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Rod performs tomorrow night at Skyreach Centre.
Rule Britannia! The solo male superstars of the British Empire are looking good these days. Sir Elton John has written a good song again. Sir Paul McCartney is singing about more than rainbows and moonbeams. Sting and Phil Collins are in a battle for the king of the Disney soundtrack ballads. Mick Jagger has a critically acclaimed solo album and will tour with the Stones yet again. He is miffed that he cannot yet be called Sir Mick Jagger. Ozzy Osbourne, meanwhile, is still the god of heavy metal. No knighthood required.
And Rod Stewart ... well, he's Rod the Mod, lassie. He is the archetypical British blue-eyed soulman whose musical question "do ya think I'm sexy?" never seems ridiculous to his most loyal female fans. Why yes, yes you are, they answer - even at 56 years old.
While there is muttering that Rod is past his best work, that he's more concerned with maintaining his superstar status than his music, there are encouraging signs he's still got it. His shows are still solid. Following up the aptly titled When We Were the New Boys, Rod waded deep into the syrupy waters of modern R&B and came out clean on his latest studio album, Human, on which he covers Marc Jordan, the Mavericks and Curtis Mayfield with flamboyant abandon. He lives for this sort of thing. In stores now is The Story So Far: The Very Best of Rod Stewart.
Taken together, these Brits kick the hell out of the solo male superstars in the colonies. Who do we have to compare? Michael Jackson? Please.
How about John Mellencamp? While Rod Stewart is six years older than Johnnyboy, who was here in August, they are at about the same level of fame. They appeal to roughly the same demographic, regularly play the same venues, draw the same size crowds, sell a comparable number of albums and were both once managed by Billy Gaff. They each have five children by three different women. They are both short. They both come to Edmonton every two years or so and neither will grant advance interviews - resulting in semi-scholarly studies like this. One is the epitome of Americana, one is an icon of British rock (well, Scottish, whatever). Let's compare:
ORIGIN:
Rod: Proud Scot, born in London.
John: Proud Hoosier, born in Seymour, Indiana.
EDUCATION:
Rod: Attended the same high school as the Kinks; unlike so many Brit rock legends, did not go on to art college.
John: Studied broadcast journalism and deprived the world of another Dan Rather when he went into music.
BIG BREAK:
Rod: Discovered singing to himself in a train station by Long John Baldry.
John: Discovered by David Bowie's manager, Tony De Fries, who dubbed him "Johnny Cougar."
FORMER BANDS:
Rod: Shotgun Express, Jeff Beck Group, The Faces.
John: A Crape Soul, Snake Pit Banana Barn, Trash.
HOBBY:
Rod: Soccer.
John: Painting.
WEAKNESS:
Rod: Supermodels.
John: Smoking.
SIGNATURE HIT:
Rod: Maggie May, a little ditty about a certain femme fatale who stole his heart, but he loves her anyway. Message: Life goes on.
John: A little ditty about Jack & Diane, two American kids growing up in the heartland. Message: Ditto.
ROOTS:
Rod: American blues.
John: American pop.
FAVOURITE CHARITY:
Rod: Donates royalties from Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? to UNICEF.
John: A regular at Farm Aid events.
CAREER:
Rod: Holding steady at nostalgia level. Still performs Maggie May, but not Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
John: Best work may be ahead of him. Still performs Jack & Diane.
Let's call it a draw ...