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It's the kind of concept that seems brilliant on paper: revive the career of one of the great vocalists of the rock era by having him sing the great American pop songs of the pre-rock era. It was done before with Linda Ronstadt, and it worked well, so why not Rod Stewart, whose career was in shambles in 2002 following the disastrous modern R&B record Human? Clive Davis, the man behind Santana's comeback, masterminded the whole thing, and It Had to Be You was born. Again, the whole thing sounds good on paper, but in practice, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Certainly, following a throat operation, Stewart is singing better than he has in years, and he feels much more comfortable here than he did on Human, but the whole project has an artificial undercurrent that's hard to shake, especially since the song selection, the arrangements, and the performances play it so safe they're largely undistinguished. It's not necessarily bad, but it doesn't have much character outside of Rod's voice, and his soulful rasp isn't really suited for these songs. Nevertheless, this is exactly what it's billed as -- Rod sings the Great American Songbook -- and it's done with professionalism and ease, so it's a pleasant listen. But it won't replace Sinatra, of course, or even Ronstadt's similar work with Nelson Riddle.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Rod Stewart, Performer - J. Fred Coots, Composer - J. Fred Coots, Lyricist - Richard Perry, Producer - Richard Perry, Arranger - Renato Neto, Assistant Producer - Renato Neto, Arranger - Mark Valentine, Engineer - Carter Humprhey, Mixing Engineer - Tal Bergman, Assistant Producer - Tal Bergman, Arranger - Haven Gillespie, Composer - Haven Gillespie, Lyricist
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Rod Stewart, Performer - George Gershwin, Composer - George Gershwin, Lyricist - Richard Perry, Producer - Richard Perry, Arranger - Carter Humprhey, Engineer - Carter Humprhey, Mixing Engineer - Ira Gershwin, Composer - Ira Gershwin, Lyricist - Jeffrey "Woody" Woodruff, Engineer - Will Hollis, Arranger
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Rod Stewart, Performer - Richard Perry, Producer - Dorothy Fields, Composer - Dorothy Fields, Lyricist - Carter Humprhey, Engineer - Carter Humprhey, Mixing Engineer - Bob Mann, Arranger - Jeffrey "Woody" Woodruff, Engineer - Jerome Kern, Composer - Jerome Kern, Lyricist
(P) 2002 Sony Music Entertainment
Rod Stewart, Performer - Rob Mounsey, Arranger - Phil Ramone, Producer - Frank Filipetti, Engineer - Frank Filipetti, Mixing Engineer - Don Sebesky, Arranger - Don Sebesky, Orchestrator - Isham Jones, Composer - Isham Jones, Lyricist - Gus Kahn, Composer - Gus Kahn, Lyricist
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Rod Stewart, Performer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Philippe Saisse, Arranger - Lew Brown, Composer - Lew Brown, Lyricist - Doug Katsaros, Arranger - Sammy Fain, Composer - Sammy Fain, Lyricist - Frank Filipetti, Engineer - Frank Filipetti, Mixing Engineer
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Rod Stewart, Performer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Holt Marvell, Composer - Holt Marvell, Lyricist - Doug Katsaros, Arranger - Frank Filipetti, Engineer - Frank Filipetti, Mixing Engineer - Jack Strachey, Composer - Jack Strachey, Lyricist
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Rod Stewart, Performer - Richard Perry, Producer - Carter Humprhey, Mixing Engineer - Bob Mann, Arranger - Jeffrey "Woody" Woodruff, Engineer - Ray Noble, Composer - Ray Noble, Lyricist
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Rod Stewart, Performer - Irving Mills, Composer - Irving Mills, Lyricist - Phil Ramone, Producer - Will Hudson, Composer - Will Hudson, Lyricist - Philippe Saisse, Orchestrator - Frank Filipetti, Engineer - Frank Filipetti, Mixing Engineer - Don Sebesky, Arranger - Don Sebesky, Orchestrator - Edgar DeLange, Composer - Edgar DeLange, Lyricist
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Rod Stewart, Performer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Irving Kahal, Composer - Irving Kahal, Lyricist - Sammy Fain, Composer - Sammy Fain, Lyricist - Frank Filipetti, Engineer - Frank Filipetti, Mixing Engineer - Don Sebesky, Arranger
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Rod Stewart, Performer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Doug Katsaros, Arranger - Cole Porter, Composer - Cole Porter, Lyricist - Frank Filipetti, Engineer - Frank Filipetti, Mixing Engineer
(P) 2002 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Jeremy Lubbock, Arranger - Rod Stewart, Performer - Phil Ramone, Assistant Producer - Richard Perry, Producer - Ned Washington, Composer - Ned Washington, Lyricist - Hoagy Carmichael, Composer - Hoagy Carmichael, Lyricist - Carter Humprhey, Mixing Engineer - Jeffrey "Woody" Woodruff, Engineer
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Rod Stewart, Performer - J. Fred Coots, Composer - J. Fred Coots, Lyricist - Phil Ramone, Producer - Philippe Saisse, Orchestrator - Frank Filipetti, Engineer - Frank Filipetti, Mixing Engineer - Don Sebesky, Arranger - Don Sebesky, Orchestrator - Sam Lewis, Composer - Sam Lewis, Lyricist
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Rod Stewart, Performer - Richard Perry, Producer - Frankie Laine, Composer - Frankie Laine, Lyricist - Carl Fischer, Composer - Carl Fischer, Lyricist - Carter Humprhey, Mixing Engineer - Bob Mann, Arranger - Jeffrey "Woody" Woodruff, Engineer
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Rod Stewart, Performer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Alan Brandt, Composer - Alan Brandt, Lyricist - Bob Haymes, Composer - Bob Haymes, Lyricist - Doug Katsaros, Arranger - Frank Filipetti, Engineer - Frank Filipetti, Mixing Engineer
(P) 2002 BMG Music LLC
Albumbeschreibung
It's the kind of concept that seems brilliant on paper: revive the career of one of the great vocalists of the rock era by having him sing the great American pop songs of the pre-rock era. It was done before with Linda Ronstadt, and it worked well, so why not Rod Stewart, whose career was in shambles in 2002 following the disastrous modern R&B record Human? Clive Davis, the man behind Santana's comeback, masterminded the whole thing, and It Had to Be You was born. Again, the whole thing sounds good on paper, but in practice, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Certainly, following a throat operation, Stewart is singing better than he has in years, and he feels much more comfortable here than he did on Human, but the whole project has an artificial undercurrent that's hard to shake, especially since the song selection, the arrangements, and the performances play it so safe they're largely undistinguished. It's not necessarily bad, but it doesn't have much character outside of Rod's voice, and his soulful rasp isn't really suited for these songs. Nevertheless, this is exactly what it's billed as -- Rod sings the Great American Songbook -- and it's done with professionalism and ease, so it's a pleasant listen. But it won't replace Sinatra, of course, or even Ronstadt's similar work with Nelson Riddle.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 00:49:02
- Main artists: Rod Stewart
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: J Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock
(P) 2002 J Records LLC
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