Rod Stewart: Time
Rod Stewart
Time
(Capitol Records)
The light, acoustic, tambourine-led, (I’m sorry to say) slightly banal lyrics of âShe Makes Me Happyâ opens Rod Stewartâs 15-track album, Time. Itâs a nice tune all the same though, as is âCanât Stop Me Now,â with its sing-able chorus, but I think the sweeter (and again, acoustic guitar-led) âBrighton Beachâ is a better stab at autobiography. This is the tune Rod claims got him back to writing songs again after a two-decade, âlongest writerâs block in history.â
âItâs Overâ is really damn good. It’s a tune about the trials and tribulations of a failed marriage. Rodâs distinctive voice and perfectly placed strings really make the goose flesh rise.
There are some fun horns and electric guitar on big mover âFinest Womanâ and a floaty Rhodes sound to the title track, a sneaky bluesy mid-tempo number. Thereâs also a sense of on-the-edge-of-desperation to âPure Loveâ that works breathlessly with Rodâs nearly weeping vocal.
Itâs just nice having Rod co-writing almost every tune here. Of the covers (two as part of the bonus tracks), he sounds great on the sweet âLove Has No Prideâ and on the spectacular gospel-tinged string-laden upright bass take on Tom Waitsâ âPicture In A Frame.â As he did on âDowntown Train,â Rod kicks it out of the park interpreting Waits.
Mostly the lyrics of Time are exactly what a guy of Rodâs age should be writing about (though some are a little too sweet for me personally) and I think this album should be seen as a companion to Stewartâs recently released Rod: The Autobiography hardcover.