A Spanner in the Works | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
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 | ||||
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Singles from A Spanner in the Works | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Entertainment Weekly | C+ [2] |
NME | 5/10 [3] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
A Spanner in the Works is the seventeenth studio album released by Rod Stewart on 29 May 1995. It ended a four-year gap since his previous studio album, Vagabond Heart . Although he did release the live album Unplugged...and Seated in 1993, as of 2024, this remains Stewart's longest break between studio albums. It was released on Warner Bros. Records 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".
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 Stewart's 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 Francis McPeake. "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.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Windy Town" | Chris Rea | Trevor Horn | 5:12 |
2. | "The Downtown Lights" | Paul Buchanan | Trevor Horn | 6:33 |
3. | "Leave Virginia Alone" | Tom Petty | James Newton Howard, Michael Ostin, Lenny Waronker | 4:07 |
4. | "Sweetheart Like You" | Bob Dylan | Horn | 4:54 |
5. | "This" | John Capek, Marc Jordan | Horn | 5:19 |
6. | "Lady Luck" | Carmine Rojas, Jeff Golub, Kevin Savigar, Rod Stewart | Horn | 4:25 |
7. | "You're the Star" | Billy Livsey, Frankie Miller, Graham Lyle | Horn, Bernard Edwards | 4:39 |
8. | "Muddy, Sam and Otis" | Stewart, Savigar | Horn | 4:42 |
9. | "Hang On St. Christopher" | Tom Waits | Horn | 4:04 |
10. | "Delicious" | Stewart, Andy Taylor, Robin LeMesurier | Edwards, Andy Taylor | 4:43 |
11. | "Soothe Me" | Sam Cooke | Edwards | 3:33 |
12. | "Purple Heather" | Traditional; arranged by Stewart | Horn | 4:58 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada) [5] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [6] | Gold | 7,500^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [7] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [8] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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