Following the success of Unplugged...and Seated, Rod Stewart had shrewdly repositioned himself as a mature, middle-aged man who still had a slight streak of his wilder days in him.
Unsurprisingly, the music both recalled his past glories in instrumentation, yet the attack was different -- the acoustics rocked, but it wasn't bracing; it was like a back-porch jam session.
Stewart expanded that approach on A Spanner in the Works, his first album since Unplugged.
The acoustics are still there, but they're strummed a little more gently and set in a bed of unobtrusive synths.
More importantly, Stewart tackles his most ambitious and varied set of material since A Night on the Town.
From the pop/rock of Tom Petty's "Leave Virginia Alone" and the reflective take on Dylan's "Sweetheart Like You" through the R&B tribute of "Muddy, Sam and Otis" and the rocking "Delicious" to the British folk of "Purple Heather," the songs recall his classic early albums in ambition and musical diversity.
A Spanner in the Works isn't quite as successful as Gasoline Alley or Every Picture Tells a Story -- it's a content album, not a probing one, which is appropriate for a middle-aged singer -- yet it is the most inspired and ambitious record Stewart released in nearly 20 years.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Windy TownChris Rea | Rod Stewart | Play | 05:12 | 11 MB | 33 MB |
| 2 | The Downtown LightsPaul Buchanan | Rod Stewart | Play | 06:33 | 15 MB | 42 MB |
| 3 | Leave Virginia AloneTom Petty | Rod Stewart | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 4 | Sweetheart Like YouBob Dylan | Rod Stewart | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 5 | ThisJohn Capek, Marc Jordan | Rod Stewart | Play | 05:19 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 6 | Lady LuckJeff Golub, Carmine Rojas, Kevin Savigar, Rod Stewart | Rod Stewart | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 7 | You're the StarF. Miller & J. Barry, Billy Livsey, Graham Lyle | Rod Stewart | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Muddy, Sam and OtisKevin Savigar, Rod Stewart | Rod Stewart | Play | 04:42 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 9 | Hang on St. ChristopherTom Waits | Rod Stewart | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 10 | DeliciousRobin LeMesurier, Rod Stewart, Andy Taylor | Rod Stewart | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 34 MB |
| 11 | Soothe MeSam Cooke | Rod Stewart | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 12 | Purple HeatherRod Stewart | Rod Stewart | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 57 mins | 130 MB | |||||
| 57 mins | 380 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenny Aronoff | Drums |
| 2 | Rick Braun | Arranger, Horn |
| 3 | Paul Buchanan | Composer |
| 4 | Leslie Butler | Harmonica |
| 5 | John Capek | Composer |
| 6 | Simon Clarke | Arranger, Horn |
| 7 | Sam Cooke | Composer |
| 8 | Jim Cregan | Guitar |
| 9 | Lol Creme | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 10 | Paulinho Da Costa | Percussion |
| 11 | Joey Diggs | Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | Anne Dudley | Arranger, Conductor, Piano, Strings |
| 13 | Bob Dylan | Composer |
| 14 | Bernard Edwards | Bass, Guest Artist |
| 15 | Jeff Golub | Composer, Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 16 | Mike Higham | Keyboards |
| 17 | Trevor Horn | Bass, Guest Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | James Newton Howard | Keyboards |
| 19 | Aleisha Irving | Vocals |
| 20 | Davey Johnstone | Guitar, Mandolin |
| 21 | Marc Jordan | Composer |
| 22 | Michael Landau | Guitar |
| 23 | Nick Lane | Arranger, Horn |
| 24 | Robin LeMesurier | Composer, Guitar |
| 25 | David Lindley | Bouzouki, Guest Artist |
| 26 | Stephen Lipson | Bass |
| 27 | Billy Livsey | Composer |
| 28 | Roddy Lorimer | Arranger, Horn |
| 29 | Dónal Lunny | Bouzouki |
| 30 | Graham Lyle | Composer |
| 31 | John McSherry | Pipe |
| 32 | F. Miller & J. Barry | Composer |
| 33 | Jamie Muhoberac | Keyboards |
| 34 | Maire Ni Chathasaigh | Fiddle |
| 35 | Máirtín O'Connor | Accordion |
| 36 | Dee Palmer | Drums |
| 37 | Tom Petty | Composer |
| 38 | Lenny Pickett | Arranger, Horn |
| 39 | Tim Pierce | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 40 | Joseph Powell | Vocals (Background) |
| 41 | Guy Pratt | Bass, Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 42 | Billy Preston | Guest Artist, Organ |
| 43 | Chris Rea | Composer |
| 44 | Frank Ricotti | Drums |
| 45 | Paul Robinson | Drums |
| 46 | Carmine Rojas | Bass, Composer |
| 47 | Tim Sanders | Arranger, Horn |
| 48 | Kevin Savigar | Arranger, Bass, Composer, Keyboards, Strings |
| 49 | J. Neil Sidwell | Arranger, Horn |
| 50 | Rod Stewart | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 51 | Andy Taylor | Composer, Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 52 | Don Teschner | Fiddle, Mandolin |
| 53 | Joe Turano | Vocals (Background) |
| 54 | Lamont VanHook | Vocals (Background) |
| 55 | Tom Waits | Composer |
| 56 | Oren Waters | Vocals (Background) |
| 57 | Fred White | Vocals (Background) |
| 58 | David Woodford | Arranger, Horn |
| 59 | Terry Young | Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |