Record Reviews

ROD STEWART ~ THE ROD STEWART SESSIONS 1971-1998 WARNER BROS. 081227985387 (Barcode: 081227985387) ~ UK ~ Pop & Rock Recorded: 1971 - 1998 I have always had a soft spot for Rod StewartFind albums by this artist, ever since I´ve met him when he was the soloist of the legendary Jeff BeckFind albums by this artist group, before he moved on to front FacesFind albums by this artist. The two albums he recorded with Beck and his first two solo albums are still among my favorite Rock albums which I like to revisit from time to time. Stewart´s sensational career spanning more than five decades is an exceptional story of 20th Century music and he still manages to move his audiences now, past his 70th Birthday. Old Rockers die hard and he is one of those who keep the memory of past decades alive. When Stewart started to record the "Great American SongbookFind albums with this title" series, he was viscously ridiculed by "critics", especially those from Jazz circles, who considered his interpretation of standards to be a profanity. In truth Stewart sang these standards better than most contemporary American Jazz singers. Stewart proved over time that he fits comfortably into a wide variety of formats and genres within the Rock and Pop idioms. His sensitivity to melody and his ability to play around with his voice are truly remarkable and basically unparalleled by any other vocalist. Therefore his position in Rock history is well deserved and fully justified. This wonderful Box Set is an obvious labor of love, which happens only thanks to dedicated people, who are willing to spend endless hours and move mountains to do what they think is the right thing. In this case producer Andy ZaxFind albums by this artist, who listened for endless hours to the original recording tapes of the albums made by Stewart starting with his third album "Every Picture Tells A StoryFind albums with this title" from 1971 and right through the album "When We Were The New BoysFind albums with this title" from 1998, collecting all the unreleased material from these sessions and presenting them all here, 63 tracks spread over four CDs, all beautifully remastered. Stewart sings his heart out all the way through, as he always does, with his beautiful and unique throaty voice never letting the listener down. Mind you these are outtakes, alternate takes and other material which is supposed to be of secondary quality and importance, but you would never guess this is the fact, as they are simply all classic Rod Stewart at his best. The CDs are beautifully packaged in a digibook format with a great booklet describing the music track by track and including many photographs. Stewart´s fans will find this a must of course, as all this material is nowhere else to be found, but honestly this is great Rock music which all music connoisseurs should find interesting.

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted:

CD 4 Box Set Remastered Recommend To A Friend