Part 8: In Which Our Hero Continues His Chart Topping Ways By Staying Forever Young
Rod Stewart had continued to have hits as the 1980’s marched towards the halfway point. Stewart however would start slowing down his musical output. From 1970-1984, Stewart had released 16 albums between his solo efforts and his time with The Faces.
Stewart however, would start focusing more on the quality of his output again. Both Body Wishes and Camouflage had their moments, but did not quite live up to the lofty standards that Stewart had set for himself.
Before Our Hero released his next studio album, he lent his vocals to his old mate, Jeff Beck.
Flash July 1985 Jeff Beck Album
274. People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield)
Jeff Beck was known to be hard to work with. He would only release an album every couple of years, but when he did, they usually were pretty solid. Stewart and Beck teamed up the year prior for a couple of songs off of Stewart’s Camouflage album. Stewart returns the favor by turning up on Beck’s album Flash.
The dynamic duo pair up for a stirring rendition of what Martin Luther King Jr. named the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. No one can touch The Impressions original recording, but if you are going to try, it better be two of the greatest performers of all time.
Stewart slays on the vocals and Beck is up to the challenge on the guitar. Beck’s version is a little more rough but it needs to be. It gives the song a whole new life.
Grade: A+
Rod entered the studio again 1985. After his successful album, Camouflage, Stewart had confidence of working with his new manager Arnold Stiefel for a couple of years and seemed focused on delivering a more thoughtful and substantial album. And while reviews in Rolling Stone were brutal, with hip if there was the internet at the time, click-baity sentences like, “but it’s encouraging to see signs of life from this likable dinosaur (for the record, Rod Stewart was 41 when Every Beat of My Heart dropped, my age. Far from a dinosaur. I wonder if these “music critics” are eating crow, here we are nearly 40 years later and he is still relevant and releasing new music.)
Every Beat of My Heart June 23, 1986
275. Here to Eternity (Rod Stewart, Kevin Savigar)
Crime and punishment is the subject that Our Hero has explored several times in the past. Most effectively on Scarred and Scared, on Here to Eternity Stewart takes the role of a woman who’s husband has been arrested on a robbery he did not commit. The law and the court doesn’t listen to her and the song is a plead to the justice system and to “Jimmy Doyle”.
Rod sings the hell out of the song, with a show stopping, sing along chorus;
“But I love him, Here to Eternity, Forever, unto Eternity, Oh God gave me something I must hold onto, Gonna hold onto him, no matter what you do, cause I love him to eternity.”
Rod ends the song with the sentencing of Jimmy to death. With some haunting, beautiful lyrics, “But Amanda with her long red hair made one last plea, As the court fell into silence, she cried out desperately!”
Grade: A
276. Another Heartache (Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, Randy Wayne)
“Believe me darlin’ this ain’t no game, if you think I’ll be your fool you better think again, I know you love me, but it just ain’t right, I’m sick and tired of fighting with you every night.”
I love this song. Stewart is in top vocal form. He destroys Another Heartache with raw emotion and singing prowess. Stewart had glimmers of greatness on his previous two albums, but on Every Beat of My Heart, Stewart is firing on all cylinders. Gone is most of the studio embellishments that found their way on his early 80’s albums. Back is Stewart in full vocal force. And he flexes his muscles on this winning track. The video is also first rate. Here to Eternity signaled the return of reflective Rod, Another Heartache signaled the return of the best singer in rock ‘n’ roll.
Grade: A+
There is an extended version of Another Heartache on the digital extended version of “Every Beat of My Heart”. More of a remix, that peculiarly adds “I love you honey” from Hot Legs.The music mix is different, some added lyrics but essentially the same song. Not sure if it adds anything to the song but it is fun.
277. A Night Like This (Rod Stewart)
In more ways than one, the album Every Beat of My Heart is a return to a more familiar Rod Stewart. While Stewart will never recapture the magic and looseness of his early albums, it was refreshing to hear him truly go back to his rock roots.
A Night Like This is about the deflowering of a young man, with a more experienced woman. Not as self deprecating and vindictive as Maggie May but it still contains trademark humor from Our Hero. “I’m a set designer, my mum and dad thinking I’m gay.” Driving beat propels the song and Stewart is again in top vocal form.
