Campbell: Tuned In: Jamie Cullum, 'Alice in Wonderland' soundtrack, Vai DaCapo

Jamie Cullum’s spirit trumps limitations

“THE PURSUIT,” Jamie Cullum (Verve)

Jamie Cullum could be awesome if he had a better voice, but the singer/instrumentalist still does a remarkable job of overcoming his vocal limitations to project charisma as he hopscotches over hyphenated genres on his new “The Pursuit.”

An even more diversified effort than his previous “Catching Tales” and “Twentysomething,” “The Pursuit” finds Cullum stirring his jazz forte into all manner of styles. “I’m All Over It,” for example, sounds like an artfully zesty piano-based ’70s pop hit, and closer “Music Is Through” is a surprisingly effective dance/electronica track that improbably maintains a distinctly Cullum flavor.

The British performer boldly jumps into everything he tries. He may not have a booming Sinatra voice, but he captures the Rat-Pack spirit, delivering rascally lines like, “It was great fun, but it was just one of those things” against brassy horn notes and rollicking piano. He also musters unlikely soul for the warm embrace of “Not While I’m Around” and a slow-cooking “Love Ain’t Gonna Let You Down” that escalates to a catchy boil.

“The Pursuit” has its misfires — the modern-rock-inspired “Mixtape” is merely a muddy miasma, and “Don’t Stop the Music” is awkwardly constructed so that the vocals and the keyboards sound like two different songs. Despite failed experiments, however, Cullum is usually in his element, rolling through the timeless “Wheels,” punching into the slapping beat of “You and Me Are Gone” and meditating in the resounding bass of the idealistic “If I Ruled the World”: “If I ruled the world, every man would be free as a bird.”

Yet the smartest song may be the most subtle. Cullum, in his most natural state, sings without polish against the glowing keyboard of “I Think, I Love,” resulting in something that feels like an authentic cocktail-bar experience rather than a studio-buffed facsimile.

That track suggests Cullum ought to consider a live follow-up to “The Pursuit.”

Rating (five possible): 4

Tim Burton + Johnny Depp + Danny Elfman = duh

“ALICE IN WONDERLAND” soundtrack, Danny Elfman (Walt Disney)

What took them so long?

It’s such a no-brainer that Tim Burton would direct Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in a rendition of “Alice in Wonderland,” it’s hard to believe it took until 2010 to get it into theaters. Naturally, Danny Elfman — score composer of 11 previous Burton films — does the soundtrack.

Elfman, who has composed more than 60 film scores in all, is perfectly matched for “Alice.” His orchestrations on the 24-cut soundtrack are fantastical and whimsical, bombastic and dark.

Elfman’s signature for “Alice in Wonderland” is an “Alice’s Theme” featuring a children’s choir and punctuated with the clipped refrain, “Alice! Alice!” and, “How will you find your way?” The song’s melody finds its way into several tracks, and bits of the theme are periodically reprised, altered to fit the mood of the ever-changing journey. Classic Elfman stuff, slick and distinctive.

High drama is Elfman’s forte, revealed in the grandiose symphonic swirl of the opening “Alice’s Theme,” the commanding and brassy notes of “Bandersnatched” and the supercharged tandem of “Going to Battle” and “The Final Confrontation.” The composer is also a man of mystery, as evidenced in the music-box-ish “Little Alice,” the eerie creep of “Doors,” the surreal trappings of “The Cheshire Cat,” and the meandering darkness of “The Dungeon.”

Elfman’s weakness comes in his more delicate moments, when he sometimes struggles to make an impression. Although he shines with a dainty “The White Queen” and the gorgeous use of strings and harp on “Blood of the Jabberwocky,” some of his softer stretches feel like placeholders between the blow ups.

But at least when it’s time for the drama, Elfman always delivers.

Rating: 4

Vai DaCapo’s tearjerkers will make you laugh

“SONGS OF DELIGHT,” Vai DaCapo (Decca)

If Susan Boyle is too edgy for your taste and Il Divo is too laid back, perhaps you’d be interested in Vai DaCapo’s “Songs of Delight.”

Swiping a page from the histrionic pop/classical quartet Il Divo, Vai DaCapo features three tenors bellowing out cover versions of pop hits against and alongside each other. And swiping a page from Boyle, they attack cliched hits — even more obvious songs than those on her chart-topping debut from this past fall.

There’s no question these “Songs of Delight” were indeed delightful in their original incarnations. But as presented by Vai DaCapo, they’re mostly overbearing and even comical.

As with Il Divo, the three tenors of Vai DaCapo — Nmon Ford, Colin Eaton and Joseph Guyton — take turns singing initial verses, and eventually their voices dovetail into bombastic choruses that are so over the top they sound like parodies.

It doesn’t help that these are some of the most beloved pop hits of all time, including Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All,” Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge over Troubled Waters,” Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” The Temptations’ “My Girl,” Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” and Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There.” Imagine no-holds-barred tenors blaring through these sometimes-gentle songs and you get the gist of how ridiculous it sounds.

To be fair, there are some hints of restraint: tender-ish openings, cushy arrangements even when the voices are full-force, plus “Say a Little Prayer” and “Lean on Me” are reconfigured into more comfortable pop-oriented renditions. There was also an effort at diversification with Patti Austin coming aboard to guest sing on “Up Where We Belong” and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” though her voice doesn’t mesh with Vai DaCapo by any stretch.

So enjoy it as comedy. Because what’s funnier than three tenors screaming in unison, “I’m easy like Sunday morning”?

Rating: 2

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