Release Review: A Spanner In The Works & When We Were The New Boys

29 May was an important day in terms of Rod Stewart's releases – whether by design or coincidence. The fact is that two of his 31 studio albums to date were released on 29 May: ‘A Spanner In The Works’ and ‘When We Were The New Boys’. ‘A Spanner In The Works’ is Rod Stewart's seventeenth studio album, released on 29 May 1995. It ended a four-year hiatus since his album “Vagabond Heart”. Although he released the live album “Unplugged...and Seated” in 1993, this was Stewart's longest break between two album releases to date. ‘A Spanner In The Works’ sold over 800,000 copies and reached its highest chart position in the United Kingdom (4). In Germany, the album made it to number nine on the charts and in the United States to number 35.

The songs ‘You're The Star’, ‘Leave Virginia Alone’, ‘This’, ‘Lady Luck’ and ‘Purple Heather’ were released as singles. The latter was also released as a single with the Scottish national football team for the 1996 European Championship in England.

The players of the Scottish national football team in 1996 singing ‘Purple Heather’

The album also includes cover versions of Bob Dylan's ‘Sweetheart Like You’ and ‘The Downtown Lights’ by The Blue Nile. The song ‘Muddy, Sam and Otis’ is Stewart's tribute to his musical idols Muddy Waters, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, whom he repeatedly cited as his greatest ‘influence’ in his career on numerous occasions. ‘Leave Virginia Alone’ was written by Tom Petty and recorded for his album Wildflowers, but was not released on the finished album and was instead given to Stewart.

The ‘spanner’ did not necessarily go down well with the media. Rod Stewart was criticised for straying from his rock roots. ‘British Entertainment’ described the album as ‘characteristically confused, with songs ranging from mediocre to terrible’. Only Rod's voice remained a ‘natural wonder’: ‘Nevertheless, that wonderful voice remains: raw, soulful, smooth. What a pity it wasn't used better.‘ Fans were more enthusiastic about “A Spanner In The Works”. Gwyn from the UK said: “One of Rod's best albums. A fantastic album full of great songs. It's impossible to pick the best tracks, but my favourites are: ”Muddy Sam and Otis’, ‘Hang on St Christopher’ and ‘Purple Heather’. This is Rod at his best, at the height of his career.’ And Bernd from Germany raved: ’On this CD, Rod Stewart sings with a distinct sense of contentment and inner peace, almost floating above things and showing us his take on some well-known songs, and his interpretation of them is simply grand in the sense of greatness, not just magnificence. Rod Stewart celebrates songs here with a depth and density and at the same time a relaxedness that always manages to pull me out of everyday life and, despite repeated listenings, retain their freshness and conciseness.‘

Track list:

Windy Town
The Downtown Lights
Leave Virginia Alone
Sweetheart Like You
This
Lady Luck
You're the Star
Muddy, Sam and Otis
Hang On St. Christopher
Delicious
Soothe Me
Purple Heather

‘When We Were The New Boys’ was released three years later on 29 May 1998 and was the first Stewart album not to be released on vinyl. Most of the tracks are cover versions, including “Cigarettes & Alcohol” by Oasis, “Rocks” by Primal Scream, “Hotel Chambermaid” by Graham Parker and “Superstar” by the band Superstar. Two soulful ballads – ‘Secret Heart’ and ‘Shelly My Love’ – also found their way onto the track list. A new recording of the Faces classic ‘Ooh La La’ was also very well received by fans. ‘Ooh La La’ was released as a single together with ‘Rocks’ and the title track ‘When We Were The New Boys’.

In Scotland, the album shot to number one in the charts, and in the UK, ‘WWTNB’ was no less successful, landing at number two. In Germany, Stewart narrowly missed the top 10 (number 14), while in the USA, Sir Rod's 18th studio album landed in the middle of the charts (44).

‘The aim of the short but sweet album ‘When We Were the New Boys’ was clearly to return to the astonishing grace and relatively pared-down sound of ‘Every Picture Tells a Story’, and although it never quite reaches those extraordinary heights, it's still a real pleasure to get to know the new Rod. He's almost the same as the old Rod,’ wrote Rolling Stone in its album review.

‘When We Were the New Boys‘ was also very well received by fans. “Rocker Opa” from Germany said: “I love this album. Everything about it is just right. Minarettes and Alcohol, Oh La and Weak really rock, and Rod's voice comes across brilliantly. But even the ”quiet’ Rod knows how to please (Secret Heart and What Do You Want Me to Do).’ And Jaro, also from Germany, added: ‘The title track We Were The New Boys alone made it worth buying this album.’ ‘Music fan’ from the United Kingdom said: ‘The album is a great mix of cover versions and original compositions. It includes the great ballad “Shelley My Love” and the simply brilliant and simply best track on the album – the title track. Admittedly, I was never a big fan of Rod Stewart. A few songs here and there were okay. But this album really grabbed me."

Track list:

Cigarettes And Alcohol
Ohh La La
Rocks
Superstar
Secret Heart
Hotel Chambermaid
Shelly My Love
When We Were The New Boys
Weak
What Do You Want Me To Do?