Rod Stewart and Jools Holland - Swing Fever

  by Nick Dent-Robinson

published: 8 / 3 / 2024

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Review

At 79, Rod Stewart still has remarkable energy. He has been supporting his wife Penny Lancaster's Menopause Mandate campaign, lobbying to fix potholes in his home county of Essex and housing a family of Ukrainian refugees whilst preparing for another world tour and arranging the final dates of his 13 year Las Vegas residency! He has also just sold the rights to his song catalogue for £79m. On top of all this, Rod has found the time to make a new album with pianist Jools Holland and Jools's excellent Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. The new record, ‘Swing Fever’, celebrates the big band sounds of the 1930s and 1940s and it was made in Jools Holland's own studio. ‘Swing Fever’ follows up Rod's five part ‘Great American Songbook’ series made between 2002 and 2010. But it feels brighter, breezier and more spontaneous. Rod had started work on the new album before he contacted Jools, believing that he might be able to help make the project more upbeat and exciting. Jools was delighted. “For me, Rod can sing anything - and there's only a few people who can do that,” Jools says. The pair bonded easily - they share a mutual love of model railways - and both say that working together was a joy. Many of the tracks they chose to record would be perfect for a karaoke night and Stewart sings them with a cheeky twinkle in his eye and a true feel for the material. He seems to be having the time of his life! On ‘Oh Marie’ Rod launches into a convincing recreation of American jazz trumpeter Louis Prima's original scat vocals. He seems especially comfortable performing the late 1940s swing tunes that led into early rock and roll and ‘Good Rockin' Tonight’, a 1947 blues song covered in 1954 by Elvis Presley, features wonderful rockabilly guitar and a great arrangement that reconnects Rod with the powerful, unpretentious style of his 1970s solo records. ‘Lullaby of Broadway’, ‘Swing Fever’ and Fats Waller's Broadway show hit ‘Ain't Misbehaving’ are good whilst ‘Frankie And Johnny’ is powerfully performed with Jools's great boogie-woogie piano to the fore. With typical generosity, Jools manages to ensure that, despite his own virtuosity on the keyboard, he never allows his playing to overshadow any of the songs or the singer. 'Swing Fever' is a joy to listen to - and a huge credit to both Rod Stewart and Jools Holland as well as to every single member of the talented Rhythm & Blues Orchestra! Jools Holland starts his next UK tour on 16 May at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Track Listing:-

1 Lullaby Of Broadway
2 Oh Marie
3 Sentimental Journey
4 Pennies From Heaven
5 Night Train
6 Love Is The Sweetest Thing
7 Them There Eyes
8 Good Rockin' Tonight
9 Ain't Misbehavin'
10 Frankie And Johnny
11 Walkin' My Baby Back Home
12 Almost Like Being In Love
13 Tennessee Waltz

Band Links:-

https://rodstewart.com/
https://www.facebook.com/rodstewart
https://twitter.com/rodstewart
https://www.joolsholland.com
https://www.facebook.com/joolsholland
https://twitter.com/JoolsOfficial

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