Swing Fever (album)
Swing Fever is a collaborative album by British singer Rod Stewart and English composer Jools Holland, released on 23 February 2024. It features Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, and contains covers of songs from the big band era.
Critical reception
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described it as "a record steeped in jump blues, boogie woogie, and other manners of swinging R&B. In form, it's not far removed from Stewart's Great American Songbook albums, generally relying on songs written prior to the onset of rock & roll". Neil McCormick of The Telegraph found that "together Stewart and Holland tackle these classic tunes as if they are trying to set fire to the ballroom and burn the old folk's home to the ground" as "while there's nothing radical or new here, joy always sounds fresh, and Stewart sounds like he's having the time of his life".Jackie Hayden of Hot Press stated that "Stewart's age-worn and smoky voice can still deliver, as these 13 covers of classic big band numbers prove", writing that Holland "is no slouch either" with his contributions to "Sentimental Journey", "Them There Eyes" and "Frankie and Johnny". Ed Power of i felt that "to take the attention away from Rod Stewart without once opening your mouth is quite an achievement. That's what Holland does throughout a vigorous yet subtly deficient collection."
Commercial performance
On the UK Albums Chart dated 1 March 2024, the album debuted at number one, which made it Holland's first number-one album and Stewart's 11th.Personnel
Musicians- Rod Stewart – vocals
- Jools Holland – piano
- Nick Lunt – baritone saxophone
- Dave Swift – bass
- Gilson Lavis – drums
- Mark Flanagan – guitar
- Christopher Holland – organ
- Michael Rose – saxophone
- Phil Veacock – saxophone
- Courtney Brown – trombone
- Roger Goslyn – trombone
- Winston Rollins – trombone
- Jason McDermid – trumpet
- Jonathan Scott – trumpet
- Amanda Miller – backing vocals, dancer
- Gemma Mewse – backing vocals
- Holly Brewer – backing vocals
- Oli Savill – percussion
- Anna Brooks – saxophone
- Derek Nash – saxophone
- Alistair White – trombone
- Chris Storr – trumpet
- Enrico Tomasso – trumpet
- Courtney Jackson – tap dancing
- Genevieve Bennett – tap dancing
- Liam Tistell – tap dancing
- Lucy Mancinetti – tap dancing
- Lucy Parsons – tap dancing
- Michael Burr – tap dancing
- Molly Goodman – tap dancing
- Toria Ford – tap dancing
- Fayyaz Virji – trombone
- Lisa Grahame – saxophone
- John H. Jnr – backing vocals
- Ollie Furness – backing vocals
- Richard Taylor – backing vocals
- Joanne Harper – backing vocals
- Gary Potter – guitar
- Lya Reis Guerrero – percussion
- Peter Long – saxophone
- Danny Marsden – trumpet
- Karl Vanden Bossche – percussion
- Nathan Bray – trumpet
- Matt O'Connor – congas, tambourine
- Phil Manzanera – production
- Nitin Sawhney – production
- Alex Wharton – mastering
- Kevin Savigar – [Audio Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing (recorded music)|mixing], vocal production
- James Stewart – lead recording engineer. Recorded and engineered Jools Holland and band on all tracks
- Michael Boddy – mixing
- Harry Timson – engineering, orchestra mixing
- George Latham – engineering assistance
- Patrick Logue – engineering assistance
- Penny Lancaster – photography production and direction
- Jonas Mohr – photography
- Salvador Design – artwork