A Spanner in the Works

A Spanner in the Works
Studio album by Rod Stewart
Released 29 May 1995
Recorded 1993–95
Studio Woodstock House Co. (Wicker, Ireland); A&M Studios and Ocean Way Recording (Los Angeles, CA); Herschel House (Hollywood, CA).
Genre Rock, pop rock
Length 57:15
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Trevor Horn, Rod Stewart, James Newton-Howard, Michael Ostin, Lenny Waronker, Bernard Edwards, Andy Taylor.
Rod Stewart chronology
Unplugged...and Seated
(1993)		 A Spanner in the Works
(1995)		 If We Fall in Love Tonight
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

A Spanner in the Works is a studio album released by Rod Stewart on 26 May 1995. It is Stewart's seventeenth studio album and ended a four-year gap since his previous studio album. At the time it was Stewart's longest break between albums. It was released on Warner Bros. Records (WEA 9362 45867-1/2) in The United States, The United Kingdom, and Japan. Five singles were released: "You're The Star", "Leave Virginia Alone", "This", "Lady Luck", and "Purple Heather".

Content

The album includes covers of Bob Dylan's "Sweetheart Like You" and The Blue Nile's "The Downtown Lights". The song "Muddy, Sam, And Otis", is his tribute to Muddy Waters, Sam Cooke, and Otis Redding. Track 12, later released as a single featuring the Scottish Euro '96 Football Squad, "Purple Heather" is a folk song that normally goes by the name "Wild Mountain Thyme". It is often credited as traditional, but was written by The McPeakes. "Leave Virginia Alone" was written by Tom Petty and recorded for his album Wildflowers, but was left off the finished album and given to Stewart instead.

Track listing

  1. "Windy Town" (Chris Rea) – 5:12
  2. "The Downtown Lights" (Paul Buchanan) – 6:33
  3. "Leave Virginia Alone" (Tom Petty) – 4:07
  4. "Sweetheart Like You" (Bob Dylan) – 4:54
  5. "This" (John Capek, Marc Jordan) – 5:19
  6. "Lady Luck" (Carmine Rojas, Jeff Golub, Kevin Savigar, Rod Stewart) – 4:25
  7. "You're The Star" (Billy Livsey, Frankie Miller, Graham Lyle) – 4:39
  8. "Muddy, Sam and Otis" (Stewart, Savigar) – 4:42
  9. "Hang on St. Christopher" (Tom Waits) – 4:04
  10. "Delicious" (Stewart, Andy Taylor, Robin LeMesurier) – 4:43
  11. "Soothe Me" (Sam Cooke) – 3:33
  12. "Purple Heather" (Traditional, arranged Stewart) – 4:58

Notes

Personnel

Production Credits

  • Executive Producers – Rob Dickins and Michael Ostin
  • Recording – Tim Weidner (Tracks 1, 2 & 5); Steve MacMillan (Track 3); Le Mobile (Tracks 4-12).
  • Engineer – Charlie Bouis (Tracks 6-12)
  • Assistant Recording – Mike Baumgartner (Tracks 1)
  • Assistant Engineer – Eric Johnston (Tracks 7-12)
  • Mixed by Steve MacMillan
  • Mix Assistants – Rich Rowe (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 9 & 12); Pat 59 (Track 6); Rail Rogut (Tracks 7, 8, 10 & 11).
  • Mixed at Sarm Studios (London, England); Conway Studios (Hollywood, CA); A&M Studios and Ocean Way Recording.
  • Mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Precision Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
  • Design – Greg Ross
  • Photography – Herb Ritts
  • Management – Annie Challis, Randy Phillips and Arnold Stiefel at Stiefel Phillips Entertainment.

Charts

The album achieved a Gold certification in both the US and UK. In those countries it would peak at No. 35 and No. 4 respectively.

Singles
YearSongRank
1995"Leave Virginia Alone"52 (US)
1995"You're the Star"19 (UK) 53 (GER)
1995"This"119 (US)
1995"Lady Luck"39 (JP) 56 (UK) 65 (GER)
1996"Purple Heather" (with the Scottish Euro '96 Football Squad)16 (UK)

References

  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  3. ↑ Rolling Stone Album Guide
  • A Spanner in the Works album liner notes. Warner Bros. Records.
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