[Kim S.]

I just bought a new CD from Paul Anka called Rock Swings.  Mr. Anka sings rock songs in the style of a lounge/nightclub singer.  Some of the songs are: Blackhole Sun, Smells Like Teen Spirit, and Jump.  I found the CD to be very good.  Not campy or gimmicky.  I'm wondering if anyone here has listened to it and what their impressions are.

[dwk]

Uh, can I post anonymously?

We heard Paul Anka interviewed on the radio here, and it was moderately interesting. I don't remember what song they played, but when I saw it at Costco for cheap I picked it up.  Generally I thought it was pretty interesting, and I'd say a couple of the songs actually succeeded in showing the 'work' in a new light.
 Maybe a bit homogenous in sound, so we'll have to see how frequently it makes it into the rotation and how it stands up.

[Soundbitten]

didn't Pat Boone do a heavy metal record a few years ago too ?

[Kim S.]

dwk- I think I heard the same interview on NPR which was the reason I bought the CD.  I think the CD is a good way to introduce someone into a different style of music if  they have exclusively just listened to rock, for instance.  I thought the arrangements were very good.  I probably would have dropped "Eye of the Tiger" though.

[michaelv]

I have album " A Body of Work" from Paul Anka. I like it very much .

[Carlman]

didn't Pat Boone do a heavy metal record a few years ago too ?

Yes, 'In a Metal Mood' is the album.  I love spinning that one at parties!

[chadh]

I heard the very beginning of the NPR interview with Paul Anka - and heard his cover of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life."  For much (but not all) of the arrangement, it seemed perfectly natural to present the song in this way - with the big band swinging away.  This made me think about the various flavours of popular music that flow into and out of the public consciousness over time:  is there really any significant difference between these flavours, or is it all in marketing and image?

Now, Bon Jovi may not be the grittiest, hardest rocking band the world has known.  But Paul Anka's cover made that song sound like pure pop that cleverly could be repackaged to sound like a rock tune (the original) or a 50's swing performance (a la Anka), or potentially anything else.

It would be interesting to hear "Smells Like Teen Spirit."  

The Bad Plus covered the Nirvana hit a few years ago, and I loved that.  When I heard it the first time I had a similar reaction - but different in an important way.  I thought that cover made the tune sound like GREAT MUSIC that could be repackaged cleverly in various ways, either as a grungy rock tune or a powerful medium for jazz improvisation, or...

Maybe there's really no difference between GREAT MUSIC and pure pop.  Or maybe the difference is so obvious that it is observable regardless of the style in which the music is played.

What I really need is for Paul Anka and The Bad Plus to do a few Bach pieces...or maybe find a way of performing a Palestrina Mass...and then, of course, they would both need to cover Layla.  Then I think I'd have a much better idea of things.

Chad

[chadh]

didn't Pat Boone do a heavy metal record a few years ago too ?

Yes, 'In a Metal Mood' is the album.  I love spinning that one at parties!

In a similar, but slightly different vein...

Fifteen years or so ago (wow...was it that long ago?), a television show appeared on the Australian public channel (the ABC) entitled "The Money or The Gun."  It was the brainchild of comedian/media personality Andrew Denton, and was basically a series of one hour documentaries.  But in Denton's style, the serious topics were treated quite irreverently, which actually facilitated a far more honest and open portrayal of the issues than may have been possible otherwise.  

In each show in the series there was a musical break at around the half hour mark.  During each musical break, the same song was played:  Stairway to Heaven.  But each week, a new and interesting set of performers was invited to play the song.  So, there was a pretty standard version every now and then, mixed up with a version from a Beatles tribute band (think "Love me do"), a Doors tribute band (think "LA Woman"), a B-52s tribute band (think "Rock Lobster"), the Sydney Opera Company (think Tristan and Isolde), Rolf Harris (if you don't know this name, thank the great God above!), and even an actor who was famous for reciting Australian poetry in his most Australian of accents who, naturally, recited the lyrics.  There was a funk version of the song, a fabulous disco version from John Paul Young (if you remember the movie "Strictly Ballroom", JPY's "Love is in the Air" is featured, and his Stairway to Heaven sounded identical!), and the list goes on and on.

After the series, the various versions were collected and released on a CD, predictably named "Stairways to Heaven."  Believe me, it's a party favourite too.

Chad

[Carlman]

Chad,
GREAT choice... In my poking around, I found 'Richard Cheese'... oh man... a bit ridiculous and probably not something I'd buy at full price... but good for a laugh...

-C