Swing When You're Winning

Infobox Album | Name = Swing When You're Winning
Type = Album
Artist = Robbie Williams


Released = November 19, 2001
Recorded = 2001
Genre = Jazz, Swing
Length = 73.59
Label = EMI
Producer =
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gikvikxabb29~T1 link] | Last album = "Sing When You're Winning"
(2000)
This album = "Swing When You're Winning"
(2001)
Next album = "Escapology"
(2002)

"Swing When You're Winning" is a traditional pop album by English pop singer Robbie Williams, released in 2001. Consisting mainly of pop standard song covers common to the Great American Songbook, this album is his fourth solo album released in the United Kingdom and his fifth solo album overall. Aside from the title, the album is not directly associated with Williams' previous album, "Sing When You're Winning".

Born from his life-long love for Frank Sinatra - combined with the success of the track "Have You Met Miss Jones?" that he recorded for the film "Bridget Jones's Diary" in early 2001 - the album was recorded at the Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, California.

Album description

The album features the UK number one single "Somethin' Stupid", a duet with Nicole Kidman. Additional featured songs include versions of "Beyond The Sea" which was featured in the 2003 animated motion picture "Finding Nemo", and "Have You Met Miss Jones", which was part of the soundtrack in the 2001 film "Bridget Jones's Diary". The album's first song, "I Will Talk and Hollywood will Listen", is the only original song on the album.

The album featured duets with actors Rupert Everett, Nicole Kidman, Jon Lovitz and Jane Horrocks, as well as a special guest performance from Robbie's friend and former flatmate Jonathan Wilkes. Surprisingly the album features a duet with Frank Sinatra on the song "It Was a Very Good Year", in which Williams sings the first two verses, and a recording of Sinatra is used for the vocals on the third and fourth verses. Williams explains this came about after one of his session musicians played his vocals to Sinatra's family. This musician was purportedly a good friend of the family, and played with Sinatra on the original release of "It Was a Very Good Year". Additionally, backing musicians for portions of the album include the London Session Orchestra.

Williams was able to fulfil a lifetime's dream by appearing in a one man showcase at London's Royal Albert Hall [ [http://rtl.musicbrigade.com/templates/ArtistPage____7326.aspx?View=4&ArtistID=5156 Williams was able to fulfil a lifetime's dream by appearing in a one man showcase at London's Royal Albert Hall] ] with the London Session Orchestra, released on DVD as Robbie Williams Live at the Albert in 2001, and subsequently broadcast on BBC One. It was also rumoured that in 2007 recording would begin on a sequel album: "Let's Swing Again".

Track listing

#"I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen" (Guy Chambers, Robbie Williams) – 3:17
#"Mack the Knife" (Marc Blitzstein, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill) – 3:18
#"Somethin' Stupid" (with Nicole Kidman) (C. Carson Parks) – 2:50
#"Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me" (Duke Ellington, Bob Russell) – 2:58
#"It Was a Very Good Year" (with Frank Sinatra) (Ervin Drake) – 4:28
#"Straighten Up and Fly Right" (Nat King Cole, Irving Mills) – 2:36
#"Well, Did You Evah!" (with Jon Lovitz) (Cole Porter) – 3:50
#"Mr. Bojangles" (Jerry Jeff Walker) – 3:17
#"One for My Baby" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) – 4:17
#"Things" (with Jane Horrocks) (Bobby Darin) – 3:22
#"Ain't That a Kick in the Head" (Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 2:27
#"They Can't Take That Away from Me" (with Rupert Everett) (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 3:07
#"Have You Met Miss Jones?" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 2:34
#"Me and My Shadow" (with Jonathan Wilkes) (Dave Dreyer, Al Jolson, Billy Rose) – 3:16
#"Beyond the Sea" (Jack Lawrence, Charles Trenet) – 4:30
#(Hidden track) Outtakes after "Beyond the Sea"

uccess

After the success of his third album, Williams wanted to take another musical direction. He took two weeks off his tour to record what would be his fourth studio album, the big band album he had always dreamed of making. [ [http://www.robbiewilliams.com/ Discography>Albums>Swing When You're Winning] ]

When the album, "Swing When You're Winning" (in reference to his 2000 studio album "Sing When You're Winning"), was released in late 2001, it became an instant number 1 hit in the United Kingdom (spending an astonishing 6 consecutive weeks at number 1), Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Germany and Switzerland and it reached the top ten in the rest of the world going on to sell over 2 million copies by the end of 2001 and over 7 million altogether. [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,4-2002420301,00.html The Sun: Swing album] ] The album spent 57 weeks inside the UK charts selling over 2.1 million copies being certified 7x Platinum in the United Kingdom [ [http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=30751 BPI Certification for "Swing When You're Winning"] ] and becoming the 49th Best Selling Album in UK music history.

ingles

The first single from the album was a duet with Kidman, "Somethin' Stupid". A cover of Frank & Nancy Sinatra, the song became Robbie's fifth number 1 hit in the United Kingdom, selling almost 100,000 copies in its first week of release, [ [http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_singles_song.php?id=916 "Something Stupid" first week sales in the United Kingdom] ] as well as hitting the top spot in Argentina, New Zealand, Latvia and scoring top ten placings all over Europe. It became one of the biggest hits of 2001, selling over 200,000 copies in the UK alone after spending three weeks at the top of the charts, being certified Silver in January 2002. [ [http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=29997 BPI Certification for "Something Stupid"] ]

A second single was released from the album, a double A-side "Mr. Bojangles/I Will Talk And Hollywood Will Listen"; however, it was only released in Central and Eastern Europe.

"Mack The Knife" was released as a radio single in Mexico. [ [http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=217433 "Mack The Knife" Mexican Promo] ]

Although not a single, "Beyond the Sea" was used in the credits of the film "Finding Nemo" in 2003 and was also released on the album's Academy Award nominated soundtrack.

The DVD

A DVD called "Robbie Williams Live at the Albert Hall" was released in December of that year. So far, it has become one of the best selling music DVDs in Europe, being certified 6x Platinum in the United Kingdom [ [http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=32440 BPI Certification for "Live at the Albert Hall"] ] and 2x Platinum in Germany. [ [http://www.ifpi.de/wirtschaft/gpergebnis.php?strAktion=suche&txtSuche=Live%20At%20The%20Albert IFPI Certification for "Live at the Albert Hall] ]

The DVD included performances of all of the songs from the album, with performances from Rupert Everett, Jonathan Wilkes, Jon Lovitz and Jane Horrocks, as well as a live version of Robbie's 'duet' with Frank Sinatra. Nicole Kidman did attend the show, but "Somethin' Stupid" was the only song from the album which did not feature live. Additionally, there were three songs performed live which did not appear on the album:

* The Lady is a Tramp
* Let's Face the Music and Dance
* My Way (finale)

Certifications, Peaks & Sales

References

succession box
before = "World of Our Own" by Westlife
title = UK number one album
years = December 1 2001 – January 18 2002
after = "Just Enough Education to Perform"
by Stereophonics