Sir Rod Stewart finds inspiration from the unlikeliest of sources. His ’70s disco megahit, “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy,” a highlight of his Rod Stewart: The Hits Vegas residency, drew fire from critics but endures with more than 300 million Spotify streams to date. His dive into pop standards beginning with 2002’s It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook kicked off a series that turned Stewart into a steward of classic songwriting. Now his latest album, Swing Fever, has put him and collaborator Jools Holland at the top of the U.K. charts.
The top, as in No. 1. Stewart had last reached No. 1 in the U.S. with 2006 album Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of Our Time. That album covered nearly 35 years of chart chestnuts from “Love Hurts” to The Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand by You.” Stewart gave Motown and Philly Soul the same treatment three years later with Soulbook. With Swing Fever he gives some of the most amazing performances of his post-2000 recording career.
That has a lot to do with crossing paths with Holland. Known in the States mainly for co-founding British pop band Squeeze and serving as a guest VJ on MTV, Holland is a living institution for his role as host of long-running late-night BBC music program Later … with Jools Holland. A virtuoso stride pianist, Holland has an infectious enthusiasm for and encyclopedic knowledge of all styles of music.
In March, 50 years after Squeeze formed, he had his first No. 1 album. Stewart’s last studio effort to top the U.K. charts was 1976’s A Night on the Town, with 1971’s Every Picture Tells a Story being his first No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic. The pair received the news after performing at a Feb. 29 Prince’s Trust dinner, giving them cause for celebration.
Stewart sounds like he’s celebrating throughout Swing Fever. The album opens with “Lullaby of Broadway,” with muted horns and tap dancing complementing the vocalist’s rasp and Holland’s boogie-woogie playing. Stewart really opens up on next track “Oh Marie,” indulging scat-singing that may come as a surprise to most longtime fans and make late Vegas showroom king Louis Prima proud.
Whether Stewart adds Swing Fever material to his Colosseum residency sets remains to be seen, but there are several songs that would work. Proto rock ’n’ roll song “Good Rockin’ Tonight” would fit right in, and he’s performed “Pennies from Heaven” live with Holland. Covers have long been staples of Stewart’s sets, with Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” and Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind” included in concerts during Stewart’s recent summer tour of Europe.
He’s included surprises at Rod Stewart: The Hits before, along with familiar renditions of Sam Cooke’s “Twistin’ the Night Away” and Van Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately.” Lucky fans of Stewart’s tenure in The Faces may get to be present for “Ooh La La,” but of course no matter which era is a favorite, all audience members there will be dancing during “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy.”
Caesars Palace. ticketmaster.com
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