Rod Stewart’s recent reinvention of himself as a romantic swing balladeer and easy listening crooner has been embraced by both traditional Rod fans and those drawn to the nostalgic sentimentality of songs from a bygone era.
His three volumes of American songbook favourites have featured versions of jazz, soul and easy listening classics made famous by artists such as Gershwin, Sam Cooke, Louis Armstrong and Willie Nelson.
It would be easy to view these albums as some kind of hollow romantic pastiche, but somehow Stewart’s gravelly voice breathes new life and soul into these beloved classics and standards.
The first half of last night’s performance, however, was all about the songs that first made Rod Stewart a star.
The concert opened with You Wear It Well, which emphasised Stewart’s Celtic folk roots with violin accompaniment and a bagpipe intro.
This was soon followed by hits such as Hot Legs, Rhythm of My Heart and The First Cut Is The Deepest that featured some stunning sax solos from blonde, leggy saxophone player Katja Rieckermann.
A tribute of sorts to the late Robert Palmer was undertaken with versions of Some Guys Have All The Luck and Addicted To Love.
Being the first date of a new and long world tour Stewart warned the crowd of the possibility of the odd cock-up. This duly arrived with forgotten guitar chords to the start to Sailing.
Faced with such a tricky situation, Stewart exhibited his famous common touch by enticing the crowd to voice their discontent.
Other highlights included a Stewart-less (taking a well-earned rest) version of Creedence Clearwater’s Rollin Down The River which was given a good soul workout by the band’s backing vocalists.
Rod Stewart returned for the second half of the show resplendent in tuxedo and surrounded by an elegant gold backdrops and stage settings. His now-seated band who had also been given a 1940s big band makeover were now accompanied by a string section.
Songs performed in this part of the set included, As Time Goes By from Casablanca, Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World, and a beguiling version of Blue Moon.
The American standards set was relatively short and soon changed pace and style with a boogie woogie number and a highly anticipated rendition of Maggie May.
The band then got down to the serious business of rock ‘n’ roll with versions of It Takes Two and a cover of one of soulman Sam Cooke’s Twistin The Night Away.
This sparked off a session of soccer ball kicking that reminded all of what Stewart’s other profession would have been had he had not become one of the most famous rock singers.
The show closed with a traditional Scottish tune called Wild Mountain Thyme, backed by big screen images from Braveheart.
NB..All future reviews will be linked from the relavent dates on the tour page – check daily for updates.
