Well, what can I say? I love this Michael Bublé song. I also love Blake Shelton’s pure country vocals. What I don’t love is the two of them being put together. I’m reminded of when Mark Chesnutt covered “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” Sure, it got him to the top of the charts, but it wasn’t exactly the crown jewel of his recording career.
Shelton is a talented singer who is having the best album of his career reissued to slap on a pop cover that doesn’t fit in with the original project, and quite frankly is a waste of his time. Pity.
Written by Michael Buble, Alan Chang and Amy Gillies
Grade: C
Listen: Home
Buy: Home
blake shelton does a good job with this song, but i don’t think this song is meant to be country, it just sounds dull. miranda lambert vocals would probbaly add a lot if they were louder, but the way they are i don’t think they do all that much
I didn’t even notice her on the record. Wow.
When i heard this song it was like hearing it for the first time. it wasn’t until it was over and done that i realized it was a remake. I think Blake couldn’t have done it any better. Maybe lyrically it doesn’t fit the traditional country music steriotype, but musically it fits in very well in my opinion. I think you have highly underestimated this one.
I agree with you on Mark Chesnutt’s version of “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” by the way. Not exactly as effective or good as it should have been. However, unlike that instance, Blake does this one justice.
Kevin, I think you made a perfect comparison between this song and the Mark Chesnutt song. Good song, good voice, but the two should not have joined together, especially as a new song on a CD we’ve all already bought.
yeah i agree with leeann…great song with Bubble, great vocal with Blake….but I am not diggin this togetherness….its a bit ….. blah
Might just be me, but I love when country artists cover songs from other genres. I seemed to be one of the few who liked Jack Ingram’s take on “Lips of an Angel” (it was certainly a better vocal than that dude from Hinder managed), Waylon Jennings has my favorite version of “MacArthur Park”, and we all know how terrifically Ryan Adams re-worked “Wonderwall” (and if you don’t…go find that now). Whether this single is comparable in quality to any of those I mentioned is, I guess, a matter of opinion. But personally, I’d lump this Shelton single right in there with the Ingram one: both are solid songs that are earnestly re-interpreted (possibly even improved, IMO) by their respective country cover artists but which are doomed to come across as awkward because the original versions are too recent and well-known.
But I don’t mind this single. It’s a fine song and I admire his earnestness, and if it gets more people buying and listening to the rest of Pure BS, well, it will have been worth it for me.
Blake Shelton’s version of “Home” is just as good as Michael Buble’s orignial. If Whintey Houston can take Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” to the top of the Pop Charts, then Blake Shelton should have no problem taking Michael Bolton’s “Home” to the top of the Country chart!
In above comment, change Bolton to Buble.
I’ll say this about the Mark Chesnutt song. At least it wasn’t as overwrought as the Aerosmith version.
Dan – Good call on “Wonderwall.”
I still think it’s the strings that make Blake’s version go flat. There was very little coutry-fication of the song via the arrangement.
Also recall Mark Wills’s version of “Back at One,” as originally recorded by Brian McKnight. both were hits in 1998.
Jack Ingram just did his own version of “Lips of an Angel” by Hinder. I personally don’t care for either version; I just don’t like the song.
I’m still waiting for the Cascada version of “Jesus Take the Wheel.” ;)
Dan – One more comment to your post.
The question is: Will the re-release of Pure BS mean that fans will now feel obligated to RE-purchase the CD to get that extra track? I find re-releases of albums always screw the loyal fan, the one the label and the artist count on to drive those sales in the first 1-3 months of a record’s life.
And people wonder why we have a digital market driven by track downloads as aopposed to album downloads!
Peter – It’s hard to say, really. I haven’t heard anyone say that they absolutely LOVE this single so I doubt that too many fans who already own the album will even consider shelling out for it again – especially if the song goes up on iTunes – but at the same time, it’s an interesting enough release to maybe push a few casual BS fans over the edge to buy the re-release. I think this was probably sort of an attention-getter of a single.
Regardless, you’re right; weird moves like this definitely mar the appeal of buying full albums.
Actually it was announced that Blake would be releasing a collectors addition featuring most of his hits exclusively at Wal-Mart. That same album will contain “Home” as well so he is prepared to make the single beneficial to his fans who already have Pure BS as well. As far as including it on Pure BS, its strictly a way he hopes to increase the albums sale.
I finally got to hear this today. If I didn’t already know who was singing it, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell who it was. I almost thought it sounded like Clint Black singing it at one point. It didn’t sound like Blake Shelton, and it sound right. I heard Miranda’s background vox, but I couldn’t tell it was her. I didn’t like it overall. It just didn’t seem to work.
I absolutely LOVE Blake singing this song!! I listen to it time after time. And I think Miranda is perfect as Blake’s background singer. I love it!!
I loved it! I’m not a big Blake or Miranda fan, but I thought their take on this great song was fantastic.
Not even a close call. Michael Buble did this to perfection. This version sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard in comparison. All the Country fans who have never heard the REAL version are falling in love with this crap. #2 on Billboard’s country chart. It’s a travesty. Check out the one and only version of this song that deserves credit.
Why? Why? Why? Why does this even sound like a good idea? Maybe Miranda likes it when he sings it to her at home with his guitar, but we don’t wanna hear it. Blake makes this song sound creepy. Michael is the Ole Blue Eyes of our time. Don’t ruin it by putting out his karaoke. Country music needs to stop redoing pop songs… it’s never worked.
Is this song from a movie? Seems like I heard it on a movie…i thought it was Clint Black singing it also…kept trying to find it under his name…lol..
The Wedding Date!!! it finally came to me…
I’ve heard both versions and Blake really nails this song. Even Michael, who co wrote it agrees. Since I’m pure country, I had never heard of Michael before. I just know that I have everything Blake has put out and his live show is fantastic. I just heard him sing “Home” live accoustly. How you can even think he sounds like Clint Black is beside me. Blake has a voice all his own. Blake took it to #1 for three weeks and Michael is laughing all th way to the bank just like Dolly did when other’s sang her song.
“Since I’m pure country…”
Lucky!