Nirvana as you've never heard them before

si16 · #1 January 28th, 2006

Don't know if anyone has heard Paul Anka's (yes, Paul Anka, I'm so young and you're so old, etc) latest album but I've heard a few tracks from it and I have to say I'm quite taken with it. The concept behind it is that he takes famous songs from the past twenty or so years, gives them a jazz arrangement, and sings them with a complete big band. Some of the songs included are True (Spandau Ballet), Hello (Lionel Richie), Everybody Hurts (REM), Jump (Van Halen) and, perhaps most interstingly of all, Smells Like Teen Spirit. While this sounds like a complete recipe for disaster, I feel it works really well. I think that if you are going to cover somone else's song then you should come up with your own arrangement as there's little point in just copying something, especially with such an iconic song as this. Now I'm not going to say that Anka's version is better that Nirvana's (as that would probably produce a thread that would flame until Kingdom Come) but I do think it's very good indeed and a brave move and he deserves a lot of credit for it.

Listen to samples here :- http://www.paulanka.com/html/music_videos/index.php#
(The browser doesn't play automatically, you need to click on the play button)

allthumbs · #2 January 28th, 2006

I heard that a couple of months ago. No comment.....Must.....be...strong....LOL

sctoddc · #3 January 29th, 2006

That was.....interesting.

Todd

Kirk Lorange · #4 January 29th, 2006

I love it! Ain't music a wonderful thing? A chord progression, a melody, a few words and zillion ways of expressing it.

I had a quick listen to the original after listening to Paul's ... as much as I do like it, the original I mean, it sounds small and lifeless by comparison.

Thanks for that, Simon

ethic · #5 January 29th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirk

I love it! Ain't music a wonderful thing? A chord progression, a melody, a few words and zillion ways of expressing it.

I had a quick listen to the original after listening to Paul's ... as much as I do like it, the original I mean, it sounds small and scruffy and lifeless by comparison.

Smells Like Teen Spirit? Scruffy, sure. But Lifeless?

Tori Amos also does an interesting cover of the song. It's on her
Crucify EP. You can hear a sample on iTunes. I personallly love it. I
think it's the best cover ever done of that song. Even Cobain loved
the cover.

Don't really like this Paul Anka version, though.

aarona36 · #6 February 1st, 2006

I was afraid at first, but after listening im sticking with interesting.

6string · #7 February 1st, 2006

Was Courtney Love in need of money?

Kirk Lorange · #8 February 2nd, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethic

Smells Like Teen Spirit? Scruffy, sure. But Lifeless?

Compared to the gravity-fed swing and polished brassiness of Paul Anka's arrangement... to my ear, yes ... small, lifeless and amateurish. But, hey, they wrote it! The writers laugh the last laugh.

WernHalen · #9 February 2nd, 2006

I'm with you on this one Kirk... I tended to play simple songs and i can manage a simple song easily by now. Getting a complete arangement like that together is something else and I am trying to include those types of arangements in the songs I play. (even though i play more rock style stuff)

allthumbs · #10 February 2nd, 2006

The arrangement was fine, It's the lounge lizard vocals that made my skin crawl.

Canuck-Playa · #11 February 2nd, 2006

Well it is different and i cant say i like it, but i was never a big jazz fan. Dont get me wrong it is cool just not my taste in music i like more of classical rock and i wouldnt mind listening to it.