Rooster headed, raspy voiced Rod Stewart is back in the rock n roll game. Or so the title of his new album "Still The Same....Great Rock Classics Of Our Time" suggests. His career long dead to the rock crowd, it was suggested to Rod several years ago by none other then legendary record producer and label executive Clive Davis to do an album of old standards from the forties and fifties. Rod listened, and although thin of voice as always, the album in question (It Had To Be You: The Great American Songbook) was a decent collection of well crafted and well performed material from a bygone era. Stewart liked it so much he made three more similar albums and found himself a home and audience with the retired well in Florida crowd, as he took his image upscale and refined. Unfortunately for the rock world Rod decided to leave his new digs for a awhile and return to his old, proving once again the old adage "you can never go home again" is pretty much true.
Still The Same...Great Rock Classics Of Our Time is one of the years most dismal recordings. Their is really no reason or purpose for this album to exist other then to sell it lock, stock and barrel to Stewart's new audience as something important or meaningful. Hence the "Great Rock Classics Of Our Time" part of the album title. But the first clue anyone should have they are being taken for a ride is the fact the title is very grand yet many of the songs (Day After Day, Still The Same, It's A Heartache, I'll Stand By You, etc...) included are much less so. Still, an album with such a claim must have something up its sleeve? Perhaps Rod has made an album of "rock" covers that explores his new pop standard stylings? Or maybe he has mixed it up and made a crazy, jazzy, experimental hybrid of an album. Changed some arrangements? Thrown his new listeners something special? Sounds nice.
Well no such luck, as Rod has returned to his roots not to show us or anybody else he still has his mojo, but rather to lay upon us an album of 13 unlistenable tracks the sort of which make you look to the heavens and plead "WHY"? Apparently trying to turn his geriatric audience on to some hip tunes, Stewart comes up blank right out of the gate with a boring paint by numbers rendition of CCR's "Who'll Stop The Rain". As if the world needed another cover of that song. Much less one as tepid and dull as this dead duck. Not to worry though, because the fun is just beginning. From here on Rod proceeds to rip the heart out of decent if not quite classic tunes like "I Fooled Around And Fell In Love", the great Nazarath song "Love Hurts", the once powerful rock anthem reduced to a miserable wet weenie, and the old Eagles hit "The Best Of My Love". None of which are even worth mentioning in earnest. Have you heard the originals, boys and girls? Good. Go with that and avoid this muck at all cost.
Nothing about this album rings true or sincere. Get the studio guys together, grab some old "Great Rock Classics Of Our Time" lol, add water and stir. The water being the best part of that recipe. You would think with Stewart's experience and chops he would at least be able to make something decent out of that old eighties hit "Missing You". Perhaps one of the few truly classic songs on the album. Nope. It sounds like bad karaoke night at a bad karaoke bar. The only thing missing from this carbon copy of the superior original is John Waite himself. Which would actually improve matters if you could find the rock he's under these days. The title track of this debacle fares even worse with its stale vocals and once again karaoke feel. And the once engaging Bread tune "Everything I Own" certainly comes from the right place. Because in Rod's hands it's as stale as a day old loaf at the back of the bakery. Quick, get some water before I choke...
Well you can't blame a guy for knowing who his audience is. But you can blame a guy for shamelessly pandering to it at the expense of the music (in general) that made him famous. Rock N Roll is not something to be made product of. And while the cynical may quip its all product and while their is nothing wrong with an artist keeping his eye on the prize, if you call an album "Great Rock Classics Of Our Time" and its by a formerly celebrated rock star, it better have something more to it then trying to be as uncreative and inoffensive as possible so that your new audience will lap it up as if it were something special. Because after all, its Rod Stewart. And he sings the classics, right? Um, yeah. And I got a condo in Florida if you're interested.
realy poor effort. even by cover album standards.This Message Edited On 10.20.06
