When We Were the New Boys

Amazon.com Sure, it sounds kind of hokey on paper. The concept of Rod the Mod attempting to revisit his Faces/Every Picture Tells a Story glory days via a transfusion of hip new cover material. But surprise! This experiment actually works, and the raspy old rooster is crowing like he hasn't in years on Primal Scream's "Rocks," Oasis's "Cigarettes and Alcohol," Graham Parker's "Hotel Chambermaid," and even a bagpipe retro-fitted take on the Faces' vintage standby "Ooh La La." The title track works as a nice snapshot of memory lane, taken by one of rock's most legendary (and lately sorely overlooked) talents. Not exactly a second childhood, but it'll do. --Tom Lanham Product Description Rod returns with an exceptional new album that finds one of the world's greatest vocalists returning to his rock & roll roots. Not only has he recorded brilliant interpretations of material by such great contemporary songwriters as Nick Lowe and Graham Parker, he's also transformed tunes by such current British bands as Oasis and Primal Scream. Rod's new recording of the classic Faces song "Ooh La La" is the album's 1st single/video. Major U.S. tour begins in July. [Note: This product is an authorized CD-R and is manufactured on demand] Review Though Stewart's randy rasp can still marvel and move, he can't help but turn Oasis' "Cigarettes and Alcohol" and Primal Scream's "Rocks" into hammy, irony-challenged showbiz rock. -- Entertainment Weekly [Rod Stewart's] decision to try to recapture that early energy with stripped-down arrangements and harder-edged material is definitely a move in the right direction. Unfortunately, When We Were the New Boys is less an attempt at something fresh than a ham-fisted mishmash of old and new songs jacked up with self-consciously raw guitar sounds that scream, I'm back! -- The Los Angeles Times [W]ith When We Were the New Boys the resurgent 53-year-old lets the rocker within come out to play. Just as he did in his early ?70s prime, Stewart alternates chunky, bass-thumping songs ... and weep-in-your-pint story songs about lost mates and long-gone good times.... Clearly, the old rooster is back on his feet again. -- People