Album of the Day

Ever with his ear to the musical ground, Rod Stewart shifted from the disco moves of his late-'70s hits to add a touch of synth-pop to his sound for 1981's TONIGHT I'M YOURS. The ten tracks include three well-chosen covers including Dylan's “Just Like a Woman” and Ace's “How Long?,” but it's the originals here that really shine. “Young Turks,” “Tora, Tora, Tora (Out With The Boys)” and the title track, all successful singles, show Stewart's pen to be as distinctive as his voice (the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement songwriting award he won on this day in 1999 further confirms this). The new wave-tinged arrangements fit the performer like a glove, though old school session pros (guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, fiddler Byron Berline and drummer Carmine Appice, among others) help out as well. The Expanded Edition of the platinum-selling TONIGHT, I'M YOURS adds six rare rehearsal and live recordings as bonus tracks to Rod's best album of the 1980s.