Michael Buble reaching for ‘Higher’ ground on new tour, album

Michael Buble is on the road again.

More on the Willie Nelson homage later.

Suffice it to say, his new tour, which arrives at the Allstate Arena on Friday night, has been more than two years in the making thanks to the pandemic that sidelined his road trek plans like those of so many other artists. With his latest album, “Higher,” in tow, Buble is pulling out all the stops.

“I was terrified I’d never get back to work, that people would never be able to get back into a [concert venue] safely again,” Buble says during a recent chat. “So I wanted this show to be a celebration of joy and love. And I didn’t want to rest on my laurels. People have never seen me in this way in concert before. … I want them to be part of something special for one night. It’s the biggest tour I’ve ever mounted, production-wise.

“It’s fun to show off,” the 46-year-old Canadian singer continues, “and I’m not trying to sound like a jerk. … I’m giving people the chance to see something that went extinct a long time ago. If you never had the chance to see Frank or Dean or Elvis we’ve put [that show experience] into a pop setting. So you get the music but you [also get] the raconteur surrounded by a live, big band with string players and a full choir. I love what I do!”

Buble changed up the recording process in a huge way for “Higher,” surrounding himself with a new producing lineup, for starters, that included Greg Wells and Bob Rock, along with Alan Chang, Jason “Spicy G” Goldman and  Sir Paul McCartney. He describes working with the former Beatle as “really comfortable. He was so down to earth and extremely generous and just happy to be there.”

The album, Buble’s 11th studio outing, reveals many new layers to his music chops.

“The album had a lot to do with the COVID [lockdown]. I was in a place with a lot of time to think about things and really dream big, go for things musically I’d never been brave enough to do before,” the four-time Grammy Award winner says. “I was terribly ambitious.”

The lineup includes Buble’s spin on Sam Cooke’s soul-gospel gem “Bring It On Home to Me,” Vera Lynn’s WWII-era treasure “We’ll Meet Again,” Barry White’s disco classic “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything,” Charlie Chaplin’s tearjerker “Smile,” and Bob Dylan’s torchy romantic ode “Make You Feel My Love.” The covers are a fine complement to several originals including the first single from the project, “I’ll Never Not Love You,” featuring his wife Luisana Lopilato in the video, which has garnered more than 5 million views to date. (The couple welcomed their fourth child, daughter Cielo Yoli Rose, on Aug. 19.)

A former collaborator suggested Buble take a different tack on the album, to step away from his distinct style “for a little more fresh sound.”

“He told me ‘you might get a lot out of that sense of newness,’ and he was right. So that’s what I did,” Buble says. “I left that comfort zone of working with [uber producer-composer] David Foster and the same writers that I had worked with for so many years. It was about staying on brand and not losing my core audience but showing a ton of growth musically to that audience.”

No stranger to duets (he has partnered with Mariah Carey, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Thalia, and Laura Pausini, among others), Buble this time turned to country music legend Willie Nelson for a shared turn on “Crazy,” calling the track “the greatest duet I’ve ever done.”

“He’s one of my heroes,” Buble gushes. “When I think of the greatest interpreters of the American Songbook, I have Willie there. His music has had such a big impact on my life. His albums were among the records gifted to me by my grandpa. [Willie] sounds so good. Damn, he sounds like a kid on that cut. I would say it’s the greatest duet I’ve ever done.”