Swing When You're Winning - Robbie Williams > Reviews > Is Swing back or just another novelty act.

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	Bringing real music back to the masses
Disadvantages:	Could be viewed as a novelty by some

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

At last an establish star who wishes to turn back the clock and introduce new generations to the wonderful melodies and lyrics of yesteryear.

Having been a fan of Sinatra,Dean Martin and ilk for some considerable time I was always a constant source of amusement to those of my generation who sought solace in the sounds of glam rock or heavy metal. Now that they are in their forties I get the chance to say, in Sinatra style of course, "who has the last laugh now".
As for style and performance Robbie is faultless and manages to capture the mood of the music perfectly. Like most swing it is how you swing and sing' it, rather than the quality of the voice. What great saloon singers lost in voice quality was always compensated by style.

But as much as I admire the bravery of Robbie for departing from his normal sound to something so different I cant help but feel, alas, that we wont see a renaisance of swing music as a result of his efforts. This has appeared on the horizon on a number of occasions beginning around the time that Tony Bennett performed his 'unplugged' session to popular acclaim.

This was followed by various tracks from stars such as Dean Martin appearing on the soundtracks of movies. And although this often made the track and artist popular for a short time it seemed that this is always temporary and awaiting the next track and next star to be highlighted. Note the re-establishment of Andy Williams through tracks being included in adverts.
Now it appears that re-mixing of old songs is the way to rediscover fame or fortune, dead or alive. From Lulu's re-light my fire, Shirley Bassey and the propellerheads and of course the chart bursting Tom Jones with his Reload album. Now thanks to another advert shown during the world cup a remixed Elvis is back where he once dominated, at the top.

The real test for me will be if a popular artist like Robbie can repeat his success with this album by doing a similar compilation and perhaps including new songs in a swing fashion. This would encourage other artists to follow suit and not view the 'swing' album as nothing more than a novelty turn.

Swing is back? I hope so, but some how I doubt it.