News: Rod Stewart To Release Collection of Live Recordings
3 min read
(Australia) Rod Stewart is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time and throughout his unprecedented five-decade-long career, the singer-songwriter has also earned the distinction of being one of the most beloved live performers in the world. The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Grammy™ Living Legend has entertained countless fans around the world with his passionate and charismatic live performances – even holding the record for the largest-ever free concert, which attracted an estimated 4.2 million in Rio de Janeiro on New Year’s Eve in 1996.
Warner Bros. Records shines a spotlight on Stewart’s phenomenal legacy on stage with a four-disc collection that spans more than 20 years with 58 unreleased live recordings that include his biggest hits along with some incredible covers. Live 1976-1998: Tonight’s The Night will be available on Friday 21 March.
Arranged chronologically, the opening disc is comprised of performances recorded in a variety of venues across England in 1976. Many of the songs are from Stewart’s then-current album, the double-platinum A Night on the Town, including the smash, Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright), which was a #1 hit in the U.S. for eight weeks. Other memorable performances include You Wear It Well, Maggie May and (I Know) I’m Losing You from the #1 Australian album, Every Picture Tells a Story.
The second disc includes two songs recorded in 1976 – Sailing and Stay With Me, a song Stewart originally recorded with the Faces – but the majority of the music comes from a 1979 concert at the Forum in Los Angeles. Performances include (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right from the triple-platinum Foot Loose and Fancy Free, and the title track from Stewart’s #1 Australian album, Blondes Have More Fun. Also featured are several songs from Foolish Behavior recorded in 1980 at Wembley Stadium, as well as Stewart’s raucous duet with Tina Turner on Hot Legs, from a 1981 show in LA.
The third disc spans 1984-89 and features a selection of strong performances from two concerts. One was recorded in 1984 in San Diego and includes Some Guys Have All The Luck and You’re In My Heart (Final Acclaim). The second concert was recorded in 1989 at the Meadowlands, on the tail end of his tour in support of Stewart’s US double platinum album Out Of Order. Those songs include Forever Young, Infatuation, Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? and I Ain’t Superstitious, a song he originally recorded in 1968 with the Jeff Beck Group.
The final disc includes recordings made between 1991-98, beginning with a 1991 show at Wembley Stadium where Stewart mixed Downtown Train and Baby Jane with classics like Mandolin Wind. Stewart was riding a massive wave of success from the Unplugged…and Seated album in 1993 when he performed at the Greek Theatre in LA. Several songs taken from that show touch on Stewart’s early years, like Handbags And Gladrags from his solo debut An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down (1969), Cut Across Shorty from Gasoline Alley (1970) and (Find A) Reason To Believe from Every Picture Tells A Story (1971).
The final disc closes with covers of Oasis’ Cigarettes And Alcohol and Primal Scream’s Rocks recorded in London in 1998. Those are just two of the many covers featured on LIVE 1976-1998, each a showcase for Stewart’s unparalleled skill at interpreting other artists’ music. Among the highlights are: Bruce Springsteen’s Hungry Heart, the Beatles’ Get Back, Jimi Hendrix’s Angel, Van Morrison’s Have I Told You Lately, B.B. King’s Rock Me Baby, the blues standard Baby Please Don’t Go and several songs by Sam Cooke, who had an enormous influence on Stewart.
Live 1976-1998: Tonight’s The Night will be available on Friday 21 March.
