by
Rod Stewart
- Record Label: J-Records
- Release Date: Oct 22, 2002
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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The whole thing sounds good on paper, but in practice, it's a bit of a mixed bag.
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UncutThe arrangements are banal, but the tunes are exquisite, and his voice, more worn now, is recorded intimately. [Dec 2002, p.148]
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Q MagazineThe drab orchestrations offer tepid schmaltz, not romance. [Dec 2002, p.112]
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Here, he sings against syrupy, obvious orchestral arrangements, driven by a beat that sometimes seems on the verge of a nap -- all of which encourages Stewart's worst habits: He sounds lazy, glib and uninvolved, just the opposite of when he still mattered.
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BlenderThough The Great American Songbook is bad, it's not shamefully bad--if only because it's too tasteful to risk sinking that low. [#11, p.143]
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But after moving past those first moments of seeming artist/song incongruity, the listener will discover an album full of pleasant surprises and vocals that show Stewart in a most flattering light.
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His similar-sounding interpretations lose their oomph a few tracks in.
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A tasteful selection of pre-war era classics in a supper club jazz setting.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 11 out of 16
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Mixed: 1 out of 16
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Negative: 4 out of 16
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AlvaroG.May 4, 2008Why so bad ratings??? the whole series of The Great American Songbook are great!!
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MistyCOct 30, 2006I LOVE this CD along with ALL of Rods others. Only being 24 I hadn't listened to this type of music before thanks Rod.
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GiuseppeRJul 7, 2006