Rod Stewart/ The Tears Of Hercules

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Rod Stewart/ The Tears Of Hercules

Genre: Pop-rock

Label: Warner

Rating: ***

Undoubtedly, Rod Stewart has one of the most distinct and attractive male voices in pop-rock history. At 76, that signature rasp is pretty much there, though the once-enviable range is obviously narrower.

Returning with an album after three years, Stewart comes out with a mix of uptempo songs and ballads. From the composition and arrangement perspectives, The Tears Of Hercules is a fine effort, as he teams up with co-producer Kevin Savigar, an old associate. However, a shortage of infectious hooks and an absence of big-ticket anthems makes this sound like a toned-down version of classic Rod.

That's not to take away from the fact that at his age, the Scot-Brit singer is still capable of churning out a set of decent, if not memorable songs. The first half of the album showcases his upbeat side, as 'One More Time', 'Gabriela', 'Some Kind Of Wonderful' and the foot-stomping 'All My Days' set the mood.

With its Rolling Stones meets 'Hot Legs' flavour, 'Born To Boogie' pays tribute to glam rock great Marc Bolan of T Rex. "He was a hero of mine, that's why I wrote a song for him", he sings. There's a party-blaster in the weirdly titled 'Kookooaramabama'. Despite cheesy lines like "Sex is good for everyone", the song impresses with its Billy Idol meets Chic vibe and energetic saxophones. Should have sung "Sax is good for everyone".

On a mid-tempo note, Stewart sings in a semi-rap style on 'I Can't Imagine', where the back-up vocals go, "I can't imagine waking up with anybody else but you". The title track is a mellow ballad with nostalgic lines like, "I remember everything and every window pane, everything came back to me like I was Superman". A cover of a Marc Jordan song, it has a movie orchestration effect and Celtic climax that grips you.

Lyrically, the message-driven 'Hold On' is the most impactful, as Stewart sings, "With the courtesy of kindness, and the currency of love, may the words of John Lewis never fade, to the bigots and the racists, and those who divide us, feel the spotlight of justice some day". In a similar vein, his cover of Johnny Cash's 'These Are My People' is an appropriate choice.

The album ends with 'Touchline', where Stewart pays a touching tribute to his father, focusing on his love for football. Just from its words, this is a masterpiece, and the singer's emotion goes perfectly with the lines.

Interestingly, Stewart has co-written nine of the 12 songs. And while some of them are downright bizarre, probably to keep up with his roguish image, there is some intense stuff on the ballads. The good thing is that even after six decades on the scene, the creative juices are in full flow.