After seeing Rod Stewart live in concert recently, I went in search of "It Takes Two" which had brought the house down at his show. Although I own many of his CD's, this cut was not on any of the ones I had. Although I bought it strictly for this Rod/Tina Turner duet, I found many more "lesser known" songs I thoroughly enjoy on this one. "Rebel Heart" is classic Rocking Rod for those of us who first fell in love with him in the 1970's. The soulful "When A Man's In Love" is also alone worth the cost of the CD. Equally enjoyable are the classic "Rhythm of My Heart" and his delightful homage to Motown with "The Motown Song." I've been playing this one over and over and pondering why it never achieved the success of his other albums.

Originally released in 1991, it was his 18th album and is dedicated to his father who had recently passed away. It was his father that had the foresight to give him a guitar on this 14th birthday instead of the model railway equipment Rod requested. Rock music owes a deep debt of gratitude to Mr. Robert Joseph Stewart for such an inspirational gift.

From the critic's review by John Aizlewood or even the first customer review, you might get the impression that this is a so-so CD. I have a number of Rod's other albums, including Downtown Train and Sing it Again Rod. I have never been a huge fan but to me this is the finest CD he has ever done, reflecting his roots and giving a wonderful balance between ballad and rock. Unlike his other albums, I keep coming back to this one, and I find it has aged well. Mr. Aizlewood misinterprets his Motown songs as an attempt to be Motown rather than a way for him to express his admiration for the genre. They still retain a distinctively Rod Stewart quality. (By the way, I truly wonder when Mr. Aizlewood mentions Downtown Train, which is not even on this CD). Rhythm Of My Heart is undoubtedly the strongest song, having a Celtic quality to it which is enhanced by the bagpipes, and Moment of Glory is the weakest. Yet to call any of it "filler" is a true disservice to the music, as is starting the review by talking about the singer's arrested emotional development. The yearning evident is If Only and Have I Told You lately is moving, and both songs show a reflective and mature understanding of mistakes and regrets in love. The great variety of musical expression on the different tracks does not detract from a unified thread of style and melodic theme which hold the CD together. If you have any interest in solid ballards and soulful rock all with a Celtic tinge, this is a must have.

This album is one of my favorite Rod Stewart albums. As a huge Rod Stewart fan, that is high praise. The Motown song is exactly what is it should be, a tribute to an era of music. Mr. Stewart proved again that he is one of the lasting stars of rock.

This one is Rod Stewart at his best. The voice, the music, and the lyrics. This is a compact and quality collection all over. From the first Track Rythm of my Heart to the last
Track 13. If only, is a rear joy to listen to this CD. Some tracks are not realy up there in rock and roll heaven, so it have some minor fault to put the "masterpiece mark" on it. Nevertheless. The great Tracks on this one realy shines, like the slow rock and roller called Broken Arrow (Track 3). The voice of Rod Stewart realy fit`s in on this one, and a realaxable "wall of sound" with the right instrumental "plink and plonk " sounds in the back ground. Track 4 It takes two The duet with Tina Turner kicks off and gives you a rock and roll song to clap your`e hands and stamp your`e feet to the groovy rythm and vocal. A real "heartstarter" this one. Anyway my favoruite on this one is Track 7 The Motown Song. It`s a homage to the Motown greatness from back then. From the beginning to the end this one has the right feel and groove all trough. It`s a very enthusiastic song, which realy shines on every note. In other words. It has the right temperature for
feeling happy with a smile on your face, after the listen. The rest is a fine mix with ballad and more uptempo songs, with track 10 Have I told you lately, as a stand out in the "ballad department". Track 12 Downtown Train, written by Tom Waits has hit potensial, and Stewart does it in his own way, and there`s nothing wrong with that, so long it has his creative input stamped all over. To sum-up this is Vagabond joy from Rod Stewart . One of his best CD, ever.

It doesn't come close to the magnificent "Every Picture Tells A Story", but compared to Rod Stewart's awful 80s output, "Vagabond Heart" is actually a pretty strong and quite diverse album.

The production is a bit slick, but Stewart's performance is soulful and sincere, and "Vagabond Heart" includes a great cover of Runrig's "Rhythm Of My Heart", a couple of very good originals ("Rebel Heart", "When A Man's In Love"), the radio-friendly duet with Tina Turner, "It Takes Two", a fine rendition of Van Morrison's beautiful ballad "Have I Told You Lately", and a swinging rendition of Larry John McNally's "The Motown Song".

"Vagabond Heart" is quite heavily influenced by soul music (and less by disco, fortunately), and even though it contains a lot of "filler", there are also several really good songs here.
Worth picking up for Rod Stewart-fans (unless they're only fans of his disco-period in the 80s).
3 1/2 stars.