The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 385

Number 385

Rod Stewart

"Tonights The Night"

(1976)

................Genre: Rock...............

Love, hate, adore or despise, these are some of the emotions joe public have about Rod Stewart. Personally, I think he has been a fantastic entertainer and certainly in my youth sung some of the greatest songs to inspire me musically, but, he is not a John Lennon or a Jeff Buckley, if you get my drift. Sure, I teased him in Number 432 but he was ripe for special attention on his fetish for wives/clones of and/or blonde's. When Rod was in his hey-day, there was nothing better vocally, he knew it, the world knew it and every single woman who closed his bedroom door knew it [I guess].

I know what you're thinking, that i am envious of his prowess but in fact what i am really envious was his gift to sing. To me, i would swap that for any womanising fantasy. I cannot express enough what it must be like to show your emotions by the power of singing, it would have to be the most exhilarating thing to do in front of a large audience to show what you feel with artistic passion.

Wheres my Knighthood?

After bouncing back to life with Atlantic Crossing, Rod Stewart crafted his most self-consciously ambitious record with A Night on the Town. The centerpiece of the album, "The Killing of Georgie, Pts. 1 & 2," was a long, winding Dylanesque tale of the murder of one of Stewart's gay friends and was one of his better songs of the mid-'70s. Even if "The Killing of Georgie" was the conscious artistic focal point of A Night on the Town, the true masterpiece of the album was an eloquent rendition of Cat Stevens' "The First Cut Is the Deepest." Apart from the flawed political platitudes of "Trade Winds," the rest of the album was filled with competent, professional pop/rock, highlighted by the number one hit "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)," a ballad where the gallant Rod relieves a teenager of her virginity. And, again, the "Slow Half" was more convincing than the frequently perfunctory "Fast Half." Recorded in Los Angeles with a group of studio musicians, 1976's A Night on the Town continued Stewart's move to slicker pop territory and proved quite successful, becoming his first platinum album; it featured the hit single "Tonight's the Night," which was number one in the U.S. for eight weeks.~ [Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide]

Tonight's The Night [Oh really?]

Stewart & Bowie on the piss. Uh oh

"Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" is a song written and recorded by Rod Stewart at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama for his 1976 album A Night on the Town. The song became his second US chart topper and charted well in other parts of the world as well. The song features whispers from Britt Ekland who was Stewart's girlfriend at the time. The song is considered one of the stronger works on the subject of seduction. The singer is addressing a girl (later it states that she is a virgin) in which he demands she not do certain things, states some things he wants her to do, and tells her where she is to go and informs her of some of the things he wants to do with her. One particular line is a relatively blatant double entendre referring to having sex: 'Cmon Angel my heart's on fire - Don't deny your man's desire - You'd be a fool to stop this tide - Spread your wings and let me come inside 'cause Tonight's the night (gonna be alright)'. Janet Jackson did a re-make but "In Jackson's cover, the lyrics imply that she and her partner are about to share a threesome with another woman. Indeed, Janet begins the song by saying, "This is just between me and you...and you." Additionally, each chorus addresses a different person, as she sings, "'Cause I love you, boy" in one and "'Cause I love you, girl" in another." ~ [Source: Wikipedia]

For John Lennon see Number 492 & #639

For Jeff Buckley see MM Vol 2 #125

For Bob Dylan see Number 491, #841 & #929

What does RS think about Mr Stewart [CBE]?

But this album's best song, "Tonight's the Night," is defensible both logically and technically. One of many tributes to Sam Cooke, Stewart's soul music inspiration, it is also his closest approximation of that sound. The strings, for once, are perfect—only Cooke or Stewart could swing through such syrup with so little effort and so much power. The guitar figure has the kind of pop elegance that characterized Abbey Road; the drumming is as confident as the singing. Such pleasures never last long—if "Tonight's the Night" is about the first few weeks of sexual passion, the rest of the album is about the rest of a lifetime. But the promise of "Tonight's the Night," its tenderness, gives greater resonance than ever before to the catastrophes which inevitably follow Stewart. ~ [Source: Rolling Stone]

For Sam Cooke see Number 481

Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '385th Song of all Time' was "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby Still & Nash have appeared in The Definitive 1000 @ #660

Other songs with reference to Rod Stewart #434, #435, #440, #503, #531, #563, #636

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Oh God no, dear oh dear) and the Album ranked at (But don't ya think we're sexy?) [no]

This song has a Definitive 1000 rating of 79.4 out of 108