Grade: B
278. Who’s Gonna Take Me Home (The Rise and Fall of a Budding Gigolo) (Rod Stewart, Kevin Savigar, Jay Davis)
“Well, I arrived on time, in my corduroy suit and me bottle of wine.” Rod is great at writing songs about making an ass of himself at parties (see Had Me a Real Good Time). I think it might be the greatest song title ever too.
The song is silly but funny and Stewart crushes it vocally. Is it Rod’s deepest song? No. Is it fun and I never skip it when it pops up? Hell yes!
I love the final verse, “I woke up, on the floor, still in my suit she told me I snored, I never felt so cheap, I had a good laugh at the size of her feet.”
Grade: B+
279. Red Hot in Black (Rod Stewart, Jim Cregan, Kevin Savigar)
Rod tries to tame a beautiful, black-haired(!) woman in Paris. His exploits of trying to get her into bed, and Stewart’s trademark humor keeps this blistering song going.
I love the lyrics, “Hey boys! Mystery, Didn’t even know her name, one night in Paris with a girl like that, never going home again.”
The breakneck pace adds to the fun of the track.
Grade: B+
There is an alternate mix of Red Hot in Black on the digital extended version of “Every Beat of My Black.” It’s more aggressive and brings Rod’s voice forward slightly more. Same lyrics, but drops some of the background embellishments.
280. Love Touch (Mike Chapman, Gene Black, Holly Knight)
This is a weird one. Rod sings the hell out of this song on the other hand, it is really dumb. The chorus is “I wanna give you my love touch, ooh, ooh, ooh.”
Rod stated in Storyteller “This is one of the silliest songs I’ve ever recorded. Although, hugely successful, I can’t bring myself to sing it in concert. Holly Knight has written many a good song, but this is not one of them.”
I don’t think it’s quite as bad as Stewart says, it isn’t great but it still went to number 6 on the Billboard Charts and was the theme for the popular Robert Redford movie, Legal Eagles.
Grade: C
If you can’t get enough of Love Touch, there is an extended version on the digital version of “Every Beat of My Heart”. The music plays out a little longer, the middle bridge is slightly different with a different vocal take.
281. In My Own Crazy Way (Rod Stewart, Frankie Miller, Troy Seals, Eddie Setser)
I freaking love this song. Rod gets help from Frankie Miller on a tender, slow moving song with incredible lyrics.
“I tried to keep my sanity, by being some else, someone that you, could hold onto, I only fooled myself.” Our Hero brings it home in the final verse, “the memories of you and me, are written on the wind, and sometimes girl, I’d give the world to do it all again.” The chorus is heart wrenching, “I will always love you, in my own crazy way.”
Grade: A+
A stripped down version of In My Own Crazy Way appears on the digital extended version of “Every Beat of My Heart”. More restrained and it looses the back up singers, just Rod and minimal music, great stuff.
282. Every Beat of My Heart (Rod Stewart, Kevin Savigar)
A stirring, loving song about missing home. Deeply personal to Stewart as he conjures visions of England and Scotland.
Rod once again is giving it all in an emotional 5 minute tour de force. Stewart is a master at making choruses being heartfelt and arena ready singalongs. “Seagull carry me, over land and sea, to my own folk that’s where I want to be, every beat of my heart, tears me further apart, I’m lost and alone in the dark, I’m going home!”
Grade: A+
283. Ten Days of Rain (Rod Stewart, Kevin Savigar, Tony Brock)
A ballad that is so heartbreakingly devastating that it should be a hit. Rod again is in the right headspace lyrically and vocally. Breaking up and missing the woman you love is the subject of Ten Days of Rain. Getting over someone you love is hard, and it feels like it’s raining figuratively and literally.
Here’s my favorite lyrics “I can hear the freight train whistle, I can hear the church bell toll, but her telephone line when it’s off the hook, that’s the loneliest sound of them all, in letter that she wrote me, before she went away, she said “darling love is not a hard word to say.”
Grade: A
284. In My Life (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
Strip a stone cold classic Beatles song, and sing it A Capella style with few music accompaniments, and you have a song that is, sorry to say better than The Beatles. By changing the tempo and vocally giving it a different emotion, you make it your own that is a brilliant way to close the album.
