The Tears of Hercules explained

The Tears of Hercules
Type:studio
Artist:Rod Stewart
Cover:Rod Stewart - The Tears of Hercules.png
Length:44:31
Prev Year:2019
Next Title:Swing Fever
Next Year:2024

The Tears of Hercules is the thirty-second studio album by British singer-songwriter Rod Stewart. It was released on 12 November 2021 through Warner and Rhino. It was produced by Stewart and Kevin Savigar.

Background

Stewart began a songwriting and production partnership with Kevin Savigar in the early 2010s, and they experienced widespread commercial success with Time (2013), Another Country (2015) and Blood Red Roses (2018).[1] Stewart then released a series of compilation albums, including You're in My Heart, Cupid and a box set of material recorded between 1975 and 1978.[2]

Music and lyrics

Stewart co-wrote nine of the album's tracks with Kevin Savigar and Emerson Swinford. "I Can't Imagine" is dedicated to Stewart's wife Penny Lancaster. "Hold On" addresses topical issues including bigotry and racism, with a reference to civil rights activist John Lewis. "Born to Boogie" is dedicated to Marc Bolan.

The title track was written by Canadian singer-songwriter Marc Jordan and composer Stephan Moccio, and originally released on Jordan's album Make Believe Ballroom (2004).[3] Jordan had previously co-written "Rhythm of My Heart" with John Capek, a major hit for Stewart in 1991. The album also includes covers of "Some Kind of Wonderful" and the Johnny Cash song "These Are My People".

Release and promotion

The Tears of Hercules was released on 12 November 2021. "One More Time" was released as the lead single on 16 September 2021 with an accompanying music video filmed in London on 21 August 2021. "Hold On" was released as the second single on 15 October 2021. "I Can't Imagine" followed as the third single on 5 November 2021, with an accompanying music video.

On the day of release, Stewart promoted the album on television shows including The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Graham Norton Show.[4] [5]

Artwork

The photograph used for the cover artwork of The Tears of Hercules was taken by Penny Lancaster during the video shoot for "One More Time". It depicts Stewart wearing an embroidered military-style jacket and a necklace that reads "Celtic", in support of Celtic Football Club.

Critical reception

The Tears of Hercules was met with mixed reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received a weighted mean score of 57 based on 5 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Referencing Stewart's songwriting, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that Stewart is "in a decidedly looser frame of mind" than he was on Time (2013). He described the album as "alternately baffling, absurd, sweet, and endearing". Writing for Classic Rock magazine, Paul Moody stated that Stewart has "always been a master interpreter of other people’s material", describing the title track as an "atmospheric ballad". In American Songwriter, Hal Horowitz was critical of the album's songwriting and production, but stated that "a few moments almost save this from moving into the “better luck next time” pile." In a wholly negative review for The Independent, Roisin O'Connor described the album as a "12-track cringefest" where "Stewart celebrates carnal love in between songs about his late father".

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[6]

Musicians

Technical

Design

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2021)! scope="col"
Position
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[7] 60
UK Albums (OCC)[8] 97

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Myers. Justin. 5 October 2018. Rod Stewart sees off Cher to claim ninth Number 1 album: "I feel like I scored the winning goal in front of the home crowd". 7 November 2021. Official Charts Company. live. 7 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181007073550/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/rod-stewart-sees-off-cher-to-claim-ninth-number-1-album-i-feel-like-i-scored-the-winning-goal-in-front-of-the-home-crowd__24240/.
  2. Web site: Copsey. Rob. 27 December 2019. Rod Stewart claims final UK Number 1 album of 2019 with You're In My Heart. 7 November 2021. Official Charts Company. live. 1 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190901000000/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/rod-stewart-claims-final-uk-number-1-album-of-2019-with-youre-in-my-heart__28070/.
  3. Web site: White. Jack. 16 September 2021. Rod Stewart announces new album The Tears of Hercules set for November release. 7 November 2021. Official Charts Company. live. 16 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210916144034/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/rod-stewart-announces-new-album-the-tears-of-hercules-set-for-november-release__34047/.
  4. Web site: Stockly. Ed. 12 November 2021. What's on TV Friday: 'Kevin Garnett: Anything Is Possible'. live. 12 November 2021. Los Angeles Times. 12 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211112225814/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-11-12/whats-on-tv-friday-november-12.
  5. Web site: 12 November 2021. Sir Rod Stewart on his new album: 'It came out of lockdown'. live. 12 November 2021. Penarth Times. 12 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211112225303/https://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/leisure/national/19712756.sir-rod-stewart-new-album-it-came-lockdown/.
  6. The Tears of Hercules. Rod Stewart. 2021. booklet. Warner Records. 603497842520. United Kingdom.
  7. Web site: Összesített album- és válogatáslemez-lista - eladási darabszám alapján - 2021. Mahasz. hu. 1 February 2022.
  8. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2021. Official Charts Company. 6 January 2022.