Judging by the look of Jamie Cullum on the cover of Catching Tales, new listeners might assume he's another carbon copy of John Mayer, Jason Mraz or any other young, brash singer/songwriter flooding the pop-radio airwaves with palatable multi-demographical pap. This is not the case at all. Cullum tackles a tasty array of various music styles - he is literally all over place and leaves his mark with confidence and verve. I felt like I was listening to a happy hybrid off Harry Connick Jr., Maroon 5 and Michael Buble in the best possible sense.

"Get Your Way" is like early 90's hip-hop mixed with Harry Connick Jr., "London Skies" is a Dave Matthews-like mellow jam, and "Photograph" and "Mind Trick" are groovy lounge-funk tracks. The mid-section of the record alternates between upbeat and sultry lounge-style numbers that certainly owe a tip of the hat to Michael Buble, with the exception of the psychedelic-steeped "Our Day Will Come." The last two songs, "Back to the Ground" and "My Yard" show off Cullum's Maroon 5-ish skill at crafting bouncy, syncopated light, pop-rock tunes.

Cullum also gets props for his space-age-lounge-pop cover of "I Only Have Eyes For You," but the best cover here (and best song on the album) is his rendition of Doves' "Catch the Sun," which Collum takes and completely makes it all his own - all the while reminding the listener how great the original is. That's what doing covers should be all about. I guess Catching Tales is more proof of how you can't judge an album by its cover, and that I should probably listen to my mom's music more often.