Nostalgia runs deep in ‘Blood Red Roses’

Nostalgia has been a focal feature of Rod Stewart’s songwriting even as far back as 1971’s Maggie May, and some of the best tunes on Blood Red Roses, his 30th studio album, explore that same vein.

Farewell pays tribute to a friend through a poignant melody and reminisces about their shared London youth. Honey Gold features sweeping strings, an electric guitar echoing the one on Tonight’s the Night and one of his clearest vocals on the record as Stewart honours an unidentified “woman of the world” who’s been around apparently since his time in The Faces.Most of the tracks were written by Sir Roderick himself and long-time associate Kevin Savigar, but Stewart also gives a touching performance on Grace, a song by Frank and Sean O’Meara and a tragic, true-life story about the briefest of marriages during the 1916 Irish insurrection against British rule.

Didn’t I, about parents struggling to cope with their daughter’s addiction; the sourish disco of Give Me Love; the lively, Motown-inspired Rest of My Life; and Look in Her Eyes, with sweet backing vocals from Bridget Cady, also hit the spot, but the tender Julia, another nostalgic chapter, is marred by distracting whitenoise-like guitar.

Stewart’s classic rasp is slightly silkier and still effective but Blood Red Roses isa bit all over the flower shop. —AP