Sunday, June 7, 1998 By JANE STEVENSON --

He answers the phone with a no-nonsense, "Stewart here," and given that familiar, raspy, British-accented voice on the other end of the line, you know it can only be Rod.

Rod Stewart, the singer who's earned the nicknames "Vocals Extraordinaire" during his time with The Jeff Beck Group and The Faces, and "Rod The Mod" for his stylish wardrobe and famous head of hair, has managed to remain a respected vocalist and performer after more than 30 years in the music business.

Sure, there was that embarrassing disco song Do Ya Think I'm Sexy in 1979 -- for which he continues to donate royalties to UNICEF -- followed by a slump in the '80s, but Stewart has rebounded in recent years.

First there was 1993's Unplugged ... And Seated, followed by 1995's Spanner In The Works. Even his 1996 ballad collection of old material and four new songs, If We Fall In Love Tonight, sold six million copies.

And now Stewart has a just-released new album of covers, When We Were The New Boys, that sees the 53-year-old singer bravely tackling material by many contemporary British bands -- everything from Oasis' Cigarettes And Alcohol to Primal Scream's Rocks to Skunk Anansie's Weak. There's also Graham Parker's Hotel Chambermaid and Toronto singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith's ballad Secret Heart.

"I just got a fax from England that Primal Scream were played Rocks in my record company office and absolutely adored it," reports Stewart on the phone from his Beverly Hills home. "That's the first one, although I know Graham Parker loves Chambermaid. But the guy who must take all the credit for this project was Rob Dickins."

Dickins, who is the chairman of Warner Music in the U.K., got the idea after Stewart had attended a recent Q Magazine Awards and was excited about what he heard.

"I was really interested in seeing the new bands," says Stewart, "'cause I'm only allowed three months out of the year to go into England 'cause I'm a tax exile in California, but it was uplifting and very interesting."

As for what Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher thinks of Stewart's treatment of Cigarettes And Alcohol, he's quick to say, "I don't give a damn.

"I know Noel," Stewart continues. "I've spoken to Noel a few times. He was a Faces fan and is a soccer fanatic as well."

Speaking of which, Stewart -- who apprenticed with the Brentford Football Club before hooking up with bohemian folk singer Wizz Jones in the early '60s (and still kicks soccer balls off his stage as part of his concerts today) -- will be attending next week's World Cup soccer in France.

He wouldn't miss it for the world, especially since Scotland plays Brazil in the opening game.

"It's going to be quite an experience," says Stewart. "We've got some fabulous seats -- they're bloody expensive -- they were 8,000 francs a piece. It does include dinner and a party and free champagne, but it's expensive. That's about $1200 dollars for one game. I'm excited, but not as excited as I am about this album."

Right. The album's first single is a re-recording of The Faces' Ooh La La -- written by the recently deceased Ronnie Lane and The Rolling Stones' Ron Wood -- and featuring three of The Corrs -- Sharon, Caroline and Andrea -- on fiddle, bodran and penny whistle, respectively.

"I'd love to play Ronnie (Wood) Ooh La La because he sung the original," says Stewart. "To be honest with you, it was always a song I wanted to sing, it was such a great song. And I think it was the passing away of Ronnie (Lane) this year that prompted us."

In fact, when told that Wood has named his new art book, Every Picture Tells A Story (after Stewart's 1971 album of the same name), Stewart couldn't sound more thrilled.

"Oh, great!" he says. "That's fabulous. If you get to see him, ask him about the album we're going to do together. It's going to be called, 'You strum and I'll sing.' It's an acoustic album. We keep planning it, but it'll happen when we all finish touring."

So far, Stewart hasn't seen The Stones' Bridges To Babylon tour.

"Woody -- he gets so annoyed. I keep saying to Woody, 'I don't need to see the band. I saw them in 1963.' I'm just not good at going to arenas. I'm not even great at going to big arenas to watch soccer matches."

Stewart, who co-produced his new album with Kevin Savigar, says they recorded a total of 25 songs in L.A., including another Oasis track, Rockin' Chair, Paul Weller's The Changingman and The Longpigs' On And On, none of which made the final cut.

