Rod Stewart, Jools Holland｜"SWING FEVER" Collaboration album of legendary rock vocalist and British music maestro

Rod Stewart, Jools Holland｜"SWING FEVER" Collaboration album of legendary rock vocalist and British music maestro

■Legendary rock vocalist Sir Rod Stewart has sold approximately 250 million records in total, and has four No. 1 albums in the U.S. and 10 No. 1 albums in the UK. He recently announced his first tour of Japan in 13 years, and has completed a new album with Jules Holland, a maestro of the British music world who demonstrates his multifaceted talents as a bandleader, pianist, and composer.

■"SWING FEVER" is a collaborative album by two of Britain's proudest legends. This album is a gorgeous tribute to the immortal songs of the golden age of big band music. Recorded at Jules Holland's studio in Greenwich, England, the album features a wide range of songs from "Ain't Mishaven" to "Frankie And Johnny," "Sentimental Journey," "Lullaby of The album features long-time favorite swing jazz standards such as "Ain't Mishaven," "Frankie And Johnny," "Sentimental Journey," "Lullaby of Broadway," and "Tennessee Waltz," all given a new sparkle with stylish arrangements and the one and only Rod Stewart's vocals.

■SWING FEVER" is the result of a conversation between Rod and Jules during the pandemic and Rod's own long-held dream of creating an album of songs that in many ways were the rock and roll of the era. As the two sat side by side, Jules recalled the story of how the album came to be: "I was packing for Christmas vacation. I was packing for Christmas vacation when I got the call. We hadn't talked much before that. But I thought, "I love Rod, this is exciting," and you said, "I want to make an album. I've always been a fan of Rod's, but there were a lot of old songs that we both liked. "It was becoming more Frank Sinatra-esque than Louis Prima, if you will. So I canceled it and realized this was something I should do with Jules. Then we bonded over our mutual love of model trains. So we started recording together."

■The first single from the resulting album is "Almost Like Being In Love," written by Frederick Law and made famous by Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. This song gives a glimpse of what the atmosphere of the album would be like. Recorded over a dozen recording sessions, it combines the intimacy of a small recording space with the enduring brilliance of the songbook to create songs with an irresistible appeal--live. The reason it sounds like a recording is that it was actually recorded almost live. According to Rod, this is largely due to Jules' orchestra. Gilson (Gilson Lewis on drums) is the closest thing to Charlie Watts I've ever heard in terms of being able to play a proper backbeat. It's a great band, and Jules plays piano himself. It was amazing! And his brother Chris plays Hammond. His orchestra rehearsed a few times when I wasn't there, and even after we went into the studio together, we went three times a day, which was quite amazing. Jules' studio is very small, which might not be a problem for a three-piece band, but we had an 18-piece band in there at one time. It really brought a sense of togetherness.

■"SWING FEVER" is a timeless album of standards by two of the leading figures in British music. Its appeal may be summed up in these words from Jules Holland: "This music affects me, and when I run through it in the presence of people, they feel something. The influence this music has on me, and when I play it in the presence of people, they feel something and want to shake their bodies. Music expresses many things, and expressing joy is an important part of that. I can feel joy from the music here, and it is joy without shame.

Tracklisting

01. Lullaby Of Broadway
02. Oh Marie
03. Sentimental Journey
04. Pennies From Heaven
05. Night Train
06. Love Is The Sweetest Thing
07. Them There Eyes
08. Good Rockin’ Tonight
09. Ain’t Misbehavin’
10. Frankie & Johnny
11. Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
12. Almost Like Being In Love
13. Tennessee Waltz