A Brief History:
In the 60s, I liked Rod the Mod's single Good Morning Little Schoolgirl. He was great when he fronted The Jeff Beck Group and also with Python Lee Jackson as a session singer. Shucks, Maggie May is still one of my favorite songs. In the 70s, he entered the next phase of his career with those pseudo disco sex anthems like Do You Think I'm Sexy and Hotlegs which still make me want to hurl chunks of undigested bile. In the 80's, he teamed up with Jeff Beck again for People Get Ready and I was hoping they would record an entire album together, but things didn't work out. Amazingly, he's had unbelievable success with two CDs of standards. "Still The Same" uses the same formula, except these rock classics sound like lounge music to me. What's even worse is that on the CD cover he looks like Tammy Faye Bakker (RIP) on a bad hair day.

It may well be that Rod Stewart is becoming the Frank Sinatra of his generation, and who could've guessed it way back when he was a skinny young punk with the Faces? The fact is, Rod has always been a superb interpreter of lyrics, melodies, and moods, and with this collection, he takes on some of rock's greatest classics and...well, if he doesn't make them his own, he certainly at least does them proud.

Truthfully, I can remember thinking back in the day when some of these songs were released, "Hey, Rod Stewart could do a great job with this tune." I mean, when I first heard Bonnie Tyler singing, "It's A Heartache," I thought it WAS Rod. Well, he finally gets his chance here to cover these classics, and--as Michael McDonald did with his Motown CDs--he brings a lot of love and energy to the material.

I won't say that Rod's versions exceed the originals, but it's a joy to hear him put his soulful stamp on "I'll Stand By You," "Have You Ever Seen the Rain," and "Everything I Own." The title track is a superb choice for Rod. I love Bob Seger's original, but I was surprised how appropriate it is for Rod to sing as well--it's almost autobiographical at times, and the song packs a lot of emotion and pathos.

"Father & Son" is a very moving song, and as a George Harrison fan, I appreciated the Stewart-ized "If Not for You." Rod's stirring cover of "Everything I Own" is not an obvious choice, but the more I listen to it, the more I think it just may...MAY...mind you...top the original.

In my opinion, there are really no weak moments here. Some reviewers have criticized the arranging, the instrumentation, or the production, but it seems the producer, maestro Clive Davis, was really deliberately (and wisely) aiming to put Rod's voice up front and center, where it belongs. And, it must be said, that the musicianship throughout is topnotch and well done by a very stellar supporting cast.

Overall, it's a great collection of tunes, rendered by a rock legend and master interpreter. While these versions may not, in general, always top the originals, they do make for excellent listening, and also serve to preserve some classic tunes for a whole new generation. (And, believe me, this is not just "music for old people." A lot of teens are getting turned onto vintage rock and soul because they are sick of the tuneless sameness of today's hip hop or prefab girly schlock or thrash metal.)

Good job, Rod, and happy listening everyone!

Rod needs to take a listen to the Faces "A Nod is as good as a wink" or his own "Gasoline Alley" to remind him that he once had deep authentic soul and heartfelt grit and he was once a hard core rock n' roller.
The money, success, cars, mansions, top 20 Disco hits, and the exploitation of big band which never suited his artistic abilties to begin with have crushed his rock n' roll heart.
This album here is Rod does rock ala bad Vegas style meaning there's routine by the numbers uninspired spineless rock n' roll bull.
Do the right thing and buy Faces "A nod is as good as a wink" to hear Rod when he was "Rod the MOD" and skip this platter of SELL OUT.
CHEERS!
STRATCAT (O.F.)

THIS IS A GREAT SELECTION OF SONGS THAT ROD SINGS TO PERFECTION. THIS COLLECTION DOES NOT HAVE A LOUD MUSIC SCORE THAT DROWNS OUT ROD'S WONDERFUL SINGING. HE IS SUCH A VERSATILE SINGER AND I AM THRILLED THAT HE IS GOING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION BY SINGING HIS SAME SOULFUL, SEXY STYLE ONLY WITH A GENTLER SOUND.

This album is the WORST kind of garbage the music industry puts out these days. Not only can Stewart no longer sing, but the arrangements are either identical to the originals or done so badly that in the days when anyone had taste he'd be ridiculed under a rock where he belongs for singing (or screeching) along with them. And this "Give him some slack! He's 61!". Exactly. There's a point where you should know it's time to fade away before you start looking like an idiot.

Get a clue people (that is anyone who buys this and encourages more albums like it). It's products like this that sell millions of copies to tasteless fans that keep the music industry from being forced to go out, find and take a chance on a new artist that might actually have something fresh to offer to the public. All he's doing is saying "I'm Rod Stewart, you like me, here's some songs other people did well that you also liked, I'm going to butcher them now, so buy them". Way to ride those coat tails Rod.

Do yourselves and everyone else a favor. If you like Rod Stewart, buy his old albums. If you like these songs (which aren't the greatest collection ever compiled to begin with) go hunt down the originals which are so much better and burn them on a cd together. And don't even get me started about his American Songbook collections. If he's allowed to follow this up with three more like it as he did with the standards it may signal the end of American music forever.