Rod Stewart - Vagabond Heart

I had pretty much written this review off as “Rod Stewart equals 70s star, soccer, he used to date Rachel Hunter, he’s got a famous haircut and he sang Do You Think I’m Sexy”.  That was about all I knew of Rob Stewart and had just thought this would have made it to number 1 because his old fans bought his new album in droves.  Let me say from the outset that I was totally wrong, and I was really surprised by this album.

 

I guess you’ve got a star (yes, I’ll admit a 70s star) who actually had to be able to sing when he became famous.  This meant that he actually was talented and had to know what material works for him.  So, it plays to his strengths.  He co-produced this album and it has a lot of hits on it, his voice is strong, and it really suits the material.  There’s a bit of a Celtic vibe on some of the songs (no surprise there really), it’s got a duet with Tina Turner and while it may be smooth adult contemporary rock (normally an insult) this is actually quite a classy album.