Rod Stewart’s first collection of pop standards sold more than 4 million copies worldwide; so he decided to do it again. The Great American Songbook: Volume 2, the sequel to last year’s surprise hit, is scheduled for an October 14th release.
Stewart says it’s always been a dream to record his favorite Rogers and Hart and George and Ira Gershwin tunes, but until now no one took him seriously. “They didn’t think I was mature enough,” Stewart says. “Now, I am. My voice has got more warmth to it. You can’t be a rock & roll singer forever.”
Produced by J Records and RCA Chairman Clive Davis, the album includes such serene classics as “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and “Till There Was You.” Stewart will also duet with Cher on “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” with its original, raunchier lyrics. But, for the most part, Stewart doesn’t plan to stray too far from the source material. “We haven’t gone radically different with any of the songs,” he says, “just a lot better, a lot more confidence about the way I’m approaching the songs.”
courtesy Rolling Stone