A lounge singer provided an unlikely cover of Nirvana’s hit song, Smells Like Teen Spirit.
The rendition in question has split fans of the Kurt Cobain-fronted group. Some believe the song is strong enough without veterans of the stage covering it, while others believe it offers a neat take on the grunge classic. An upload of the song to YouTube had some listeners dub it Smells Like Senior Spirit, playing around with the title of the song as they poked fun at Paul Anka’s version. The You Are My Destiny and Put Your Head on My Shoulder hitmaker is still performing his rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit live.
One detractor of the cover took to the YouTube comments and wrote: “Hmmm, smells like senior spirit.” Another joked: “Finally! A sensible way to turn my senior citizen friends onto grudge rock staples!” A third added: “I heard this song in Olive Garden the other day.”
Not everyone was horrified by Anka’s cover, however, and credited the crooner with giving new life to a hit track. One person wrote: “I don’t find it insulting. I think it’s great when jazz singers and crooners cover rock – it’s a compliment to the composition and lyrics that they can be taken on in a swing style like this and still be fun to listen to.”
Another added: “Huge Nirvana fan here. This is an amazing cover, great work, Paul Anka.” A third wrote: “When I saw the title, I thought this would be a joke. Paul Anka sings Nirvana? But five seconds of listening to that swinging big band changed my mind. And Paul does an amazing vocal. The musicianship is great. The arrangement is great. What a pleasant surprise! Now I want to hear Kurt sing Put Your Head On My Shoulder lol.”
Anka last performed his rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit at a concert in Ontario, Canada. He also performed covers of Jerry Herman and Sammy Davis Jr. A full setlist for the show can be found below.
- Let the Music Play
- Diana
- It Only Takes a Moment (Jerry Herman cover)
- You Are My Destiny
- Let Me Try Again
- All of Me (Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra cover)
- (All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings
- Tonight, My Love, Tonight
- I’m Not Anyone (Sammy Davis Jr. cover)
- (You’re) Having My Baby
- Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana cover)
- Put Your Head on My Shoulder
- Lonely Boy
- Eso Beso (That Kiss)
- She’s a Lady
- Do I Love You
- More (Theme from Mondo Cane) (Steve Lawrence cover)
- It Doesn’t Matter Anymore
- Oh Lonesome Me (Don Gibson cover)
- Bye Bye Love (Boudleaux Bryant cover)
- Jubilation
- My Way
- Theme from New York, New York (John Kander cover)
You can listen to Anka’s studio version of Smells Like Teen Spirit, which is featured on his album, Rock Swings, below.
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