Rod Stewart recently announced his farewell tour, so while he’s still above ground, let’s talk about his music. His double-Platinum album A Night On The Town was released in June 1976. The lead single, “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright),” was first released in the U.K., where it peaked at #5. It was also the biggest hit of 1976 in Canada, and when it finally got an official U.S. release, it would become the biggest Hot 100 hit of 1977. The second single, “The Killing Of Georgie,” was a two-part song based on a real-life gay friend of Rod Stewart’s, but it only peaked at #30 on the Hot 100. It did peak at #2 in the U.K., probably because Part 2 sounded like “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Beatles. Fortunately for Rod, the album did get a U.K. #1.
Anyway, how is A Night On The Town?
Meh.
I know Rod Stewart has had decades of hits, but I think his famously raspy voice works best if you’re only listening to individual songs, rather than full-length records. The songs on this album aren’t written badly, per se. Except maybe “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright).” Some of the lyrics in that one are a little creepy. But there were other songs I liked, such as “Fool For You,” “The Wild Side Of Life,” and the cover of “The First Cut Is The Deepest” by Cat Stevens. Yes, the Sheryl Crow song was a cover.
In summary, A Night On The Town is not flawless. There are individual songs I’d recommend, but I would hesitate to recommend playing the whole thing in one sitting.
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