Burnaby crooner delivers mixed bag

Michael Bublé: Nobody But Me (Warner)

When the opening track of the Burnaby crooner’s new release began with acoustic guitar and an almost new country pulse, I thought the label had sent the wrong album. This impression never really left.

Nobody But Me is a mixed bag. The first track, I Believe In You, is countryish crossover pop. Then it’s back to Sinatra and Basie bread-and-butter basics with a decent version of My Kind Of Girl.

However, Bublé is moving away from Frank toward Top 10 songs. The title track, with guest spots from members of the Roots, is one of the best songs he’s ever written.

While some of the pop is catchy — Today (Is Yesterday’s Tomorrow) swings — some of the covers are head scratchers.

On An Evening In Roma (Sotter Celo De Roma), The Very Thought Of You and I Want to Be Around are yawn inspiring.

Someday features Meaghan Trainor in a duet that was widely reported. The name-dropping made more impact than the song.

Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker (Sony)

An entire album of tunes such as Leaving The Table and It Seemed The Better Way make clear this could be Cohen’s last release.

Ofcourse,Cohenhasbeenmusing on love, death and life and coming to terms with God since his 20s. But he’s 82 now and everything about this recording seems to be set deep in the night, leaving all light behind. Instrumentation is incredibly sparse. His voice has never sounded more deep or haggard.

But his lyrical genius and precociousness still ring through it all.

For some Cohen songs done differently, local musician Reid Jamieson has released DEAR LEONARD: The Cohen Collection.

Opeth: Sorceress (Nuclear Blast)

Opeth and The Sword Oct. 26, 8 p.m. | The Orpheum Tickets: ticketmaster.com The transformation from death metal to full-on progressive metal that Opeth leader Mikael Akerfeldt began back in 2011 with Heritage takes the band on new directions in its latest.

The title track is a total burner, blending Joakim Svalberg’s vintage Uriah Heep-like keyboard stylings with Sabbath-style lock- step guitar and bass for one of the heaviest tracks the band has released in a decade.

But there’s also the flute and acoustic folk/rock of Will O The Wisp and exotic Mideast tunings in The Seventh Sojourn.

In other words, there’s something for a fan base that now ranges from septuagenarian King Crimson heads to tween headbangers.

COLUMBIA VIA AP Leonard Cohen has mused on death through much of his career, but on You Want It Darker, the theme looms even larger.