Stardust...The Great American Songbook Volume III
You've got to give Rod Stewart credit. He improbably revived his career by donning a dinner jacket and dusting off some old standards with 2002's It Had to Be You...The Great American Songbook and then last year's As Time Goes By...The Great American Songbook Volume II. For the raspy-voiced rocker who once salivated after "Hot Legs," this was indeed an extreme makeover. Now, with the third installment of his Songbook franchise, Stewart, at 59, has notched his first No. 1 album on the Billboard pop chart since 1978's Blondes Have More Fun. Unfortunately, Stardust amounts to another lackluster artistic effort. While the sound of Hot Rod crooning classics like "Embraceable You" and "For Sentimental Reasons" has grown more tolerable with time, he's still no Tony Bennett. Two duets produce mixed results. Stewart and Bette Midler make a delightful duo on a playful "Manhattan," while his ill-matched pairing with Dolly Parton on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" fails to generate any heat.
DOWN LOAD THIS: "Manhattan"
