Rod Stewart: Blondes Have More Fun - 1978


Having put out a surprisingly good album in 1977's Footloose And Fancy Free, Rod Stewart still a huge chart-topping artist, just about held on to his reputation with this album - just about. 

Released at the height of punk, it bore no relevance to the revolution that hung in the air, being a mixture of chugging, now typical guitar-driven rockers and somewhat corny, romantic, often lecherous ballads. Stewart still knew how to pen a catchy tune, his muse had yet to desert him. 

Let's get to feeling sexy....

Da Ya Think I'm Sexy
Dirty Weekend
Ain't Love A Bitch
The Best Days of My Life
Ain't Love A Bitch
Attractive Female Wanted
Blondes (Have More Fun)
Last Summer
Standin' In The Shadows Of Love
Scarred And Scared 

Da Ya Think Im Sexy? Some have described the album, over the years, as his "disco album". Personally, I don't really get that. It is still very much a mainstream radio rock album for me, despite the layered disco synthesisers of its most famous track, the abomination that is this questionable offering. Even after all these years, I still have a fair amount of contempt for that song. I have to admit, however, that it is impossibly singalong, even for me. There can't be many men who haven't ironically sung it, having sunk a few liveners. 

A full-on, pounding rocker, Dirty Weekend is full of searing guitar and Stewart at his most "dirty old man". "I wanna rock you 'till your pussy's sore...". Don't hold back eh, Rod, you leery old goat. Tell it like it is. I love you for it. The laid-back, tuneful melodic rock of Ain't Love A Bitch has its appeal, as Rod addresses Maggie from his most famous song. "If you're still out there..." he enquires, nostalgically. 

The Best Days Of My Life is heartbreaking in its sad vocal delivery, it sounds like something from the mid-seventies, however, three years behind the times. It would have been fine on 1976's A Night On The Town, but not now, in the febrile year that was 1978. As a young punk at the time, I still I couldn't help but love it though. I just love the Sam Cooke-ish "la-da-da" bit at the end. 

Is That The Thanks I Get? is another lovely, mid-paced, evocative but powerful rocker. I love it. It is one of Rod's comparatively undiscovered gems. There's certainly no disco in any of this material so far. Again, I loved this song at the time, keeping my secret love for it well hidden as I went to see The Clash and The Ramones. 

Attractive Female Wanted is another solid rocker with some amusing lyrics as Rod says how he still is forced to buy Penthouse and Hustler to satisfy his lust. Sure you did, Rod. The rest of us really did, though. It is an endearingly funny song. It even launches into a bit of Police-style white reggae in its backing.

Blondes Have More Fun has an upbeat blues rock guitar straight off The Rolling Stones' Shake Your Hips. Once again - disco? My ass. A wistful, summery slow number, Last Summer is full of airy flute and melodic acoustic guitars. Again, Stewart expresses his lust in the lyrics. Lust is all over this album. Let's hope he managed to satisfy it. I'm sure he did. 

The previous album had an unconvincing cover of a Motown classic in Diana Ross & The Supremes' You Keep Me Hangin' On. This time it was the turn of The Four Tops' big sixties hit, Standing In The Shadows Of Love. This, along with Da Ya Think I'm Sexy is, I suppose, where the disco misconception came from. This has a Miss You-style rubbery bass line and a bit of a disco beat, but it also has some huge rock guitar riffs. It is a much better cover than the previous one, though. 

Scarred And Scared was a moving, confessional ballad with Stewart feeling a bit sorry for himself.  Don't worry, Rod, there's someone out there to help you get over it. It is another one I like, as I do everything on here except the first track. Despite this album being utterly incongruous and culturally irrelevant in 1978 I can't help but like it. Yes, I was a punk in 1978, but not everyone was. Rod Stewart still shifted huge amounts of records. This was no different.

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