Human

by Rod Stewart

Overview

Throughout his career, Rod Stewart has been remarkably skillful at adopting current musical trends, whether it was disco, new wave, adult contemporary, or even Brit-pop. Still, his records started to slip off the radar screen toward the end of the '90s, so he parted ways with Warner Bros. and signed to Atlantic, where he released Human in early 2001. Again, he tried to change with the times, which, theoretically, may have been a wise move, since his thoroughly credible trad rock When We Were the New Boys was largely ignored. Since he tried contemporary rock, it made sense that the pendulum would swing back and he would take a stab at contemporary soul. Seems logical, but as the neo-TLC title track starts, it's hard not to think "what the hell happened?" Cher's neo-electro move on "Believe" made some sense, since she had always indulged in trashy modern dance, but Stewart never played that game -- even when at the height of superstardom, he never pretended to be hip, which is what he's trying to do here. Surrounded by skittering drum machines and En Vogue-styled harmonies, crooning Babyface-styled ballads, it sounds like he's auditioning for the La Face roster. Rarely does Human try to be outright modern dance music, instead blatantly stealing these production techniques for a set of mid-tempo tunes and ballads that are firmly adult contemporary territory in content -- they're just delivered as if they had a chance of sitting at the top of the charts, alongside Pink. In general, the slow ballads wind up being a bit better, since Stewart has gravitated toward that style during the '90s, while the livelier numbers, such as "Don't Come Around Here" (the Mary J. Blige duet) also work at times. Still, it's bizarre to hear Stewart in this setting, since he not only doesn't mesh with the sound, but he also has a really awkward batch of songs, typified by the clumsy "Smitten," the bewildering love song "Charlie Parker Loves Me," or the cut-time "love's merry-go-round" refrain of "It Was Love That We Needed." Consider this: the most effective songs are "To Be With You," "Run Back Into Your Arms," and "I Can't Deny It," three fairly conventional Rod Stewart numbers tucked away toward the end of the album. Apart from that, Human is the sound of an artist painfully trying to sound modern but -- by trying to sound fresh -- sounding older than he ever has. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	03/21/2011
Label:	Atlantic
UPC:	0075678341120
Rank:	108946

Tracks

1. Human
2. Smitten
3. Don't Come Around Here
4. Soul On Soul
5. Loveless
6. If I Had You
7. Charlie Parker Loves Me
8. It Was Love That We Needed
9. To Be With You
10. Run Back Into Your Arms
11. I Can't Deny It

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Rod Stewart   Primary Artist,Vocals
Helicopter Girl   Primary Artist,Vocals
Mark Knopfler   Guest Artist,Guitar,Soloist
Slash   Guest Artist,Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Conner Reeves   Vocals (Background)
Connor Reeves   Vocals (Background)
Chris Pelcer   Bass,Keyboards,Guitar (Bass)
Robin Smith   Conductor
Pino Palladino   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Jesse Johnson   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Carl Carwell   Vocals (Background)
Sue Ann Carwell   Vocals (Background)
Danielle Brisebois   Vocals (Background)
London Session Orchestra   Strings,Orchestra
Joe Turano   Vocals (Background)
Jackie Simley   Vocals (Background)
Robbie McIntosh   Guitar (Electric)
Octave   Guitar (Bass)
Nick Richards   Drums,Percussion
Robyn Smith   Conductor,String Conductor
Gavin Wright   Conductor
Alexandria Brown   Vocals (Background)
Jackie Sinley-Stevens   Vocals (Background)
Jeff Poseto   Vocals (Background)
Yvonne Williams   Vocals (Background)
Steve Pigott   Bass,Keyboards,Guitar (Bass)
Robert MacIntosh   Guitar

Technical Credits

Kenneth Thomas   Composer
Kenny Thomas   Composer
Tony Duran   Photography
Conner Reeves   Composer
Connor Reeves   Composer
Barrett Strong   Composer
Chuck Berry   Composer
Christopher Neil   Producer,Vocal Producer
Larry Troutman   Composer
Curtis Mayfield   Composer
James House   Composer
Gary Wallis   Arranger,String Arrangements
Gregg Alexander   Composer,Producer
John Capek   Composer
Walter Turbitt   Engineer,Recording
John Reid   Composer
Macy Gray   Composer
Sam Cooke   Composer
Dennis Charles   Mixing,Producer,Remixing,Remix Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Roger Sommers   Engineer,Recording
Roger Troutman   Composer
Robin Smith   Arranger
Rod Stewart   Producer
Rick Nowels   Composer,Producer,Vocal Producer
Richard Wilkinson   Assistant,Recording,Assistant Engineer
Mark Taylor   Mixing,Producer,Mixing,Composer,Producer,Mixing Engineer,Producer,Mixing Engineer
Raul Malo   Composer
Sergey Rachmaninov   Composer
Toby Chapman   Arranger,String Arrangements
Arik Marshall   Composer
Brian Rawling   Composer,Producer
Dave Way   Mixing,Remix Engineer,Mixing Engineer
David Frank   Composer
Meredith Leung   Assistant,Recording,Assistant Engineer
Keith Uddin   Assistant,Mixing Engineer
Danielle Brisebois   Producer,Vocal Producer
Danny Kortchmar   Vocal Producer
Marc Jordan   Composer
Gavyn Wright   Leader,Coordination
Steve Churchyard   Mixing,Engineer,Recording,Vocal Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Simon Hurrell   Engineer,Recording
David Wilder   Composer
K-Gee   Composer
Stewart Whitmore   Editing,Digital Editing
Helicopter Girl   Performer
Norman Whitfield   Composer
Lincoln Jean-Marie   Composer
Graham Stack   Composer,Producer
Richard Bates   Art Direction
Sam Noel   Engineer,Recording
Andre Horstmann   Engineer,Recording
Paul Barry   Composer
Stephen Marcussen   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Andy Davis   Composer
Simon Hale   Translation,Transcription
Steve Kipner   Composer
Karl Gordon   Composer
Neil Aldridge   Engineer,Recording
Ed Colman   Engineer,Recording
Andrea Brooks   Design,Art Direction
Octave   Producer,Additional Production
Nick Richards   Drum Programming
Chris Brown   Engineer,Recording,Engineer
Alex Ander   Composer
Bob Dickins   Executive Producer
Robyn Smith   String Arrangements
Gavin Wright   Leader,Coordination
Dave Wilder   Composer
Karl "K Gee" Gordon   Producer,Drum Programming
Andrew Davis   Composer,Composer
Natalie Hinds   Composer
Alison Clarkson   Composer
Mark Philip Taylor   Composer
Avril Mackintosh   Engineer,Pro-Tools
Trevor Fisher   Composer
Jacqueline Margaret Joyce   Composer
Delmar Edwards   Composer
PJ Campbell   Composer
Prince   Composer
Jeremy Ruzumna   Composer
Niven Garland   Mixing,Remixing,Remix Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Michael Brauer   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Michelle Escoffery   Producer,Vocal Producer
Moe "The Man" El Khamlichi   Engineer,Recording
Jackie Joyce   Composer
Steve Price   Engineer,Recording
Rob Dickins   Executive Producer