With a catalogue spanning 40 years, Rod Stewart catalogue has shown he has no problem baring his soul, or wearing his heart on his sleeve, as in the ballads “Have I Told You Lately” and “You’re In My Heart.”
The spiky haired Englishman has covered essentials such as Sam Cooke’s “Twistin’ the Night Away” and the Isley Brothers’ “This Old Heart of Mine” in a stretch of time where he has managed to merge his more rock oriented persona with a more soulful sensibility. The combination has led him to create the highly successful “Songbook” series of albums that feature him wrapping his rasp around “It Had to Be You” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” pulling
The spiky haired Englishman has covered essentials such as Sam Cooke’s “Twistin’ the Night Away” and the Isley Brothers’ “This Old Heart of Mine” in a stretch of time where he has managed to merge his more rock oriented persona with a more soulful sensibility. The combination has led him to create the highly successful “Songbook” series of albums that feature him wrapping his rasp around “It Had to Be You” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” pulling
e and not only reaching a new audience, but reinventing himself in the process.
“Soulbook” (J Records) is his latest album of covers. Stewart’s impeccable taste in material is only matched by the genuine love he has for these melodies that he shamelessly exhibits on the first few a capella moments of the opening track, the Four Tops’ “It’s the Same Old Song.” It hardly is, as the track’s tastefully restrained arrangements serve as a comfortable backdrop against which Stewart can sing these songs without sounding self conscious or overwrought.
And while his version of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” sounds somewhat flat, he more than makes up for it on luminous versions of Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes’ “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” and Brook Benton’s “Rainy Night in Georgia.”
To make the affair even more impressive, Stewart shares the microphone with some of soul’s best: Smokey Robinson (“Tracks of My Tears”) and Stevie Wonder (“My Cherie Amour”).
But Stewart isn’t interested in creating duets with only the legends, as he offers a sweet and sultry version of “Let It Be Me” with Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and a smooth reworking of the Stylistics’ “You Make Me Feel Brand New” with Mary J. Blige.
His affection for these songs is most obvious on his gorgeous reading of the Temptations’ “Just My Imagination,” a song that ironically fits his latest persona of a man who is far from being caught up in a daydream.
Hall, Oates hit it
Daryl Hall and John Oates hit their first No. 1 single in 1977 with “Rich Girl,” but the duo’s breakthrough album, “Voices” didn’t happen until 1980.
That album spun off four Top 40 hits that included “How Does It Feel To Be Back,” a cover of the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin,” the infectious “You Make My Dreams” and the runaway chart-topper “Kiss On My List.”
The duo’s musical story is presented in a collection of rarities, demos and million elling songs on “Do What You Want Be What You Are: The Music of Daryl Hall and John Oates” (RCA/Legacy), an ambitious four baisc box set. Every No. 1 hit is here including “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” and “Out of Touch” as well as every Top 10 hit, among which “Say It Isn’t So,” “One on One” and “Family Man” are highlights.
Rare live performances, including songs from their first British concert in 1975 and outtakes from their best selling albums, not only offer a peek into the duo’s creative process, but cast a new light on their albums as some of these tracks are as good as the material released.
The impressive booklet not only houses an expansive collection of memorabilia, but also includes interesting testimonials from such luminaries as Gamble and Huff, Todd Rundgren, Carly Simon, Mick Jagger and Rick Neilsen of Cheap Trick.
The title of the collection is taken from an early Hall and Oates hit that reflects the duo’s collective and individual philosophies of being true to oneself, and with their unabashed love of soul music along with their uncanny pop sensibilities successfully executed through their stellar musicianship, Hall and Oates have created history by simply being themselves.
“Soulbook” (J Records) is his latest album of covers. Stewart’s impeccable taste in material is only matched by the genuine love he has for these melodies that he shamelessly exhibits on the first few a capella moments of the opening track, the Four Tops’ “It’s the Same Old Song.” It hardly is, as the track’s tastefully restrained arrangements serve as a comfortable backdrop against which Stewart can sing these songs without sounding self conscious or overwrought.
And while his version of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” sounds somewhat flat, he more than makes up for it on luminous versions of Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes’ “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” and Brook Benton’s “Rainy Night in Georgia.”
To make the affair even more impressive, Stewart shares the microphone with some of soul’s best: Smokey Robinson (“Tracks of My Tears”) and Stevie Wonder (“My Cherie Amour”).
But Stewart isn’t interested in creating duets with only the legends, as he offers a sweet and sultry version of “Let It Be Me” with Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and a smooth reworking of the Stylistics’ “You Make Me Feel Brand New” with Mary J. Blige.
His affection for these songs is most obvious on his gorgeous reading of the Temptations’ “Just My Imagination,” a song that ironically fits his latest persona of a man who is far from being caught up in a daydream.
Hall, Oates hit it
Daryl Hall and John Oates hit their first No. 1 single in 1977 with “Rich Girl,” but the duo’s breakthrough album, “Voices” didn’t happen until 1980.
That album spun off four Top 40 hits that included “How Does It Feel To Be Back,” a cover of the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin,” the infectious “You Make My Dreams” and the runaway chart-topper “Kiss On My List.”
The duo’s musical story is presented in a collection of rarities, demos and million elling songs on “Do What You Want Be What You Are: The Music of Daryl Hall and John Oates” (RCA/Legacy), an ambitious four baisc box set. Every No. 1 hit is here including “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” and “Out of Touch” as well as every Top 10 hit, among which “Say It Isn’t So,” “One on One” and “Family Man” are highlights.
Rare live performances, including songs from their first British concert in 1975 and outtakes from their best selling albums, not only offer a peek into the duo’s creative process, but cast a new light on their albums as some of these tracks are as good as the material released.
The impressive booklet not only houses an expansive collection of memorabilia, but also includes interesting testimonials from such luminaries as Gamble and Huff, Todd Rundgren, Carly Simon, Mick Jagger and Rick Neilsen of Cheap Trick.
The title of the collection is taken from an early Hall and Oates hit that reflects the duo’s collective and individual philosophies of being true to oneself, and with their unabashed love of soul music along with their uncanny pop sensibilities successfully executed through their stellar musicianship, Hall and Oates have created history by simply being themselves.
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