Grade: A+
To hear Stewart at his absolute best, listen to the piano version of In My Life. It can be found on the box set, The Rod Stewart Sessions.
Although Stewart scored a top 10 hit with Love Touch, and despite the album Every Beat of My Heart, being a really good album, it stalled at number 28 on the Billboard Charts. The album fared better in the UK, it reached number 5. One of the issues with the album is possibly the cover. It is a fun cover, with Our Hero underneath a train car, but it only has Rod Stewart above him. No album title and in America it was released under the title, “Rod Stewart”. The album would plant the seeds however of one of Rod’s best albums in 1988. But before we get there, we need to make a couple of stops along the way.
The single, Love Touch was a massive hit for Stewart. Stewart however did not like the song and despite its success, he rarely promoted it. On the B-side of the Love Touch 12” single contained a song intended for the album but didn’t make the cut.
285. Hard Lesson to Learn (Peter Blachley, Bernie Taupin, James Triplett)
A slow, beautiful song about loving someone who doesn’t love you back. My first response when I heard Hard Lesson to Learn was, “how did this not end up on the record?” But the more I thought about it, the song doesn’t really fit the overall experience of Every Beat of My Heart.
But Stewart sings his heart out and takes us along for the ride. It is a really good song that is now available digitally and needs to be heard.
Grade: A-
There is a stripped down version of Hard Lesson to Learn on The Rod Stewart Sessions. Just Rod and a piano. Although this version loses some of the power of the released version, it does once again prove Rod is one hell of a singer.
Before we leave 1986, The Rod Stewart Sessions released in 2009 gave us one more unreleased gem.
286. Heaven (Rod Stewart)
Not quite a finished, 8 minute long song was lost until 2009. Heaven is structurally a little different than what we accustomed to hearing from Rod. The themes are there, love that is so special that it’s like “heaven”.
The song rambles a bit, but it is almost a great idea. Stewart is trying to work out the lyrics, that are not quite finished and he is leading the band through the song. Calling out “next verse” and “guitar”. The song needs a little more oomph, but the idea is almost there. It doesn’t feel 8 minutes long which is a testament to the almost finished quality.
Grade: B-
Rod almost took 1987 off. But Hollywood called him again. With the success of Love Touch, Stewart was pegged to sing a song for the great sci-fi comedy, Innerspace. Rod would take one of his most beloved songs and update it.
Innerspace July 1987
287. Twistin’ The Night Away (Sam Cooke)
Rod would tackle a song that he previously recorded in 1972 for the album, Never A Dull Moment. I personally think this version is Rod’s definitive version. He has more confidence, sings it better and it has a driving force that is infectious. Stewart got the vibe of the film perfectly with this cover.
Where Love Touch embarrassed him, he should be damn proud of his updated Twistin’ The Night Away. The video is one of Rod’s best as well. Seeing him and Martin Short dance together is nothing short (wink) of genius.
Grade: A+
Stewart had embraced the early 80’s with new-wave and synth pop. With 1986’s Every Beat of My Heart he made a more substantial album and he took that confidence with him into the studio with the release of his 1988 masterpiece, Out of Order.
Out of Order May 23, 1988
288. Lost in You (Rod Stewart, Andy Taylor)
What a way to open an album. With the pulsating beats immediately giving you a feeling that you are in for a rocking good time. And by the time Stewart steps up to the mic and shouts, “Hey Baby!” you are sucked into one of Stewart’s most confident and best records.
The happiness is infectious, the second verse always gets me, “Hey baby! You don’t know what you’ve done for me, I’m so happy as any man can deserve to be, I was living in a life of sin, God knows what a mess I was in, So glad you find me I ain’t gettin’ any younger.”
The video is awesome, the song is awesome.
Grade: A+
On Tonight’s The Night: Live 1976-1998 there is an incredible live performance of Lost In You. What makes this version special is it adds a fourth verse that Rod would only sing live.
289. The Wild Horse (Rod Stewart, Andy Taylor)
“I ran way with a hobo and his gypsy friends” so proclaims Our Hero as he leaves his life behind for a life as a troubadour.
Rod is killing it as he rips through verse after verse landing on the chorus, “Cause a wild horse runs free, forever!”
A hidden gem that needs to be blasted and you will be singing along in no time.
