Rock Swings

Last updated
Rock Swings
RockSwings.png
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 31, 2005
RecordedNovember 2004
Studio Capitol Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Genre Swing
Length58:18
Label Verve Music Group
Producer
Paul Anka chronology
Times of Your Life
(1975)
Rock Swings
(2005)
Classic Songs, My Way
(2007)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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BBC.co.uk Negative link

Rock Swings is an album by Paul Anka. Recorded in November 2004 and released on May 31, 2005 in Canada and June 7, 2005 in the United States, it contains swing jazz covers of popular rock and pop songs from the 1980s and 1990s.

Contents

The idea of an established vocalist giving rock hits a "standards" treatment was earlier realized by Anka's contemporary Pat Boone in the 1997 album, In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, with Boone doing covers of songs by Alice Cooper, Van Halen and Judas Priest. That same year, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé covered Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" in a lounge-jazz style on the 1997 compilation album release, Lounge-A-Palooza. Anka also covers "Black Hole Sun" on Rock Swings.

Reportedly, the Michael Jackson song "Billie Jean" was slated to be on the album in the recording stages, but Paul Anka could not get through a vocal take without bursting into laughter. [1] The album features "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi, a song which includes the line "Like Frankie said, 'I did it my way'", a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Sinatra classic "My Way", the lyrics to which were written by Anka.

After the release of this album, Anka was awarded a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. A DVD release of the same name, including live performances of these songs by Anka, was released on December 6, 2005.

Charts

Debuted at:

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."It's My Life" Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Max Martin 4:02
2."True" Gary Kemp 4:30
3."Eye of the Tiger" Jim Peterik, Frankie Sullivan 4:04
4."Everybody Hurts" Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Bill Berry 4:14
5."Wonderwall" Noel Gallagher 3:37
6."Black Hole Sun" Chris Cornell 4:28
7."It's a Sin" Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe 4:59
8."Jump" David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen 3:36
9."Smells Like Teen Spirit" Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl 2:42
10."Hello" Lionel Richie 5:14
11."Eyes Without a Face" Billy Idol, Steve Stevens 3:59
12."Lovecats" Robert Smith 3:58
13."The Way You Make Me Feel" Michael Jackson 3:49
14."Tears in Heaven" Eric Clapton, Will Jennings 5:01

Certifications

CountryCertificationSales/shipments
Canada Gold [2] 50,000

Samples

Personnel

Production

Musicians

Orchestra

Brass and Woodwinds

String section

See also

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References

Footnotes

  1. Gatehouse, Jonathan, Macleans.ca, 2005. Anka's Back, Baby!
  2. CRIA Gold & Platinum certifications for February 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2007.