John Shanks from “New Boys” is producing. CCR, Dylan & Van Morrisson also covered
Rod Stewart is about to come out of the Great American Songbook into the book of great songs — rock songs, that is. Stewart has been working in Los Angeles with Grammy-winning producer John Shanks, recording a set of covers that includes Bob Seger’s “Still the Same,” Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?,” Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” and songs by Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Van Morrison. There’s no word yet on when the album will be out, but it marks the first time since 1998’s When We Were The New Boys, another covers set, that Stewart has worked in the rock field.
The Seger cover is particularly ironic since the two singers famously tussled over Tom Waits’ “Downtown Train” in the late ’80s. Seger claimed that a record company executive who knew of Seger’s plans to record the song gave Stewart the idea to record it himself. Stewart’s version appeared on his 1989 box set Storyteller: The Complete Anthology.
Stewart’s studio band for these sessions includes guitarists Tim Pierce and Dean Parks, bassist Leland Sklar, keyboardist Jamie Mahobrec, and drummer Kenny Aronoff.
Stewart’s last four albums have been collections of old-time pop standards, all of which have hit the Billboard Top Five.
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