Grade: A+
290. Lethal Dose of Love (Rod Stewart, Andy Taylor, Tony Brock)
Randy Rod makes a return after a song about missing your love and the love of the road. It is another crunching rock ‘n’ roll song that has some killer grooves and guitar hooks.
“Whoa, whoa dance pretty sister, you turn me on, you make my blood run hot!” I truly enjoy this song, and I am aware that they’re a lot in the Stewart community that do not car for it. But I can’t get over the beat and killer lyrics, “Oh, my family was shocked by your antics and views, the color of your lips and hair, even my brother who’s a God fearin’ man, poor boy had to sit and stare.”
Rod totally crushes this song.
Grade: B+
291. Forever Young (Rod Stewart, Jim Cregan, Kevin Savigar, Bob Dylan)
An anthem for children and their parents. One of Rod’s best songs and sung with so much power and so much emotion. Forever Young is the one song that most people that don’t listen to Rod Stewart, know and love. A love letter to his kids with some of his best lyrics.
“May good fortune be with you, may your guiding light be strong, build a stairway to heaven with a prince or a vagabond.” Chills.
Rod brings it home with an emotional and powerful final verse;
“And when you finally fly away, I’ll be hoping that I served you well, For all the wisdom of a lifetime, No one can ever tell.”
After the song was released Stewart realized that it was close lyrically to Bob Dylan’s Forever Young. He sent the song to Dylan asking if he had any objections to the song. Dylan and Stewart agreed to give Dylan a song writing credit and a share of the royalties. I sort of disagree but hats off to Rod. Yes, some of the lyrics are similar, but Rod’s version is so much meatier and powerful.
Grade: A+
There is a piano version of Forever Young on The Rod Stewart Sessions. Rod mentioned that he tried many different arrangements and tempos with the song. In his autobiography Rod got advice from a surprising source, Rod states “I almost dumped the song before it could get to the album. We were going through the tracks and discussing overdubs, and we got to “Forever Young” and I said, “I’m not happy with this song. Let’s bin it.” A bit like “Maggie May”, I wasn’t sure that it had a strong enough hook. And suddenly an engineer, a guy called Steve MacMillan, who had worked in dutiful silence throughout the entire project and never had an opinion on anything, ever, piped up and said “I wouldn’t get rid of that if I were you. It’s the best song you got.”
292. My Heart Can’t Tell You No (Simon Climie, Dennis Morgan)
Rod slows things down with a song about a woman who cheats on him and the pain that he endures. “I don’t want you to come around here no more, I beg you for mercy.” And although he stated those facts he follows that up with, “so I let you in, knowing tomorrow I’m gonna wake up missing you.”
Rod is in top form yet again. He’s voice quakes with emotion and heartbreak and lost on what he’s going to do. Although he did not write My Heart Can’t Tell You No, it is his song.
Grade: A+
There is a more haunting version of My Heart Can’t Tell You No on The Rod Stewart Sessions. Rod is delivering some of his finest phrasing and emotion in the alternate version. The lyrics are mostly the same but the string accompaniment breathes new life into the song.
293. Dynamite (Rod Stewart, Andy Taylor)
Yes! A rip roaring, boys on the town rock song. Another song that I can’t believe was not a hit. Fast guitars and fast women pepper the song.
I love the fighting guitars, in the same vein as Hot Legs. Rod sings fast and loose. After listening to Dynamite, you just want to tear it up. The chorus is a sing along anthem for you and your boys;
“It’s dynamite, on Friday nights, under the big city lights, It’s all right, all right!”
Grade: A
294. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out (Jimmy Cox)
An old blues song, first performed by Bessie Smith in 1929, Rod gives it some roughness. My guess is Rod heard Sam Cooke sing it and got the idea to record it from him. It appears on Sam’s incredible live album Live at the Copa.
It is serviceable and fun.
Grade: B
295. Crazy About Her (Rod Stewart, Duane Hutchings, Jim Cregan)
Hell yes. This is a doozy of a song. The sax, the drums, the bass, the guitars, Rod kinda rapping! Everything works in this song for me. It’s a little dark, a lot sexy and 100% awesome.
