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AS TIME GOES BY...THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK: VOLUME II
Rod Stewart
(J/BMG)
We'll be the first to hand it to Rod Stewart.
Not only has he engineered a nice little late-career comeback for himself, but he's done it without having to squeeze into leopard-skin tights and pretend he's still Rod the Mod and not Rodger the Codger.
Thanks to the success of last year's It Had to Be You, Stewart has reinvented himself as a Tony Bennett for the Woodstock generation. Hence the inevitable and predictable sequel As Time Goes By, on which Stewart once again embraces his inner coot and mellows out with a bland cocktail-jazz set of Tin Pan Alley classics like Time After Time, I'm in the Mood for Love, Where or When, Smile and I Only Have Eyes for You.
But like last time, while it's nice to hear Rod acting his age, his sandpapery rasp and laissez-faire delivery don't exactly measure up to Bennett (or even Bryan Ferry).
Like we said, we have to hand it to Rod. But that doesn't mean we have to like it.
Track Listing
1. Time After Time
2. I'm In The Mood For Love
3. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
4. Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered (Duet with Cher)
5. 'Till There Was You
6. Until The Real Thing Comes Along
7. Where Or When
8. Smile
9. My Heart Stood Still
10. Someone To Watch Over Me
11. As Time Goes By (Duet with Queen Latifah)
12. I Only Have Eyes For You
13. Crazy She Calls Me
14. Our Love Is Here To Stay