It remains to be seen how When We Were The New Boys will be received, although an early review in Entertainment Weekly doesn't bode well: "When Rod was a new boy was a quarter century ago, and it's never been so evident as on the modern-rock covers that constitute a large chunk of his umpteenth album. It could have been worse, though: Rod could have gone techno."

As for the album's title track -- the only song penned by Stewart on the album -- it's an anthemic and optimistic rocker that recalls his early, glory days in England, working with everyone from Long John Baldry to Mick Fleetwood.

"The title's been around for quite some time. I just wanted to find the right vehicle for it and the right album for it," says Stewart. "It's all about when I first started getting into bands and the period where I sort of left school, and first jobs; it's all about the early '60s."

Stewart, who's had better luck than most as an interpretive singer, says he can't listen to everything and relies on others to send him songs.

"It's really impossible to keep in touch with all the bands that are coming. I've got certain spies that work for me that say, 'Pick this album up if you can,' " he says.

In the case of the Sexsmith song, it was Elvis Costello who turned Stewart onto the folk singer.

"Elvis and I were going to write some songs together and he came up with some songs he thought I should do and one of them was the Ron Sexsmith song. I said, 'Yeah, it sounds like right up my street,' " says Stewart, who adds, "Ron Sexsmith albums always sound like they're under-produced, a wee bit under produced, to me. I think they just need a bit more tender, loving care, otherwise he's a great songwriter."

The strongest cut on the album is Weak. It's the old Stewart passion combined with a great song and a lot of hard work -- apparently -- on his part.

"Oh, it's a bastard for me to sing -- there is one song I won't be singing live -- I can tell you that," says Stewart. "You can hear it. It goes from the bottom of your range right to the top of your head. It's really a hard one. That was the hardest."

Incredibly, Stewart says he doesn't do much to keep his voice in shape.

"I mean, I still like a bottle of wine every night," he admits. "I don't smoke. I think that's probably why my voice has kept in such good nick (shape) over the years, but really I just do warmups before I sing. I refuse to sing unless I'm warmed up 'cause it's like running. It's just two muscles in your throat and you have to warm them up like you would before you went out to exercise, otherwise you strain them and you bruise them. So I look after them down there. They're my little bit of gold dust."

Particularly in concert, where Stewart still excels at being the showman. Even when he cancelled his Toronto show at SkyDome at the last minute in 1996 -- due to a throat infection -- concertgoers were incredibly forgiving. It helped that he came back two months later and put in a marathon performance.

"I had a feeling in the afternoon and I said to the people I travel with -- 'I'm in trouble. I just get that feeling,'" remembers Stewart. "So I think about 5 o'clock we just had to cancel it. There was nothing we could do and by the time it got to the hall, I think they'd already let people in. Especially when it happened to me -- everybody's slogged all the way in through the f---ing snow, and they get all their nannies, and they look forward to it, it's the worst feeling in the world, when you let everyone down. That was an expensive three days for me. I cancelled two shows at Madison Square Gardens and one in Toronto."

Stewart -- who will play SkyDome July 24 -- agrees though that there seems to be a particularly special relationship between him and his Toronto fans.

"They are loyal," he says. "And that's probably why I like it so much up there. You can feel that loyalty you know. I've played there probably more places than anywhere else. If I'm up in Canada, anyway, I always try to get back to Toronto probably because there's so much to do, and the shopping's great and the people. I love it."

THE ROD STEWART FILE

BORN: Jan. 10, 1945, in London to Scottish parents and has always considered himself a Scot.

BLONDES: Britt Ekland, Alana Hamilton (first wife), Kelly Emberg and Rachel Hunter (current wife).

HONORS: Inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1994.

QUOTE: "Robert's not really a singer's singer. He's not somebody I listen to, but I do admire his approach 'cause I don't think he's the sort of guy that goes in and takes many takes at doing a vocal, whereas I'll sing for five hours until I know I've got it as good as I can and then I'll go back and sing it again and again. I don't think Robert does that. He's a good mate of mine too, I don't want to criticize him." -- Stewart on his vs. Robert Plant's approach to singing.