Rod Stewart, “Blood Red Roses” (Decca Records)-In recent years Rod Stewart has channelled his energies into the production of a series of easy on the ear covers collections which couldn’t have been further removed from the delightfully eclectic and heartfelt fare which made his name during the late sixties and early seventies. Rod has abandoned this highly lucrative formula for a while to assemble “Blood Red Roses” however, joining forces once again with long term collaborator Kevin Savigar to pen a varied musical package whose contents run the gamut from the snappy, Motown influenced pop of “Rest of My Life” to the distinctly bizarre variant on a Ewan MacColl sea shanty which supplies the album’s rather unlikely title track.
