Rod Stewart has spent four decades being a rock star, three being a parent, and has a new album's worth of rollicking stories to tell. Time is his first album of new material in almost 20 years (and his hairstyle hasn't changed one bit!) Time, which was released May 7th, 2013, marks Stewart's long-awaited return to his songwriting roots and features 12 tracks, 11 of which he wrote and produced. The album was born from a burst of inspiration that came while Rod was reviewing his life for his recent memoir, Rod. Rod rediscovered his voice as a songwriter and rekindled his gift for writing the honest, nerve-touching narratives that have been the cornerstone to the first three decades of his career. "Suddenly ideas for lyrics were piling up in my head," he says. "Next thing I knew, I had a song called 'It's Over' about divorce and separation. And now I was getting up in the middle of the night and scrambling for a pen to write things down, which has never happened to me. I finished seven or eight songs very quickly and I still wasn't done, and it became apparent that I would eventually have a whole album of material to record." Along with the release of Time, Stewart is set to embark on the European leg of his Live the Life tour on June 1st, while American dates with Steve Winwood will kick off October 17th.
The album is exactly what you would expect from Stewart, scratchy voice and all. Rather than going song by song like I did with Bublé's album, let me just share my very favorite tracks from the album.
Rod Stewart starts on a high note with "She Makes Me Happy". It's hard not to like such a catchy tune that is so upbeat and happy. When you watch the music video you can really tell he gets into the song and loves singing this song, a bit surprising for a 68 year old.
The second song, "Can't Stop Me Now", about his experience getting into the music business is pretty fun. After that song, it really all starts to sound the same to me. Lots of romance, sex, and divorce. I know "It's Over" has been pretty popular on the charts, and I'm sure it's beautiful, but I have to admit I'm a bit sick of it. The album picks up again with the faster "It's a Beautiful Morning". Every song on this cd is full of emotion making it a very inspiring and surprising cd to listen to.
The album definitely ends on a high note (or low note depending on how you think about it) with a ballad "Pure Love". Talking about friendship, family, and living life to the fullest, this is by far one of the most powerful songs on the cd and a great song on which to end the album.
If you were or are a fan of Stewart's original music, I definitely recommend giving Time a listen. Obviously, as shown by the charts, it will not disappoint! And, if you do listen, let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
