''Swing'' is a

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for the 1999 film of the same name, which stars

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

, who also recorded ten songs for the soundtrack and co-wrote four of them. The album was released in Europe on 10 May 1999 and in North America on 13 July 1999. ''Swing'' garnered favorable reviews from music critics who called it a "gem" among the soundtracks. The album, full of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

songs, reached number six on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s Top Jazz Albums chart. On 2 June 2003, it was remastered and re-released in Europe with an alternative cover art.

Background

In 1999, Stansfield starred in the Nick Mead-directed film ''Swing'' with actor

Hugo Speer Hugo Alexander Speer (born 17 March 1968) is an English actor and director. Early life and education Hugo Speer was born in Harrogate in the then West Riding of Yorkshire and educated at Harrogate Grammar School. He studied acting at the Arts E ...

, and recorded cover versions of swing songs and a few original songs written in this style for the soundtrack. The film premiered on 7 May 1999, and the soundtrack was released three days later.

Content

The album contains fifteen

and

songs performed by Stansfield (ten tracks),

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the onl ...

(two tracks) and Ian Devaney (three instrumental tracks). Among them, Stansfield co-wrote four new songs: "Gotta Get on This Train", "Why Do We Call It Love", "I Thought That's What You Liked About Me" and "Two Years Too Blue". She has also recorded eight covers: "

Ain't What You Do "Ain't What You Do" is a single released in 2003, by the UK hip hop/ R&B group Big Brovaz. The single is the fifth and final single taken from Big Brovaz's 2002 debut album, ''Nu-Flow''. "Ain't What You Do" became Big Brovaz's fifth UK hit, but ...

" (from 1939), " Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" (from 1946), "

Baby I Need Your Lovin' "Baby I Need Your Loving" is a 1964 hit single recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song was the group's first Motown single and their first pop Top ...

" (from 1964), " Our Love Is Here to Stay" (from 1938), " Watch the Birdie" (from 1941), "

The Best Is Yet to Come "The Best Is Yet to Come" is a 1959 song composed by Cy Coleman to lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. It is associated with Frank Sinatra, who recorded it on his 1964 album '' It Might as Well Be Swing'' accompanied by Count Basie under the direction o ...

" (from 1959), " Blitzkrieg Baby" (from 1940) and "

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (german: "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", italic=no, link=no) is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (german: Die Dreig ...

" (from 1928).

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews from music critics. According to Mark Allan from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

, ''Swing'' is a "gem of a soundtrack. ..The bright, sassy arrangements are fine showcases for Stansfield's confident, take-charge vocals". Allan also said that " en if the movie stinks, there's the music to remember".

Commercial reception

''Swing'' reached number six on ''

s Top Jazz Albums and number 165 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

Track listing

Charts

Credits and personnel

Credits taken from

. *Tim Baxter - assistant engineer *Vicky Brown - violins, additional arrangements *Hugh Buckley - guitars *Richie Buckley - saxophone *

Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for The E Street Band. Clemons released several s ...

- saxophone *Tony Cousins - mastering *Jacquie Darbyshire - personal management *

John Thirkell John Thirkell is a British trumpet and flugelhorn player, who has appeared on hundreds of pop, rock, and jazz recordings. Through the 1980s and early 1990s he was on at least one album in the UK Charts continuously, without a break, for over ...

- trumpet *Snake Davis - saxophone *Ian Devaney - producer, arranger, keyboards, guitars *

- vocals *Geoff Gascoyne - bass *Rachel George - personal assistant *Carl Geraghty - saxophone *

Leo Green Leo Green (born 30 August 1972) is a British musician and broadcaster. Saxophonist and orchestra leader Green played with Van Morrison's band. Green plays saxophone and sings in his own band. In 2010 guitarist Jeff Beck said, "Leo Green has ...

- saxophone *

Gavin Harrison Gavin Richard Harrison (born 28 May 1963) is an English musician. He is best known for playing with the progressive rock bands Porcupine Tree (2002–2010; 2021–present), King Crimson (2008, and 2014–present) and The Pineapple Thief (2 ...

- drums *Matt Holland - trumpet *Tommy Manzi - management *Stephen McDonnell - trumpet, additional arrangements *Adrian McGovern - recording, mix engineer *Nigel Mooney - guitars *Martin Rhodes - studio management *Karl Ronan - trombone *

- vocals *John Wadham - drums *Kevin Whitehead - drums

Release history

References

{{Authority control Lisa Stansfield albums 1999 soundtrack albums 1990s film soundtrack albums Jazz soundtracks