Album Description
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Personnel: Paul Anka (vocals); Dean Parks, Larry Koonse (guitar); Dan Higgins (flute, alto saxophone); Charlie Davis (trumpet); Steve Higgins (trombone); Mike Lang, Randy Kerber (piano); Emil Richards (vibraphone); Mike Valerio (bass guitar); Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Luis Conte (percussion).
Swing versions of classic rock tunes, performed by an old-school easy-listening crooner? It's not without its precedents; don't forget that Pat Boone, for one, made a surprisingly popular heavy metal album a few years earlier. And against all odds, Paul Anka's ROCK SWINGS is neither a novelty album (though the format undeniably bears novel appeal) nor an ill-starred culture clash.
Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley always seemed closer to Sinatra-style vocalizing than rock & roll rough-housing, so his band's signature tune "True" fits right in with Anka's approach. The dreamy, melodic elegance of Billy Idol's "Eyes Without a Face" and even Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" allows them to be adapted to a big-band style with grace. Van Halen's "Jump" gives Anka room to display his playful side; here, as on the rest of the songs, it's his rock-solid pipes and confident phrasing that carry the day, pushing the expertly crafted arrangements into a place where they not only accomodate the unlikely source material, they redefine it.
