Rating: NN
Had Paul Anka’s accountant come up with the idea for Rock Swings a few years back, during the fleeting lounge scare or the equally brief swing revival, then a concept album in which Anka gives the hits of Nirvana, Van Halen, Oasis, Pet Shop Boys, the Cure, Survivor and Soundgarden a big-band-style make-over might’ve been a reasonable money-making scheme. While Anka seems invested in the project and the charts are surprisingly elegant (if a bit antiquated), crooning Sinatra-style versions of Smells Like Teen Spirit and The Love Cats over the grand swell of a room-filling string section in 2005 is just as hilariously absurd as it sounds. Anka’s desire to connect with the new Vegas crowd is understandable, but there must be a less embarrassing way of doing it.