Smells Like Paul Anka

Right now I’m listening to the new Paul Anka album Rock Swings. It’s one of those projects you usually stumble across and immediately run as fast as you can in the opposite direction…50’s teen idol turned Vegas regular releases a CD full of big band versions of songs by the most iconic pop/rock stars of the past 20 years. But…hold on. It is actually incredibly well done. It’s not the disaster of yore that occurred when Pat Boone released an album of heavy metal. First of all, Anka’s great musicianship shines through. Second, it shows,for the most part, that these are great songs that can survive the transition of style and personality. Third, the band sounds great and the arrangements are stunningly good.

I wasn’t aware of this album until I saw Paul Anka singing Smells Like Teen Spirit on Letterman last week. I know that there are some people who will become physically ill even thinking about that, but not me. I am one year to old to be officially included in Generation X. I wasn’t much of an “angst-ridden” teen. Van Halen and Bon Jovi were as angst-ridden as it got for me and most of my friends (although I generally preferred Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones, etc…).I will admit that it is maybe the most “gimmicky” track on the album. Though, like the original, it's incredibly catchy and I enjoy listening to it. One big problem, I think, is that the lyrics of Smells Like Teen Spirit don’t really lend themselves to the big band style. If you wore the flannel, bought two extra copies of any magazine with Kurt Cobain’s picture on the cover, and still have your tickets from when you saw Nirvana in concert, you might want to skip that track. Other tracks like Jump, True, Eye of the Tiger and It’s My Life might be easier for you to take.

I’m listening to Rock Swings right now on the new Yahoo! Music Unlimited. I highly recommend it. I was on Napster to go for a while, but Yahoo! Gives you the same basic deal and charges A LOT less. It lets me listen to things I would probably never buy, expanding my horizons while saving me lots of money. Yahoo!

Later,
Blake