I have the album, mostly because I like the big band sound. I bought it after the guys on the afternoon am sports radio show gave it an enthusiastic review. The Teen Spirit cover is not my favorite because the lyrics are ridiculous (which didn’t matter when Cobain sang them because he was unintelligible anyway). I prefer Jump and Black Hole Sun with Wonderwall being my absolute favorite. There are some I’ll consistently skip over like Tears in Heaven as I’m still partial to Clapton doing it, and Lovecats doesn’t do anything for me.
I think the musical arrangements are great and Anka’s got a great voice.
If you don’t like big band, you’re not going to like the album, regardless of the songs on it. If you do, I think it is worth a try.
On preview: Hodge, personally I think you’re bit off on the “good-but-not-greatness” of the underlying songs. The original versions of at least Black Hole Sun, Wonderwall and Teen Spirit are pretty great in my book.
I’ve had this album for a couple months (got it when it came out in June). I like it, but I usually love cover music. Oasis’ “Wonderwall” is breezy and actually dance-able. It’s an odd collection of songs though. Soundgarden and Lionel Ritchie covers? Hmm. But the best song? The Cure’s “Love Cats”. How could one not want a martini and cigar while listening to that? It’s delightful.
Yeah, i just got the CD. not bad, not bad at all. It has a good beat and I can dance to it. Plus, I can actually understand the words to all those songs I grew up with. Not a stupid stick at all, I would say it’s an artistic improvement/metamorphisis of what were good songs in the first place.
As far as selling albums goes, aren’t we in an age where marketing, not talent, sells. Get him a music video, a couple of card board cut outs for the album stores, and sign him on for a few movie soundtracks and what do ya know, Mr. Anka has a platinum album.
Also, an album with a weird concept, like this one, is guaranteed some free advertising in the form of softball “famous guy is doing something funny” press coverage.
One of the first things that struck me in both interviews was how he had kind of a chip on his shoulder…it came out in his voice. Yeah, the interviewers were calling him on his shit, and he wasn’t happy about it. Terry Gross rarely challenges guests. (I’d love to hear her interview Bush: “I know you said there were WMDs in Iraq; it turned out there weren’t, but maybe you could talk about some of the other reasons we’re there.” All right, to be fair, she did hand O’Reily his ass.) But I, too, liked how she said Teen Spirit wasn’t meant to be sung that way.
I think he is technically a very good singer, although I can’t stand listening to the way he sings. I just think he comes off as ridiculous on these songs…especially during “Jump.” Of course, he didn’t have a lot to work with, and Van Halen isn’t much better at it.
The other thing I noticed was how bad the lyrics to “My Way” are. Embarrassingly bad.
I find the CD to be very hit or miss, just like the songs on it. Anka has a nice voice and does some good (and some awful) song interpretations. I don’t think Anka is more deluded than the average singer these days, and more skillful than many.
Shatner’s not that bad. No really, I mean it. He’s on Fear of Pop’s “In Love” and his song “I Can’t Get Behind That” is pretty funny. The song “Common People” isn’t too bad either. He’s kind of got that Henry Rollins spoken-word thing going on.
Lovecats is basically jazz-pop already, with the double-bass and the beat. I’m trying to imagine “Black Hole Sun”, but can’t.
Man, I love Shatner’s “Common People”
But I only just recently heard Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” - Man, did that suck. I mean, really suck. Even worse than his “Mercy Seat” sucked. I just don’t get the love, I really don’t - he sounds like the neighbourhood narcoleptic drunk. I don’t care what Trent thinks, either.
Hopefully Anka said something along the lines of “So the hell what?” I imagine he probably said something about good lyrics fitting in with most any style of music. Nirvana probably never meant for their hit to be presented in swing but no piece of music is so good that it’s immune to reinterpretation. I’ve heard Blue Moon sung as jazz, doo wop (or however it’s spelled), and country and it all sounded pretty good.
The Paul Anka / Rod Stewart collaboration everyone’s been waiting for: Aria Diarrhea - The Great American Rip-Off, Volume 1. With rousing bhangra remakes of opera’s greatest moments.
I have heard only the clips of the songs aired on N.P.R., so I’ll withhold any general judgement about Anka’s album. (I’m generally not a big fan of swing, but I like some of it just fine.)
But I just want to point out a few things. One is that Anka has been a professional songwriter and recording artist for a long time and he’s made a lot of money doing it. Another is that, as others have said, he’s a professional. I heard the Terry Gross interview and his professionalism oozes out. He’s there to practise a craft and he knows how to make money doing it.
Another thing I’d like to point out is that there is absolutely nothing inherently wrong with re-interpreting songs in different styles. It’s really the heart of music as a human activity. Everything’s been done before, but nothing is exactly the same twice. It’s an honourable instinct.
So, the album might be bad (in my opinon) and Anka’s work in general might not be to my taste, but I’d definitely be wary of words like deluded. Paul Anka is nobody’s fool.
Terry Gross referred to this recording of Anka chewing out his band. Frankly, to me it seems like a pretty ordinary exchange between a band leader or conductor and a bunch of musicians at a disastrous rehearsal.
Oh, just remembered, for the fans of the swing/rock novelty remake genre: If you really like that kind of stuff and wanna hear the (vinyl 45 only) mp3 version of Joe Piscopo’s “I Love Rock-N-Roll” (where he does a Sinatra-style medley of Joan Jett, Foreigner, Rolling Stones, Pat Benatar, Bruce Springsteen & Talking Heads), just email me.
Paul Anka and Wayne Newton have been making big money for a long time. Both would laugh, I’d bet, to hear that they are washed up. They both make good livings singing to appreciative audiences. Performers usually consider that success.
Back when the Oasis version of “Wonderwall” was a current radio hit, I heard a swing version of it on the radio once; judging from the Amazon sample of Anka’s version, it was similar, but I’m fairly certain it wasn’t Anka’s version I heard back in 1996 or thereabouts.
Anyone know who that was? I seem to recall mentioning it to a friend who said it was the Presidents of the United States of America (of “Lump” fame), but some searching turns up nothing. Not to mention that a highly-orchestrated swing version would be totally unlike them.
