The legendary British rocker Rod Stewart is by no means a drifter nor a wanderer; he will always have a place in my heart. So to celebrate and pay tribute to one of my all-time favorite singers, I've been listening to what I believe is his greatest album of all-time for the past two weeks—"Vagabond Heart". This statement, once again, coming from a guy who grew up in the 80's and never heard much of Rod Stewart's music from the 60's and 70's. It's that distinctively gentle, straining voice of his that I got attached to when I heard his songs all the time on the radio back then. There was nobody else that quite sounded like him, and that is true even onto this very day. I must've been in my final years of elementary school when I first heard the memorable hit, "Rhythm Of My Heart". I still like how this song begins with the introductory Italian-sounding accordion instrumental before the drums and the ambient cinematic score all come flooding in to turn it into an adventurous epic masterpiece. Had to be around the same time when I fell in love with "Have I Told You Lately?". Songs don't come any sweeter than that. Some of my favorite Rod Stewart lyrics ever can be found in the poetic chorus:
You fill my heart with gladness
Take away all my sadness
Ease my troubles, that's what you do
And it was probably a year or two later when I would hear another eventual soft rock favorite, "Downtown Train", though my childhood memories of that song have just about faded away. Still catch it every so often when I turn on the radio. But if you really want to experience some good ole classic rock—and relive a old Motown tune while you're at it—look no further than Rod's scintillating duet with my favorite rock diva, Tina Turner, on their collaborative cover of Marvin Gaye's and Kim Weston's 60's hit, "It Takes Two". I get goosebumps all over almost every time I hear it. Two of my favorite rockers performing together—does it get better than that? They're like a perfect singing pair, Rod and Tina are: one with a mellow straining voice and the other with a louder raspier voice. Wouldn't it have been sooooooooooooo nice if they had recorded an entire album together? Speaking of Motown, I suppose the "It Takes Two" duet with Tina inspired a songwriter to create the magnificent jam that "The Motown Song" would become. Heard this one on the radio quite recently, in fact, but I play it for myself all the time because I absolutely love the beat and the fun lyrics! Greatest thing about this song: it features the legendary Motown vocal group, THE TEMPTATIONS, on backing vocals! If you couldn't figure it out during the first couple of minutes of the song, then you'll definitely know it later when you hear Rod announce 'Temptations, sing it one time', referring to the song's main chorus. Another fun song I really like—"Rebel Heart". There's even a bit of jazz on it, too—after the first pass of the main chorus, where there's a brief saxophone instrumental. One song I'd completely forgotten about when I begin listening to this album again is another cover of an old familiar soul jam—"You Are Everything", which was originally recorded by THE STYLISTICS. Gosh, how many covers of this song have I heard now? From memory, I know I've heard at least three other versions: one by Vanessa Williams, one by Michael McDonald, one the Australian boyband HUMAN NATURE on their "Reach Out: I'll Be There" Motown album and, of course, this one by Rod Stewart:
1. Rhythm Of My Heart
2. Rebel Heart
3. Broken Arrow
4. It Takes Two [feat. Tina Turner]
5. When A Man's In Love
6. You Are Everything
7. The Motown Song
8. Go Out Dancing
9. No Holding Back
10. Have I Told You Lately?
11. Moment Of Glory
12. Downtown Train
13. If Only
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