of times and invariably have excellent original versions.

Siobhan passes the test with flying colors though, reading the lyrics, most of them by Hal David by the way, from a different angle that is her very own. The Look of Love is particularly arresting while I’ll Never Fall in Love Again has taken on a quiet, bittersweet quality that is almost funny and Walk on By has suddenly turned sexy. Other Bacharach goodies in the album are A House is Not a Home, This House is Empty Now, This Guy’s in Love with You, What the World Needs Now is Love, One Less Bell to Answer, Painted from Memory, Make It Easy on Yourself, They Long to be Close to You, I Say a Little Prayer, Wives & Lovers and Long Ago Tomorrow.

Song-filled Conspiracy

Meanwhile, Conspiracy, located right across the Shell gas station on Visayas Avenue, in Quezon City, has a song-filled week in store for patrons with the Hourglass on Monday, Jan. 19, Lyn Sherman on Tuesday, Chikoy Pura on Wednesday, Bayang Barrios on Thursday, Joey Ayala on Friday and Noli Aurillo on Saturday. Call 453-2170 for inquiries.