In the UK, California-born Josh Groban is a middlingly famous classical-crossover act, and unexpectedly funny contestant on several editions of Never Mind the Buzzcocks. In the US, though, he’s one of the biggest-selling singers of the 21st century, and the recipient of the Rick Rubin production treatment on his 2010 album, Illuminations. On Stages, he takes on 15 theatre and film standards, richly arranged to accommodate his powerful poperatic baritone. The results are mixed. His phrasing and control are unimpeachable, and the warmth of his tone makes the tweeness of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory song Pure Imagination more palatable. On I Loved You (from Carousel), he duets sumptuously with Broadway star Audra McDonald, their deliciously histrionic crescendo shaking the rafters. But another guest, Kelly Clarkson, brings out the cabaret crooner in him; they turn All I Ask of You (Phantom of the Opera) into a slurpy retread of Richie and Ross’s Endless Love. Overall, Groban doesn’t reinterpret or add twists, and the emphasis on post-1960s songs denies us the pleasure of hearing him take on the real classics – but Stages is often highly enjoyable.