Rod has lyrics dripping with double meaning and sexiness “I see her everyday, in rush hour or subway, she don’t notice me, I might as well be a cockroach on the floor, if she belonged to me, I’d give her everything, I’d never cheat or lie, I’d treat her with respect, not just a sex object, I ain’t that kinda guy”
Grade: A+
There are many remixes of Crazy About Her. To seek out three of them, download the extended version found on digital platforms.
296. Try A Little Tenderness (Jimmy Campbell, Reginald Connelly, Harry M. Woods)
An old song reworked and made popular by Otis Redding in 1966, Rod oozes confidence as he absolutely owns Try A Little Tenderness.
As I think of songs that I think of when someone asks me, “which song do you think Rod Stewart sings the best on?” This song is always on my mind when I think of Stewart as an incredible vocalist. His phrasing, his emotion are all on full display. Not to mention the power in his voice. When I hear this song, I get goosbumps.
Grade: A+
To hear an absolute barn burner of a performance of this seek out the live performance on Tonight’s The Night: Live 1976-1998.
297. When I Was Your Man (Rod Stewart, Kevin Savigar)
Rod slows things down as he reminisces about being in love with a woman. Looking back on his love and how they could never work out Stewart proclaims “when I was your man, everything in my world seemed good and right.”
Our Hero once again is in top vocal form, but compared to the rest of the album it is almost a little too sweet. It is a solid song, but somewhat forgettable.
Grade: B
298. Almost Illegal (Rod Stewart, Andy Taylor)
After taking it slow for the last two songs, Out of Order cranks it up to close the album out. The story of young love, between a boy and a “farmer’s daughter.” Almost Illegal is so good. Here is the song on the album that should’ve been a hit, should’ve been released as a single but for some reason just glossed over.
The chorus is catchy as hell, “She’s fabulous, so sensuous, she’s marvelous, she’s mine, I’m delirious, it’s serious kinda dangerous, almost illegal!”
I love this song lyrically too because it tells a whole story, the final verse is brilliant;
“We had a one child by the springtime, another on the way, I got a new life and a good wife, ain’t that amazing grace.”
Grade: A+
Out of Order proved to be a massive hit for Stewart. While it only rose to number 20 on the Billboard Charts, it stayed there for over a year. In fact on the year end charts for 1988 it was number 53, but for 1989 it shot up to number 24. It surpassed over 2 million units sold in the United States. And all four singles, Lost In You, Forever Young, My Heart Can’t Tell You No and Crazy About Her were top 15 hits. Before we leave 1988, there are a few more Rod Stewart gems to listen to.
299. Days of Rage (Rod Stewart, Andy Taylor)
A hard driving rock song that was the B-side to Forever Young. A fun song, sung with conviction by Rod. The only reason I can think of why this did not end up on the album is they choose the better, Almost Illegal. Both songs have the same driving beat, with Almost Illegal, in my opinion being more strong structurally and lyrically stronger.
Days of Rage though is a blistering song that has Stewart recounting his life and how he got to where he is today (in 1988). Listen to at maximum volume!
Grade: B+
300. Love is a Four Letter Word (Rod Stewart)
“I’ve been sittin’ here all day trying to figure what I am gonna say…” Stewart pleads with his listener that he is still “in love with you”. A work in progress that Stewart would repurpose the lyrics, as some appear in Lost In You and others would pop up three years later on Vagabond Heart’s No Holding Back.
Although it is not finished, it still has some killer vocals from Stewart. It is also cool to hear Stewart hit on lyrics that he likes and brings back into finished songs.
In the liner notes for The Rod Stewart Sessions, Andy Zax states that Love is a Four Letter Word has been dancing around in Stewart’s head since Every Beat of My Heart.
Grade: B
301. I Go To Jail For You (Rod Stewart, Andy Taylor)
Another song that is not finished with Rod mumbling words to make them fit the music. The chorus and the swelling of the music leading into the chorus are all on point. But the rest of the song isn’t there. I think if Stewart wanted to, he could’ve spent maybe a little more time on this and it would’ve easily made the album. But Out of Order is already so strong that it doesn’t need any extra songs.
Grade: C
There was no stopping Rod Stewart. He conquered the 70’s and he was closing out the 80’s the same way. At the end of the decade Stewart was ready to tackle the 90’s on top of the music world. We will dive into that next in Part 9: In Which Our Hero Reunites with His Best Mate and Once Again Conquers MTV.