If We Fall in Love Tonight - Stewart, Rod (CD 1996)

I was riding in my car when I first heard "Downtown Train" on the radio. I not only liked the beat to the song, I liked the voice of the person who was singing it. It came to be quite a disappointment to me when the dee-jay never announced who sang it. This happened three different times when finally I pulled over to the side of the road, grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen and scribbled some of the words down. It didn't matter who I asked, no one knew who the singer was. Even e-mails to the radio station didn't produce any results.

It took me a year to find out. It wasn't until I was in a clothing store when I heard another song, an even prettier song "Forever Young" with the same "unusual" voice. "Excuse me sir" I said to the young man behind the counter, "Would you please, by any chance if you know, tell me who the singer of that song is." Bingo! ~~ I had the name and this is how I came to buy this album.

You're probably wondering where I was back in the late 60's on up to have never heard Rod Stewart's songs. Well first I was into Rock and Roll, Sam Cooke, Bobby Darin, Buddy Holly and all of those rock hits. Then I switched to listening to country music's Conway Twitty ,Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette and all of those other country bumpkins while raising children and never knew who this wiry person with a husking voice was.

Rod Stewart's album "Forever Young" was released in 1996 and is a 15-track collection of romantic ballads bringing together some of his best-known hits from the 70's along with 4 newly-recorded songs. One of which should never have been included in this album. (will tell more about that later)

"You're In My Heart", "Forever Young" and "Have I told You Lately" (three of my favorites) were single best-loved songs ever written that made the top 40 in the United States and the United Kingdom. "When I Need You" has pleasant black soul gospel choir singing in the background. Rod's voice becomes magical in this one ending in his raspy whisper as some of his other songs do.

"For The First Time" is an original by Newton Howard and is one great big emotional song in itself and Rod's singing only adds to the effect. In some parts he sings it as if he's crying and the result is outstanding ending in that raspy whisper that attracted me to that hard-to-find song that I mentioned in the beginning of this review. This is my very favorite and the most beautiful song on this album.

"You're In My Heart" is a studio version mix of his 1993 top single. As I mentioned, this one is also one of my specials. He starts it off with a clear tone of slow singing (almost like talking but with a raspy vocal tone) and the chorus is fast with a nice beat to it. The lyrics have a lot of meaning and one of the most touching songs on the album. "Tonight's The Night (gonna be alright)" is track number 10 on this album and is an "okay" song sung with beautiful acoustic guitar work.

I don't care too much for "Broken Arrow" or "So Far Away" but since the other beautiful songs are on the album, I do accept listening to them. "So Far Away" is Rod's contribution to the Carole King tribute album. It's not a bad song but it just doesn't click with me.

The only downfall (and a "big" one) to the entire album is the last track which is called "All For Love" with Bryan Adams and Sting. Eeek!! This is the only song that I really don't like at all. In fact, I hate the song!! The trio just doesn't go together and the voices are just a whole lot of racket to me hardly making it a song at all. I think Rod Stewart's singing was taken over by these guys. "So Far Away" and "All For Love" have never appeared on any other Rod Stewart album. I wonder why they had to be on this one?

The other songs on the album are "My Heart Can't Tell You No" which is a pretty good song. "I don't Want To Talk About It" and "Sometimes When We Touch" and "First Cut Is The Deepest" (kind of a personal song) are sung beautifully. So, actually there are more good songs on the album than bad ones. So, these are the classic love songs from the past and the present sung by a wiry guy with a shock of unruly hair who made a comeback (I hear he's still out there singing today) with the same husking voice and fading whisper. This all adds a "uniqueness" to his songs, the kind I discovered on my car radio listening to the "Downtown Train."