Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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61 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Our Love (for Rod Stewart) Is Here To Stay!, October 27, 2003
The test of a real great singer is versatility. Rod Stewart has it! He's not only a legendary rock star but has become a great balladeer with the birth of "It Had To Be You...The Great American Songbook." He could also sing these time-tested standards from the Great American Songbook, interpret them with feelings and do justice to the songs as well.
I must admit that I only became a fan of Rod the Fab (a title I coined - Rod as the Fabulous interpreter of the Great American Songbook) when he recorded the standards from the GAS, although there were occasional hits he sung that really appeal to me like "Reason To Believe," "I Don't Want To Talk About It" and "You're In My Heart." And now I'm a forty-something fan!
He does it again this time with "As Time Goes By... The Great American Songbook: Volume II." As I mentioned in my review on Volume I, I grew up listening to these songs. Thanks to my late father who greatly influenced my taste in music and at an early age, I learned to appreciate good music and developed an ear for classy music. I took piano lessons in my formative years, thus enhancing my true appreciation not only for classical music, but also jazz standards as well. It was great growing up listening to the music of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Percy Faith, George Gershwin, Henry Mancini, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Kate Smith, Sarah Vaughan, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Jo Stafford, Doris Day, Patti Page, not to mention Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Bach, Schubert, among many others.
This CD has flair, distinction and a great sense of style. Congratulations to the men behind this great production: Clive Davis, Richard Perry & Phil Ramone, and to all the musicians involved and of course, the star himself, Mr. Rod Stewart.
It's so nice to listen to these standards with new twists and flavors. The repertoire is tastefully chosen and interpreted in such superb and fabulous fashion with outstanding arrangements. It's hard to single out a favorite track for they are all winners. George & Ira Gershwin's "Our Love Is Here To Stay" and "Someone To Watch Over Me" are my top favorites. His renditions of "Where Or When," "I Only Have Eyes For You," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Until The Real Thing Comes Along" are simply superb and oozing with charms. Other highlights are his engaging duets with Cher and Queen Latifah, "Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered" and "As Time Goes By," respectively. "I'm In The Mood For Love," "Smile" and "Time After Time" are all done in soothing and relaxing manner. My special mention goes to my favorite from the Broadway show, "The Music Man." Mr. Stewart brings new life and fresh style to this beautiful song composed by Meredith Wilson and popularized by the famous Beatles, "Till There Was You."
"Then there was music
And there were wonderful roses
They tell me in sweet fragrant
Meadows of dawn and dew
There was love all around
But I never heard it singing
No I never heard it at all
Till there was you"
I could listen to this CD over and over again without getting tired of it, just like I did with Volume I!
This is "A MUST-HAVE" for young and old alike. Wholeheartedly recommended for your listening pleasure now and forever.
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43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rod Stewart's second coming, October 29, 2003
I've always liked Rod Stewart, but after the distorted "Human," I thought "he's losing it." While it wasn't a total failure, it did not leave one with the impression that this was a talented musician.
Volume II of his Great American Songbook torches those thoughts and misconceptions. Stewart's breathy, haunting, dead-on voice help in delivering these old standards in a way that echoes the old sounds (but with Stewart's own welcomed, trademarked voice) so that a new generation can enjoy them.
I've run across a few of these songs, but they have always sounded dated. Now, though, Stewart breaths new life into these standards; "Time after Time," the opener, is perfect; the delivery, the music, the sound of a man whose career has found new footing.
His duet with Queen Latifah on "As Time Goes By" is, in my opinion, one of the standouts on the album; old and not-as-old come together for a beautiful rendition of an oft-played classic.
A cursory glance and listen will give a wrong impression; that is, the album seems to be nothing more than a lounge singer crooning away his last days. This is not so; Stewart has reinvigorated his career, and this proves it. He has never sounded so alive, so impassioned. It's worth a purchase and multiple listens. We can only hope there will be a volume three.
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39 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As Time Goes By . . . Rod Gets Better and Better, October 26, 2003
I could not imagine a CD being any better than The Great American Songbook, Volume I, but Rod Stewart has done it again. Volume II is nothing less than perfection. From the haunting opening with "Time After Time" to the rousing duet with Cher on "Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered" this album is the best! Rod's raspy voice was made for these ageless standards that have us remembering how it felt to be young, to fall in love, to ache with heartbreak.If you want the perfect musical soundtrack to put you in the mood for love, this is the one. I can only hope that there might soon be a third volume.
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