BBC Review
It's not funny. It's not post-modern. It's crap.
Antony Hatfield 2005-09-19
Whats going on here? An OAP recording a Billy Idol cover with a big band! Surely no financial inducement can be worth such abject loss of dignity.
Paul Anka first topped the Billboard Singles Chart half a century ago with "Diana" (1957). He was never in the same league as Eddie Cochran or Buddy Holly, but went on to becomea consistentperformer who scored hits well into the sixties.
His first come back came in 1974 - a duet with Odia Coates titled "(You're) Having My Baby". Cloying and cheesy like a bag of sweaty Wotsits, the track revitalised Paul's career; a career in which he has (so far) produced a terrifying 124 albums.
Basically, Rock Swings shows that you can take any old 'rock' track and rearrange it into an unrecognisable slab of schmaltz. "Eye of the Tiger" - for sheer audacity -is a high point of sorts, "Wonderwall" is almost listenable, but "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is an insult to the sensibilities. It's not funny. It's not post-modern. It's crap.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you choose to use this review on your site please link back to this page.
