Music legend Rod Stewart has not one, but two new music collections coming out over the next few months. The 67 year-old rocker will release a holiday album at the end of October, followed by another album in the spring of 2013 that will feature his first original material in over a decade.
The holiday album, entitled Merry Christmas Baby, contains a number of high-profile collaborations, including duets with Michael Bublé, Mary J. Blige, Cee Lo Green, and even a virtual duet with the late Ella Fitzgerald. There aren’t many surprises in terms of songs selection – “Silent Night,” “White Christmas,” and “Winter Wonderland” are all included – but given the all-star roster of guest musicians and singers, the album will likely be one of the highlights of the 2012 holiday release season.
The other album, rumoured to be titled Love the Life You Live, does not have a firm release date yet, but Stewart claims that the album is mostly finished, with ten of the eleven tracks completed so far. The creation of the songs came as a surprise to Stewart, who said he thought his songwriting days were long behind him until friend and colleague Jim Cregan encouraged him to give it one more try.
Stewart says he has moved on from sexually-charged themes for this new album, and that listeners can expect tunes that are more laid-back, mature, and universally relatable.
Fans will be able to hear the new songs as early as February, when Stewart will be embarking on a tour of the United States. A European tour is also in the works for later in the spring or summer of 2013, but no firm dates have been announced yet.