Josh Groban - Bridges (Target Edition) (2018)

The title Bridges could be seen as Josh Groban's allusion to how the singer spends his seventh studio album bringing different cultures and demographics together. Groban does this so smoothly, it may take a moment to realize how much ground he covers here. Certainly, his choice of duet partners signals the different audiences he's targeting: Vicente Amigo, Sarah McLachlan, Andrea Bocelli, and Jennifer Nettles are all here, covering everything from country to classical. The same sensibility extends throughout the album, with Groban singing a French song from Celine Dion and MOR standards by Paul Simon and Billy Joel (the latter appears only on the deluxe edition). Tying it together are newly written soft rock numbers which help pull the album into perspective. Despite this surface flair, Bridges is another expert adult contemporary record that not only picks up on the threads of Stages, but refines it so thoroughly, it never seems as if Groban spent any time singing music that wasn't soft rock. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine