Why You Should Listen to Rod Stewart’s New Album ‘Time’
Rod Stewart has released his first album of original material in 20 years, and it’s better than you might expect.
By David Browne
Rod Stewart is a funny guy. He likes to make off-the-cuff jokes and crack wry observations about everyday life. He also enjoys dropping one-liners that are so corny they would make Groucho Marx wince. (Example: “If I was a porcupine and you were a porcupine and we bumped into each other on the street, that’s called being in love.”)
But there’s one subject that makes the singer rather serious: music. It’s hard to find him in a conversational mode – even when he’s telling a story about Elvis Presley – without him veering into deep detail about his latest recording project. After all, even after 50 years in the music business, with hits piling up during his time as both a blue-eyed soulster and a swaggering rocker, he remains an artist who feeds off of new challenges. That’s why he is once again re-inventing himself with Time, his first album of original material since 2001′s Human*.
Rod Stewart is back with a new album, “Time,” and the classic rocker has never sounded better than he does on this 21st century record. The songs are expertly crafted and performed with confidence and enthusiasm. This is the first album of original material from the iconic singer in almost twenty years.
Stewart worked with at least three different producers to craft “Time,” which includes a variety of musical styles including rock and ballads. The album has some great guest appearances, including Stevie Wonder and Dave Stewart from Eurythmics. The lyrics are smart and relevant to contemporary life, yet still retain that Rod Stewart charm.
The first single from the album is “She Makes Me Happy” and it is a hit! It is available for purchase at iTunes along with the entire album. So go out and buy this record so Rod can live happily ever after!
Rod Stewart’s new album, Time, is a perfect example of what happens when an artist takes the time to challenge himself and his fans.
The album is a compilation of ten new songs and two covers. The two covers — “Brighton Beach” and “It’s Over” — are Stewart’s take on two songs by the Faces, a British rock band that was popular in the 1970s. Stewart was lead vocalist for the Faces and led them to hits like “Stay with Me.”
Stewart has been around the block and back again. He has been on top of the music industry and then he has slipped into the shadows, only to return full force time after time.
Stewart started out singing with a group called Shotgun Express in 1965. The group broke up in 1966 and he went on to play for other bands before starting his solo career in 1969. He had several years of fame as a young pop singer with hits like “Maggie May” and “You Wear it Well.” Unfortunately, he also had years of being mocked as a disco-singing womanizer who wore makeup on stage and sang about love gone wrong.
Now 67 years old
Rod Stewart’s new album Time is the best album of the year thus far. It has everything from smooth, sexy tracks to fun, upbeat ones–all done Rod Stewart style.
Time is Rod Stewart’s first record since 2001’s Human and his debut for Verve Music Group. The album has been described as “a mix of soul, R&B and rock-influenced tunes” and is produced by Kevin Savigar with whom Rod has worked on many of his past albums including Tonight’s the Night – Great American Songbook Volume V and Still the Same…Great Rock Classics Of Our Time.
Time features ten new tracks which include three original compositions (“She Makes Me Happy,” “It’s Over” and “Picture in a Frame”) alongside covers of Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney & Wings and Cat Stevens as well as a duet with Stevie Wonder on Marvin Gaye’s classic “My Funny Valentine.”
The new record was recorded in Los Angeles at Henson Recording Studios and co-produced by Kevin Savigar, who also co-wrote several songs with Rod on the record. The two were surrounded by some of L.A.’s finest
In an era when Rod Stewart albums aren’t necessarily expected, they seem to arrive with a sense of rambunctious freshness. That was true in 2003 with It Had to Be You…The Great American Songbook and its two sequels, and it’s true again with Time, the singer’s 19th studio album.
The record is notable for being Stewart’s first set of mostly original material in two decades (1998′s When We Were the New Boys), as well as his first full-length produced by Steve Jordan, best known for his work with Keith Richards and John Mayer. But it’s also notable because of how much fun it is — a lighthearted batch of songs that delicately walk the line between classic Stewart and contemporary pop-rock.
Opening track “She Makes Me Happy” nods to Stewart’s recent American Songbook success with a midtempo melody that recalls some of his more notable standards covers. Its lyrics are pure romantic optimism: “I got a feeling/That I can’t explain/Only she can ease my pain/And if I try hard/To explain it to you/There’s no guarantee you would understand… She makes me happy
The 69-year-old singer’s new album Time is out now, and it’s a surprisingly fun romp for an album that could have so easily coasted on nostalgia. Time is the first album of all-new material from Stewart in nearly two decades, and it features collaborations with the likes of Jeff Beck and Stevie Wonder.
On Time, Stewart has found a good balance between his old style and a more contemporary sound. The music still sounds like Stewart; the songs aren’t just trendy radio fodder. The arrangements are sparse and tasteful, allowing Stewart’s voice to shine through.
In addition to the guest appearances, Time also includes a handful of tracks written by Stewart himself. And he sounds quite comfortable in the songwriter’s chair; you might even say he sounds like a natural.
If you’re a fan of Rod Stewart’s classic material – or if you’re just looking for something new to listen to – you should definitely give this album a chance. It’s well worth your time.
At this point, Rod Stewart is not just a singer — he’s an institution. It’s hard to believe that the 71-year old Brit has been writing and performing pop music for over 50 years, but it’s true. Over the course of his multi-decade career, Stewart has released 16 studio albums (and countless compilations), 10 of which have gone Platinum in the U.S. or higher – and that’s not counting his five solo albums with the Jeff Beck Group and Faces (two of which went Gold). He’s also been inducted into both the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame as a solo artist. With so many accolades under his belt, it would be easy for him to rest on his laurels. But he hasn’t. Instead, he’s releasing his 17th studio album Time on May 7th via Capitol Records/Verve Music Group.
The 12-track record is Stewart’s first collection of original material since 2001′s Human – a record that featured songs about everything from his love for soccer to internet addiction to post-Sept 11 paranoia. This time around, it seems as if Stewart is
