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A Spanner in the Works

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A Spanner in the Works
Studio album by
Rod Stewart
Released29 May 1995 (1995-05-29)[1]
Studios
  • Woodstock House Co. (Wicker, Ireland)
  • Sarm (London, UK)
  • A&M, Ocean Way Recording, Herschel House, Conway (Hollywood, California)
  • Le Mobile (San Diego, California)
Length57:15
LabelWarner Bros.
Producers
Rod Stewart chronology
Unplugged...and Seated
(1993)		 A Spanner in the Works
(1995)		 If We Fall in Love Tonight
(1996)
Singles from A Spanner in the Works
  1. "You're the Star"
    Released: 8 May 1995[2]
  2. "Leave Virginia Alone"
    Released: 16 May 1995[3]
  3. "Lady Luck"
    Released: 7 August 1995[4]
  4. "This"
    Released: 8 August 1995[5]
  5. "Purple Heather"
    Released: 3 June 1996[6]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar[7]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[8]
NME5/10[9]
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStar[10]

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".

Content

[edit]

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.

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Windy Town"Chris ReaTrevor Horn5:12
2."The Downtown Lights"Paul BuchananTrevor Horn6:33
3."Leave Virginia Alone"Tom PettyJames Newton Howard, Michael Ostin, Lenny Waronker4:07
4."Sweetheart Like You"Bob DylanHorn4:54
5."This"John Capek, Marc JordanHorn5:19
6."Lady Luck"Carmine Rojas, Jeff Golub, Kevin Savigar, Rod StewartHorn4:25
7."You're the Star"Billy Livsey, Frankie Miller, Graham LyleHorn, Bernard Edwards4:39
8."Muddy, Sam and Otis"Stewart, SavigarHorn4:42
9."Hang On St. Christopher"Tom WaitsHorn4:04
10."Delicious"Stewart, Andy Taylor, Robin LeMesurierEdwards, Andy Taylor4:43
11."Soothe Me"Sam CookeEdwards3:33
12."Purple Heather"Traditional; arranged by StewartHorn4:58

Personnel

[edit]

Musicians

Music arrangements

  • Anne Dudley – string arrangements and conductor (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 12)
  • Kevin Savigar – string arrangements and conductor (7, 11)
  • The Kick Horns – horn arrangements (9)
  • Rick Braun – horn arrangements (11)
  • Nick Lane – horn arrangements (11)
  • Lenny Pickett – horn arrangements (11)
  • David Woodford – horn arrangements (11)
  • Rod Stewart – arrangements (12)

Production

[edit]
  • Rob Dickins – executive producer
  • Michael Ostin – executive producer
  • Tim Weidner – recording (1, 2, 5)
  • Steve MacMillan – recording (3), mixing
  • Charlie Bouis – engineer (4, 6–12)
  • Eric Johnston – assistant engineer (4, 6–12)
  • Danny Alonso – mix assistant (1, 2)
  • Rich Rowe – mix assistant (1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 12)
  • Pat Thrasher – mix assistant (6)
  • Rail Rogut – mix assistant (7, 8, 10, 11)
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Precision Mastering (Hollywood, California)
  • Greg Ross – design
  • Herb Ritts – photography
  • Annie Challis, Randy Phillips and Arnold Stiefel at Stiefel Phillips Entertainment – management

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11]28
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12]13
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13]22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14]49
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15]2
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16]23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17]9
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18]13
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[19]6
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20]2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21]15
UK Albums (Official Charts)[22]4
US Billboard 200[23]35

Certifications

[edit]
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[24] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[25] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "New Releases: Albums". Music Week. 27 May 1995. p. 42.
  2. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 6 May 1995. p. 59.
  3. ↑ "Selected New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1094. 12 May 1995. p. 23.
  4. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 5 August 1995. p. 31.
  5. ↑ "Selected New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1106. 4 August 1995. p. 76.
  6. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 1 June 1996. p. 27.
  7. ↑ AllMusic review
  8. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review By Tom Sinclair, posted on 1995-06-09, archived from the original on 2017-04-07
  9. ↑ Moody, Paul (10 June 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 49. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Rolling Stone Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  11. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  12. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  15. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs. Volume 61, Issue 23 (1995-07-03)". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  16. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  18. ↑ "Charts.nz – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  19. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  20. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  21. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  22. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 11/6/1995 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  23. ↑ "Rod Stewart Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  24. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Music Canada. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  25. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  26. ↑ "British album certifications – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 March 2020. Select albums in the Formats field. Type A Spanner in the Works Rod Stewart in the "Search:" field.
  27. ↑ "American album certifications – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  • A Spanner in the Works album liner notes. Warner Bros. Records.
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