Rod Stewart - What Happened?

I have a love and hate relationship with this man's music. I've been trying to compile a mix of "Blondes" as well as digging up the tracks for Brandie's 80's mix and I realized I had to include Downtown Train.

Then I thought, granted the man has done some pretty annoying songs (Infatuation) and some pretty awful albums (All of the American Songbook CDs), he's not always been bad.

In fact there's something oddly lovable about him and some of his music. Sure he seems to be one of the biggest chauvanistic pigs in music, but he's Rod Stewart, and somehow he gets away with it. Lord only knows how.

Still, he manages to sell albums and he did a really good one right before he started doing the songbooks, or perhaps in between them. Either way, while I was thinking about Downtown Train, which is one of one of my most loved songs, by the man, I thought of Smitten which came from his album Human.



The song Smitten was written by Macy Gray. Oddly if anyone is going to write for Rod, it should be Macy, they have that same gravelly, you either love it or you hate it voice.

Which makes me wonder how I got so, middle of the road, when it comes to liking or disliking the man. And while I'm wondering that, I'm also thinking why someone that seemingly can get away with putting out crap would decide to ruin classic American songs.

Did no one tell him he doesn't have the voice for it?

Then again, Elvis Costello has done Gershwin and Bacharach tunes, and done them well. (At least in my estimation) He's another one you wouldn't think could do those types of songs well, but I think he pulls it off better than Rod.

I saw Rod on the Today show a few weeks back, and he belts out stuff like Maggie May like he's back in his twenties again. If he can do that, why the hell is he doing such laid back material then? And why the hell are people buying it? Three albums worth even!

GAH!

That is so wrong on so many different levels.