2014’s gonna be alright for fans of Rod Stewart. Following 2012’s sex-drugs-and-rock-and-roll memoir Rod: The Autobiography and the 2013 release of Rarities (largely culled from the box set The Rod Stewart Sessions: 1971-1998), the one-time Rod the Mod and all-time superstar is still in a reflective mood. Stewart will look back on three decades of concert performances with the March 18 release from Warner Bros. Records of Live 1976-1998: Tonight’s the Night. This long-rumored box set consists
Rod Stewart, Rarities (Mercury/UMe) It's Rod at his rarest: two discs of outtakes, non-LP singles and other good stuff, including two unreleased BBC session tracks. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Jefferson Starship, Live in Central Park NYC May 12, 1975 / Claudia Lennear, Phew! / Ponderosa Twins Plus One, 2+2+1=Ponderosa Twins Plus One / Jo Ann Campbell, All the Hits--Her Complete Cameo Recordings / Joanie Sommers, Come Alive!--The Complete Columbia Recordings / Stonewall Jackson, Original
Earlier this year, Rod Stewart released Time, marking the return of Stewart the songwriter. Time found the one-time Mod in reflective mode. Rolling Stone praised its “lighthearted warmth” while The Guardian noted its “wistful, nostalgic love songs [and] thoughtful divorce laments.” Clearly, Stewart had found some inspiration following a decade-long sojourn into the Great American Songbook, classic rock and soul tracks, and even holiday music. These “covers” collections left many critics cold
Fate works in mysterious ways. Dionne Warwick was home one evening, half-asleep while the 1982 film Night Shift played on her television set. “I didn’t really pay attention to the names that were going up on the credits,” Warwick recounted, “but I knew that was Burt Bacharach’s melody. There was no way in the world it could be anybody else’s.” She was speaking of “That’s What Friends Are For,” an all-but-forgotten song written for the 1982 film Night Shift, Ron Howard’s major big screen
George Michael, Faith: Legacy Edition (Epic/Legacy) There's going to be a review of the two-disc/one-DVD edition of this album (also available as a deluxe box set) coming up later today, but let me say right now: Damn. If you forgot how good this record was - how it makes a lot of '80s pop look temporarily flawed and full of effort - go buy this immediately. I'll wait. (Official site) Bob Marley and The Wailers, Live Forever: September 23, 1980 - The Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA (Tuff
Nobody's denying the greatness of Rod Stewart's early career, both with The Faces and on his own. But since 2002, the man can't stop putting out MOR albums devoted to The Great American Songbook. And it's inspired a host of copycats, from Barry Manilow to Phil Collins. Not content with his five(!) Songbook LPs, J Records will release The Best of The Great American Songbook next year. It's a no-frills collection of the highlights of all those albums and will probably sell a million copies to the
Anyone worried about last year's report on the seeming demise of Rhino Entertainment can rest a little easier. Not only are they still afloat, but Rhino handmade, their specialty boutique arm, is actually offering a poll to bring back into print one of several limited edition sets. Speaking of Rhino, there are a few neat new online-only titles up for sale. There's Rod Stewart's Once in a Blue Moon, a semi-"lost" album of covers intended for release in 1993; an exhaustively comprehensive Wilson