Rod has said he had wanted to make an album like ‘It Had To Be You – The Great American Songbook’ for a long time, but he will not have to wait long to offer up its sequel. Thanks to the success of ‘Songbook,’ his collection of American pop standards and debut for J Records, Rod has commenced work on its follow-up.
Rod will record “a whole fresh batch of songs” and will once again be working with the same production triumvirate of Phil Ramone, Richard Perry, and J Records chairman/CEO Clive Davis. Rod told the American trade magazine Billboard the participants will “try to recreate the mood” of the first set but with “faster and more uptempo tunes,” he said, adding that 40 new songs are ready to be cut. The album is expected in October.
As previously revealed, Clive Davis said the album will include such songs as ‘Stardust’ and ‘As Time Goes By’ and will be produced “appropriately to the feel” of each selection, perhaps with guest vocalists. But the overall approach will follow the “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” rule, Davis says. “I thought ‘It Had to Be You’ was special, and a ‘statement’ similar to Carlos Santana’s ‘Supernatural,’ where the songs could be inspirational to people.”
Rod stressed that he’s stopping with two volumes of standards. “Just two will be enough,” he says. “Then I’m going to go write some songs. I’ve got to pay a lot of bills.”
Rod is expected to tour the USA in support of the new album with US dates starting in February 2004.
* Arnold Stiefel, Rod’s manager, today annouced that Rod had parted with his longtime booking agent, Creative Artists Agency. No specific reason was given for the change, although some venues reported spotty ticket sales on his last US tour.
(story courtesy of Billboard)