Album Review: Paul Anka - Rock Swings
Paul Anka - Rock Swings (2005)
Track Listing:
1. It's My Life
2. True
3. Eye of the Tiger
4. Everybody Hurts
5. Wonderwall
6. Blackhole Sun
7. It's A Sin
8. Jump
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit
10. Hello
11. Eyes Without a Face
12. Lovecats
13. The Way You Make Me Feel
14. Tears in Heaven
Paul Anka. Butt of a million and one sometimes clever, sometimes not, 'wanker' jokes. Apparently, he's also got some 'swing'.
This is not a Pat Boone CD. While it might seem laughable at first that Paul Anka has chosen to do big band lounge covers of some mainstream rock hits like "Eye of the Tiger" or "Everybody Hurts", these reworkings are not tongue in cheek. That's not to say some of them aren't fun, but on Rock Swings, Anka makes it clear that these covers are meant to be taken seriously. If you're a hardcore fan of any of the artists covered here, you might be horribly offended by Anka's Sinatra-esque versions of your favourite songs. If you've got an open mind, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
It starts out with Bon Jovi's "It's My Life". Jovi is already a guilty pleasure of mine, but if I honestly had no clue about the songwriting credits I would have sworn this was an original, such is the quality. The man's voice is up near the top of the heap as far as active crooners are concerned. Only Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy comes close to touching Anka's class. If an album like this was released in the early 60's, Anka would be giving the rascal king himself a run for his money (instead of playing second fiddle). So if you like Robbie Williams, but actually want a bit of class to go along with your music for a change, Rock Swings is the new album for you to purchase.
The album might lose a bit of momentum during Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" (I actually felt the entire song should have been a slower, more sombre number instead of the sudden tempo change about a minute in), and turning Fat Bob's "Lovecats" into a real fireplace gazing love song might not have been the best thing for it, but these are only minor hiccups. You'll be snapping your fingers along to "Wonderwall" in no time at all, and as andythesaint pointed out to me earlier, the growl at the end of "Eye of the Tiger" is sublime. Ridiculous and blatantly Austin Powers... but yes, still sublime. Rock Swings also marks the first and only time "Smells Like Teen Spirit" would ever appear on my Audioscrobbler playlist.
Admittedly, it's a mood record, and sometimes overly long to digest in one sitting. Put it on as background music or as the soundtrack to your swinging party. Look hard enough and you might see Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau in the background.
7.5/10
Buy Rock Swings from CD Universe