Hello November! With the onset of the grey season, we are slowly but surely approaching the end of a year that has been a special one for Rod Stewart fans and all concertgoers in Asia, Europe and North America.
However, the Brit's touring year is now quiet, with only two concerts left on the programme this year. Time enough to turn to the music archive today. And we discover that two of Sir Rod's albums are celebrating their birthdays these days at the beginning of November: Foot Loose & Fancy Free is 47 years old, while Tonight I'm Yours from 1981 was released around 43 years ago.
FOOT LOOSE & FANCY FREE (1977)
FL&FF was released on 4 November 1977 and was Sir Rod's eighth album and contained eight songs in a mixture of hard rock, funk rock, progressive rock and Motown. The disc followed on seamlessly from the success of its predecessors Atlantic Crossing and A Night On The Town and reached number one in the charts in four countries (Australia, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand). Foot Loose & Fancy Free narrowly missed out on the top spot in the UK (number 2) and the USA (3). The album was less successful in Germany, however, where it only reached number 34.
The album with the hits Hot Legs, You're In My Heart and I Was Only Joking went four times platinum in Australia and Canada, three times platinum in the USA and platinum in Hong Kong, New Zealand and the UK.
The success was also emphasised by the opinions of the fans: Olivaro from Germany describes it succinctly: ‘Footloose and Fancy Free is a really great album with strong tracks that you can listen to forever’. And his fellow countryman Rockeropa adds: ‘This LP is pure Rod Stewart!’. Wiseman from the UK enthuses: ‘The songs are pure magic and cover the whole range of styles that Rod has to offer, from slow, emotional ballads to energetic rock’.
Tracklist:
- Hot Legs
- You're Insane
- You're In My Heart
- Born Loose
- You Keep Me Hanging On
- If Loving You Is Wron (I Don't Wanna Be Right)
- You Got A Nerve
- I Was Only Joking
TONIGHT I'M YOURS (1981)
Tonight I'm Yours, Sir Rod's eleventh studio album, was released on 6 November 1981 and heralded the start of Stewart's successful years in the 1980s. TIY is a mixture of classic rock, pop and new wave. With Tonight I'm Yours, Stewart responded to new music trends after the disco-influenced late 70's songs like Da Ya Think I'm Sexy by adding elements of new wave and synth-pop to some songs. The album contains great cover versions ofTear It Up, How Long and Just Like A Woman, to which the 79-year-old added his personal Rod touch.
The song Never Give Up On A Dream was dedicated to Canadian athlete Terry Fox, who ran 3,339 miles with a prosthetic leg in the Marathon of Hope to raise money for cancer research. Fox succumbed to cancer in 1981, the year the album was released.
TIY was largely well-received and received four out of five points in various ratings from popular trade magazines such as Rolling Stone and AllMusic, something Stewart has never achieved again with any of his subsequent albums.
However, this was not necessarily reflected in the charts. Tonight I'm Yours only reached the top ten of the charts in Sweden (2), New Zealand (4) and the UK (8), while in the USA, Australia (11 each) and the Netherlands (12) the 1981 disc narrowly missed out. In Germany, the longplayer only made it to 42nd place.
Nevertheless, the album was well received by fans: ‘Rod Stewart's best album of the 1980s,’ wrote Terrence in the USA. ‘It sounds very much like the ‘old’ Rod Stewart, classic vocals complemented by the brilliant guitars of Jim Cregan,’ added MusicMan, also from the United States. ‘The 60s rocker ‘Tear It Up’ and the soulful ballad ‘Sonny’ should really have been number one,’ says Brityad from the UK. His compatriot Charlie agrees, saying: ‘This album is just great’.
Tracklist:
1. Tonight I'm Yours
2. How Long
3. Tora, Tora, Tora (Out With The Boys)
4. Tear It Up
5. Only A Boy
6. Just Like A Woman
7. Jealous
8. Sonny
9. Young Turks
10. Never Give Up On A Dream
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