Through 34 years with the heart of a rebel: Vagabond Heart celebrates its birthday

In its album review in May 1991, Rolling Stone wrote of a ‘personal testament’ and of ‘Stewart's most compelling work since the early 70s’. Indeed, the release of Rod Stewart's 16th studio album Vagabond Heart on 25 March 1991 was something like the dawn of a new era. In the 1980s, the entire music world was flooded with shallow synth-pop, a trend that Rod Stewart also followed, which did not go down well with all his fans who had been with him since the Faces days. Despite the number one hit Baby Jane, the singer somewhat lost touch with what made him strong and special at the beginning of his career with the Faces and also in his first years as a solo artist.
With Vagabond Heart, ‘Stewart has wisely chosen to explore the connections between who he was and who he is,’ according to Rolling Stone. The result is a very well-coordinated mixture of full-throttle rock, such as ‘Rebel Heart’ and ‘Moment Of Glory’, and soulful ballads, where ‘No Holding Back’ and ‘If Only’ stand out. But the duet with Tina Turner (‘It Takes Two’) and the emotional ‘Have I Told You Lately’, both of which are still a permanent fixture on the 80-year-old's concert set lists, also contributed to the album's success. Not forgetting, of course, the opening track ‘Rhythm Of My Heart’, which is now regarded as Sir Rod's statement against the war in Ukraine and is played by the singer at almost every concert, always with its clear political message.

Allow me to take a brief personal turn at this point. It was in the spring of 1991 when I was on my way to Cologne, where a Rod Stewart concert of his ‘Vagabond Tour’ was to take place that evening in the sports hall (the Kölnarena, or Lanxess Arena, as it is called today, didn't exist back then). I remember being in the car on the way to Cologne at the time, the windows rolled far down in the summer temperatures, Rod Stewart blaring ‘Rebel Heart’ and ‘Go Out Dancing’ from the speakers of my cassette car radio, languishing ‘If Only’ and ‘You Are Everything’. The album Vagabond Heart completely flashed me back then, as they say today, and wasn't just played up and down in the car.
What I'm trying to say is that Vagabond Heart was an incredibly good album, not just for me but for millions of Stewart fans all over the world, and it has lost none of its brilliance to this day.
Michael from Germany wrote: ‘The best Rod Stewart album of the 90s’. Carlo from Italy spoke of ‘one of Rod Stewart's best albums of his career’. And Somerset from the UK said: ‘Vagabond Heart is one of the best Rod Stewart albums ever. There is not one song on the album that disappoints’. Roger from the USA was equally enthusiastic, emphasising that there is ‘not a single bad song on the album’ and recommending Vagabond Heart to anyone who loves ‘great music’.
These fan opinions were also reflected in the sales figures and chart positions. In Australia, Vagabond Heart soared to number one in the charts, in Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom the album reached number two in the charts and in Germany it went up to number three. The disc was not quite as successful in the USA, where it only reached number ten.
However, this did not detract from its general success. In Australia, VH went platinum four times, in Canada three times, and in Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the USA it went platinum once. In France (29th place in the charts) it even went gold.

Tracklist Vagabond Heart
1. Rhythm Of My Heart
2 Rebel Heart
3 Broken Arrow
4 It Takes Two (duet with 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 If Only

In a remastered version released in 2008, Stewart added a live version of ‘Sweet Soul Music’, as well as earlier versions of ‘Downtown Train’ and ‘Rebel Heart’ and the rocking, stomping ‘Somebody To Hold’. In 1992, a complete recording of a Vaganbond Heart Tour concert from 14 February was released on video. The concert took place at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.

Text: Storyteller/MH
Photos: Netfund