Swing When You're Winning [Vinyl] [Import]

Robbie Williams | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (November 19, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Import
• ASIN: B00005RFVJ
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,146 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Apparently, Swing When You're Winning was inspired by the praise Robbie Williams received for his contribution to the soundtrack for Bridget Jones's Diary. Recorded with an 18-piece band in Frank Sinatra's old stomping grounds, the Capitol Records Studio in Los Angeles, this collection of finger-snappin', Rat Pack standards and new material features plenty of guest collaborations, such as the much-hyped Nicole Kidman effort on Sinatra's "Something Stupid." The tracks reflect the karaoke sessions of Williams's childhood in Stoke-on-Trent, England, and have been given the full "tribute" treatment, with no funny business going on in the production to take away from their classic appeal. There's never been any doubt that Williams sees himself as an entertainer in the most traditional sense of the word (not to mention as a bit of a swinger), and his old-time-crooner fantasies are certainly given free rein to charm the pants off us all on this classy album. --Ruby Tuesday

Product Description

EU LP pressing. Brilliant covers album from 2001 by the UK Popstar. Instead of your standard album of recent songs, Williams reaches back to the days of the Rat Pack (Frank, Dean and Sammy) and comes out swingin', with most of the tracks recorded at the same studios that many of Capitol Records' original crooners recorded at using some of the same musicians! Featuring duets with Frank Sinatra, Nicole Kidman, Jane Horrocks, Jon Lovitz and Jonathan Wilkes. Tracks include, 'Something Stupid', 'Do Nothing 'Till You Hear From Me', 'Mack The Knife', 'I Will Talk And Hollywood Will Listen', 'Well, Did You Evah' and 'Mr. Bojangles'. EMI.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Come Swing with Robbie, June 12, 2005

By 

Westley (Stuck in my head) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Swing When You're Winning (Audio CD)

Ever since "Millenium" was released, I've been a fan of Robbie Williams. Why he hasn't become a major star in the U.S. is a mystery - perhaps he's too complex to be easily packaged. Indeed, Robbie shows how multi-faceted he is with "Swing When You're Winning," a primo collection of American standards. Robbie's voice has always been solid, but he really gets to show off his range here. Although he doesn't have the phrasing of a Sinatra or a Tony Bennett, his personality more than fills any gaps.

Aside from Robbie's voice and charm, the record is really held together by the extraordinary instrumentation. A number of other contemporary artists have tackled the great American songbook, but they have usually opted for updated backing that ends up sounding far too glossy and vapid. In contrast, most of the songs have instrumental tracks that are similar to what you might hear on a Sinatra record, often supplied by the London Session Orchestra.

I was first attracted to this CD by the duet between Robbie and Nicole Kidman on "Somethin' Stupid." Of course, the song was originally recorded by Frank and Nancy Sinatra (#1 in 1967). Robbie and Nicole sound really good together - voices intertwining sexily; their version went to #1 for 3 weeks in the U.K. A number of other songs feature guest vocals, mostly from British stars. "Things," a duet with British star Jane Horrocks ("Little Voice"), is another highlight. Originally made a hit by Bobby Darin (#3 in 1962), the song really sparkles with lively interplay between Robbie and Jane. The two sang together previously on one of Horrock's CDs, and the chemistry is plain to see.

Other duet partners include Rupert Everett ("They Can't Take That Away from Me"), Jon Lovitz ("Well, Did You Evah"), Jonathan Wilkes ("Me and My Shadow"), and Frank Sinatra ("It Was a Very Good Year"). I don't know who Wilkes is, but the two have some playful banter at the end of the song and sound quite well paired together. The duet with Sinatra, whereby Robbie's vocals are grafted onto the original version, is fine; however, I would have preferred to hear Robbie's solo version, as I'm not a fan of duets with deceased artists.

In addition, Robbie scores on his solo tracks. One surprise is the somewhat cheesy "Mr. Bojangles," to which Robbie very effectively brings some hipness as well as sadness. In addition to "Things," Robbie covers two other songs associated with Bobby Darin - "Mack the Knife" and "Beyond the Sea," and they're both good fun. The collection only features one original song, but it's a doozy - "I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen." The song is told from the point of view of a Hollywood wanna-be who has big dreams of success. It's a really fantastic song, co-written by Robbie and Guy Chambers, that sounds right at home with the classics, despite its contemporary name-dropping (Cameron Diaz, Kevin Spacey).

Finally, the liner notes are excellent, with details on all players for each song. Robbie also includes fun comments about each songs. I didn't have very high expectations for this CD, but Robbie really surprises. "Swing When You're Winning" is top-notch and really does swing. Most highly recommended.

46 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He came, he saw, and HE DEFINITELY SWUNG!!!, December 22, 2001

By 

B. J. Lane "jazzbo" (Levittown, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swing When You're Winning (Audio CD)

After watching Robbie's knockout treatment of "Have You Met Miss Jones"? on "Parkinson" a few weeks ago, I had to buy this CD...a fantastic effort from track 1 to 15.

The opening "I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen" (while a good number) does not exactly fit into the scheme of things here, but it is "Mack the Knife" that really sets the tone for the rest of the album (I only wish Bobby Darin were around to hear Robbie's swinging take on this classic, as well as "Beyond the Sea"). I must have played "Mack" several times, and each time it knocked me out!!!

The other tracks are fine, including his duets with Jon Lovitz ("Well Did You Evah"), Rupert Everett ("They Can't Take That Away from Me"), Jane Horrocks ("Things"), Francis Albert Sinatra (loved the vocal on "It Was a Very Good Year" incorporated into Sinatra's original recording with Gordon Jenkins), Jonathan Wilkes ("Me and My Shadow"), and Nicole Kidman ("Somethin' Stupid"). Thank you Robbie for doing justice to "Mr. Bojangles!"

Robbie's a recent discovery of mine (thanks to BBC America), and I have to thank young artists like him for helping keep alive the tradition on singing these great American standards. He has the support of excellent arrangements (Steve Sidwell), and knockout backing by some of Hollywood's greatest jazz musicians, many of whom backed Sinatra on record, etc. Thank God that much of this album was recorded at Frank's old stomping ground (Capitol), and engineered brilliantly by Al Schmitt.

He may be no Sinatra, Darin, Martin, etc., but I hope Robbie makes another album of this type in the near future...can't wait to get my hands on the video/DVD of his Royal Albert Hall concert.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Robbie takes a risk and wins, January 31, 2007

By 

Andres C. Salama (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swing When You're Winning (Audio CD)

After "Sing when you're winning" (something of a breakthrough album for him), Robbie decided to take on his riskiest project: a cover of standards from the 40s, 50s and 60s. To everyone surprise, he succeeded. The album is wonderful to listen. The hit single of the album was Somethin' Stupid (a cover of Frank and Nancy Sinatra's hit by Robbie and Nicole Kidman - yes, she can sing), but the album has a lot of other great songs - Mack the Knife, Well did you Evah (a duet with Jon Lovitz!), Mr. Bojangles, the wonderful Things (a duet with Jane Horrocks), Ain't that a Kick in the Head, They can't Take that Away from Me (a duet with Rupert Everett!), and finally, to me the best song in the album, Beyond the Sea (originally a french song, but made famous by Bobby Darin in the 1960s).