Here is the CD that sets the mood for romance. The only reason this album is added to my collection is the flavor of Rod Stewart's romantic hits of the 1990s. If We Fall In Love Tonight, For the First Time, Have I Told You Lately and All For Love are some of those hits that are not available in any of Stewart's greatest hits albums. Stewart also included some revival songs for his version of When I need You (Leo Sayer) and Sometimes When We Touch (Dan Hill), which are also sensational. The rest are standard songs that can be found in his other albums especially in his Storyteller collection, which I also have. All in all, the dedication that is put in the creation of this album is outstanding. Stewart has made numerous hits and this collection narrows down to the romantic ballads of the past three decades. Nicely done.

He may be the great 70's rocker, Rod the Mod, but when you listen to this CD, you can close your eyes and feel the hauntingly romantic rhythms this versatile performer delivers like no other. Could there be a more sexually-stirring song than "For The First Time?" Or a more achingly romantic rendition than the one he gives on "When I Need You?" And there's 13 more great cuts filled with brooding passion, mellow moments, and wistful dreaming. Great romance, great CD.

I don't know if I could ever fully express my gratitude to Rod.. A couple of years back, I had a blind date.. Well, she was more attractive than I ever could have expected; I was at a loss for words and I simply just froze up. I had gone into this date with no expectations; I didn't bring flowers; I simply just honked when I arrived at her place of residence.. When we started to leave for our destination(on the phone,I had originally flat out lied and told her I was broke and could only afford Subway; and to go dutch at the dollar cinema)she was cold. When I was able to compose myself and actually attempt to make conversation, I got nothing. She clearly wasn't impressed with me. I attempted to smooth things over by telling her that she didn't look anything like I had expected; she expressed the same sentiment to me, but unfortunately, before we met, she told me that I had a gorgeous voice.. Anyway, there we were driving; her head turned towards the window; I'm quickly grasping for any possible solution to pull me out of this hole.. Then, I remember, I had taken my Grandmother out to lunch earlier in the week, and she had left a Rod Stewart album in my stereo. Normally, I wouldn't think twice about it, but this was no ordinary Stewart disc. No, this wasn't his humdrum work from the early '70s, or that lame duet with Jeff Beck.. this was the sensual guarantee of being asked in at the end of the night.

I started with the first track, "If We Fall In Love Tonight"; I needed to get the message to this girl that it was okay, She could let go, and who better to help me express this sentiment than Rod? As the vocal started, she actually turned her attention away from the passing traffic and commented that she thought she had heard this one before, but couldn't put her finger on the time or place.
It didn't get me very far, but at least she was talking..
Then, I skipped ahead to "For The First Time"; at that point, she spoke again, and said that this one always reminded her of a root canal. I didn't understand, but then she explained that there was a version of this that the guy who did the song "Footloose" did, and when she had some dental issues a few years back, she heard the song, over and over again while sitting in the chair.
This wasn't going at all as I had planned, so I moved ahead to "When I Need You"; all of the sudden, I felt an arm come around my shoulder- she giggled and whispered in my ear, "you know what this one is really about, don't you?" Well, I had no clue what she was talking about, but what difference did it make? I was finally getting somewhere, so I smiled and nodded, and let the track play in it's entirety.

When, "Have I Told You Lately" began, I felt her hand on my knee. She told me that for some reason, this remix took her back to high school, when a video by the group "Color Me Bad" was popular, in which a man and woman were trapped together in an elevator.. I couldn't believe how much this girl could blab, but I didn't care, the CD was working, she was getting increasingly heated up.

By track eight, we were kissing rather intensely, and no, it's no coincidence that the song playing was a slow jam like "The First Cut Is The Deepest".
The deal was pretty much set with "Tonight's The Night", but when my date didn't hear the French whispers at the end, she cooled off a little bit. I almost panicked, but then "Sometimes When We Touch" closed the deal. It went back to the whole elevator scenario again(shrug); only this time it was a connection to an Aerosmith song.. Whatever the case, it didn't matter, she asked if I wanted to pass on our plans for the evening and just go back to her place for a drink.. Thank you, Rod..
Oh and no, you don't have to ask, we finished the CD once we arrived at her place- it all went well until the last two tracks: "Forever Young '96" started her talking about her need to start a family before she was too old; and I'm sure "All For Love", featuring Bryan Adams and Sting is self explanatory..

Anyway, after this release, I thought we almost lost Rod; he actually put out an album in '98(When We Were The New Boys) that featured rockers, where he was attempting to go back to his roots(yawn).. but it's always darkest before the dawn; he then did a motivational song for the "Patch Adam's" soundtrack- and then the flood.. "The Great American Songbook". With this exceptional, four volume set, we realized Rod hadn't lost anything; and I'm sure I don't have to explain my good fortunes on subsequent dates.

Stewart has proven again that his raspy signature sound can grace romantic love songs as well as rockers, and "If We Fall in Love Tonight" is no exception. Reserve it for that tender moment with your lover. Wanna get lucky? Give her "The Rod".
This is an peculiar combination of some new and some previously released material, some studio re-mixes, and Rod's version of a few songs by other artists. And not every track seems to fit the compilation's title which suggests "soft, sultry love songs." When this 15-song disc is loaded in my CD player, I program it to play tracks 1 to 11, then repeat, but that's just personal preference, as I'm not exactly moved by "Broken Arrow" or "All For Love" featuring an equally raspy, but far less melodic Bryan Adams. I would have preferred all works on the CD be more like the first two, the title track "If we Fall in Love" and the hauntingly poetic "For The First Time." Rod sings "Have I Told You Lately" in a studio re-mix that is far superior to the live version that was on the charts. The benefit of ProTools and new recording technology assures that every note is on key. He need not strain to hit the high ones or resort to speaking the lyrics.
Also included are RS versions of the 70's Leo Sayer hit "When I Need You", Carol King's "So Far Away" and a poignant rendition of "Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill. All in all, there are soft love songs and love-gone-bad songs, plus a few not-so-soft love songs (Tracks 12-15 that I usually program out).

Classic music to hit-the-sack by, but use cautiously, as it contains seductive vocals, some that imply commitment! I had picked up this CD as one of my club selections back in 1998, but never really gave it a listen. Then, in the Spring of 2000, magic happened: through a locator service, I tracked down my long lost high school sweetheart from 25 years ago. I sent her a plane ticket to come visit me in Florida, and we spent the most romantic week of our lives in an oceanfront hotel room, rekindling our old flame with the help of this CD. And, as Rod says, "For the first time..." I listened to these beautifully orchestrated love songs, whose lyrics seemed to perfectly fit our feelings. We were married 4 months later, now happier than ever (we both had gone through two previous marriages to the wrong partners). Today, this collection is a reminder of that week in paradise when we were re-acquainted.

Thank you, Rod, for singing the words my love and I were feeling!

This album is about as good as they come. Get it today, you wont regret it.