by JOHN CUSTODIO | More Jazz Festival: Nicolas Repac » Four Tet » Ramachandra Borcar

The pundits have spoken and the verdict is in: Paul Anka must die. He must pay for his crime or it’s the end of the world as we know it. The former teen idol stands accused of musical sacrilege. Rock Swings, his latest CD, has him crooning top-10 hits from the ’80s and ’90s in big-band swing style, and fans of the original songs are not amused. In fact, not since Pat Boone’s ill-conceived (but hilarious beyond belief) 1997 release, In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, has critical vitriol run so high.

Anka, however, doesn’t give a damn what the purists think. The man who wrote “My Way” for Sinatra knew exactly what he was doing, and he’s not sorry.

Mirror: So, why’d ya do it?

Paul Anka: After the success of Michael Bublé’s album, which I produced with David Foster, the record company wanted me to jump on the standards bandwagon, but my answer was, “Been there, done that.” I mean, it’s one thing for Michael to be doing that stuff, but I’ve done Gershwin, I’ve done Cole Porter. I’ve been doing it for 40 years. Who would have noticed or cared? As far as I’m concerned, a great song is a great song, and the ’80s and ’90s had their share too. Why not re-interpret them? Why limit them to their original forms? Quality should be the only thing that matters. These are quality arrangements, quality musicians doing quality songs, songs that may be the standards of tomorrow, and I accord them the respect they deserve, whatever the fanatics may think.

M: The flashpoint of people’s sense of indignation seems to be the Nirvana cover. You wanted to call the album Smells Like Paul Anka, so you must have anticipated that response.

PA: Absolutely. I’ve been in this industry a long time, and I knew there would be resistance, but you know what? Some of the stations that balked the most now play my version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in high rotation. They love it! We expected that hurdle, but now we’re past it. We’re sitting on a pile of great reviews and the album’s doing well all over the world.

M: One anonymous online reviewer summed up his anger this way—he asked how you would like it if people did grunge covers of “Diana” or “Put Your Head On My Shoulder.”

PA: Well, I loved it when Sid Vicious did “My Way”—let’s start with that! When I first heard it, I went “Whoa!”—but I took the time to listen to it carefully, and when I spoke to them, they were very sincere and articulate about their vision. They did it with a pick-up band in Paris and tore tubes out of their amps to get the sound they wanted. So I issued the license for them to do it. [Sex Pistols guitarist] Steve Jones has since thanked me for giving them that opportunity. You know, Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet raved about my version of “True,” and Dave Grohl [Foo Fighters singer-guitarist and former Nirvana drummer] caught my Letterman show performance of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and thought it was great. So people can do “Puppy Love” or “Lonely Boy” any damn way they want.

At Place des Arts on Friday, July 8, 8:30 p.m., $52.50-$85.50

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