[TR24][OF] Rod Stewart - Camouflage - 1984/2013 (Rock)

Review:
This is a transitional Rod Stewart album, as he was starting to move away from edgy bluesy pop/rock and towards the more Adult Contemporary pop singer he's known as today. In fact, I'd call this the last album where he could be considered cool, as there were traces of his soft image creeping in already, but it's mostly an 80s pop album.

The biggest hit was the happier, upbeat dancefloor rocker "Some Guys Have All the Luck" which also had a good sax solo. It's certainly reminiscent of the time, with that keyboard sound, but it's aged well. This is probably my all time favorite song of his. "Infatuation" is a slightly edgy mid tempo rock song that builds up with a guitar solo in the middle. It's also memorable for its video, which, if I remember right, had a merry go round. The cover of Free's (A 70s band with Paul Rodgers of Bad Company) "All Right Now" is more synthlike and although it doesn't rock as hard as the original, it's a good addition.

The other songs aren't bad either, mostly synthesized pop/rock like the fast paced title track. The mid tempo somewhat edgy rocker "Bad for You" and the poppy, pleasant melodic "Heart Is On the Line" could've been hits too. There's 2 ballads which are good as well. "Can We Still Be Friends" is a catchy, more typical 80s love song, and the softer, quieter piano based synthy "Trouble" ends the album mellowly, but it's still a memorable, singable tune.

I'm not really a big fan of Rod's. I like some of his harder, early songs like "Hot Legs" and the disco themed "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy." I also like a few of his later soft rock hits like "So Far Away" but I'm still what you'd call a casual fan of his, meaning most of his radio hits are pretty much all I'd want from him, but this album is a good exception. I'm a pretty big 80s music fan, and anyone else who is (whether or not they'll proudly admit it) would probably like this album, as well as "Tonight I'm Yours" and maybe "Vagabond Heart" even if you're not much of a Rod Stewart fan.
--amazon.com

Contributing artists: Jeff Beck
Producer: Michael Omartian, Rod Stewart

Personnel: Rod Stewart (vocals); Jeff Beck, Michael Landau, Robin Le
Mesurier, Jim Cregan (guitar); Gary Herbig (saxophone); Jerry Hay,
Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Kim Hutchcroft, Charlie Loper (horns);
Jimmy Zavala (harmonica); Michael Omartian (keyboards, percussion,
background vocals); Kevin Savigar (keyboards); Jay Davis (bass); Tony
Brock (drums).

Recorded at Lion Share, Los Angeles, California.