Awake

Awake

• GROBAN JOSH AWAKE

Josh Groban is making it hard for anybody who can't say "classical crossover" without smirking to maintain an acceptable level of snobbery. <I>Awake,</I> his third studio disc and arguably his most personal--he co-wrote four tracks and favors his native English over Italian--boasts as many bold names as any tricked-out hip-hop disc: Dave Matthews, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Imogen Heap, and Herbie Hancock contribute in various capacities, and a slew of behind-the-scenes collaborators best known for their work in mainstream pop circles deepen the dimensions of a style widely considered claustrophobic. For all the studio doors that got opened to create <I>Awake,</I> though, Groban's signature sound never once slipped out to take the air; "the voice"--that hypnotic, spun-silk wonder of an instrument--is as concentrated as ever, and <I>Awake,</I> in addition to showing off its many splendors, serves as a vehicle for parading its versatility around. While "Un Giorno Per Noi," the deeply romantic theme to the 1968 film <i>Romeo E Giulietta,</i> delivers the Groban that fueled the sale of 16 million previous discs to soft-hearted fans, "Machine," with Hancock, gives up a new form of funk: dignified, classy, and surprisingly unstiff. <I>--Tammy La Gorce</I>