'' A Spanner in the Works '' is the seventeenth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

released by

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

on 29 May 1995. It ended a four-year gap since his previous studio album. At that time, it was Stewart's longest break between 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 "Leave Virginia Alone" is a song written by American musician Tom Petty and performed by British rock and pop singer and songwriter Rod Stewart on Stewart's seventeenth album, ''A Spanner in the Works'' (1995). The song reached number one on the ...

", "This", "Lady Luck", and " Purple Heather".

Content

The album includes covers of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's " Sweetheart Like You" and The Blue Nile's "

The Downtown Lights "The Downtown Lights" is a song by Scottish band The Blue Nile, released in 1989 as the lead single from their second studio album ''Hats''. It was written by Paul Buchanan and produced by the band. "The Downtown Lights" reached No. 67 in the UK a ...

". The song "Muddy, Sam and Otis" is Stewart's tribute to

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post- war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicag ...

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is common ...

, and

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

. 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 Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

and recorded for his album '' Wildflowers'', but was left off the finished album and given to Stewart instead.

Track listing

Personnel

* Rod Stewart – lead vocals, backing vocals (5), arrangements (12) * Kevin Savigar – keyboards (1-12), bass (5, 8), string arrangements and conductor (7, 11), squeezebox (12) * Eric Caudieux – programming (1) * Mike Higham – programming (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9), digital manipulation (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9), keyboards (2, 8), bass (8) * Trevor Horn – programming (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9), digital manipulation (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9), bass (1), backing vocals (1) *

Jamie Muhoberac Benjamin Edward "Jamie" Muhoberac is an American session keyboardist with numerous credits. He is best known for his work with Seal and Was (Not Was). Biography Muhoberac has worked with acts including The All-American Rejects, Fleetwood Mac, B ...

– keyboards (2), acoustic piano solo (9), percussion (9) *

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

– keyboards (3) * Martin O'Conner – accordion (6) *

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

–

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

(11) * Jeff Golub – guitar (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12), electric guitar (9) * Robin LeMesurier – guitar (1, 6, 7, 10, 11), guitar solo (4) * Tim Pierce – guitar (1, 2, 5, 8) * David Lindley –

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

(1) * Don Teschner –

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of ...

(1, 6),

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the ...

(6) *

Davey Johnstone David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a British rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Career Johnstone's first work was with Noel Murphy in ...

– guitar (3), mandolin (3) * Jim Cregan – guitar (5) * Dónal Lunny – bouzouki (6, 12) *

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mit ...

– guitar (7) * Andy Taylor – guitar (7, 10, 11) * Lol Creme – electric guitar (9) *

Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary Moo ...

– acoustic guitar (9), bass (9) * Stephen Lipson – bass (2, 4), guitar (4) *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

– bass (3) * Carmine Rojas – bass (6, 12) *

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the 5 ...

– bass (7, 10, 11) * David Palmer – drums (1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12) * Paul Robinson – drums (2, 5) *

Kenny Aronoff Kenny Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American session drummer. Early life Aronoff grew up in Stockbridge, Massachusetts He developed an interest in music at an early age and gravitated to the drums as "drumming was one hundred percent ener ...

– drums (3) * Frank Ricotti – drums (5) * Paulinho da Costa – percussion (1) * Máire Ní Chathasaigh – Irish fiddle (6) * John McSherry –

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, ...

(6) * Leslie Butler –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

(9) *

The Kick Horns Kick Horns are a UK horn section based in London. They have worked prolifically as session musicians with a wide variety of performers, and have also recorded as an ensemble. The Kick Horns were established in the 1980s by Simon C. Clarke and Ti ...

– horns and horn arrangements (9): ** Simon Clarke – saxophone ** Tim Sanders – saxophone ** Neil Sidwell – trombone ** Roddy Lorimer – trumpet * Lenny Pickett – saxophone (11), horn arrangements (11) * David Woodford – saxophone (11), horn arrangements (11) * Nick Lane – trombone (11), horn arrangements (11) *

Rick Braun Rick Braun (born July 6, 1955) is a smooth jazz trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone and keyboards player, vocalist, composer, and record producer. Career Braun was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and attended Dieruff High School. His mother was a se ...

– trumpet (11), horn arrangements (11) * Anne Dudley – string arrangements and conductor (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 12), acoustic piano (8) *

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oasis ...

– orchestra leader (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 12) * Susie Katayama – orchestra leader (7, 11) * Aleisha Irving – backing vocals (2) * Joe Turano – backing vocals (3, 7) * Joey Diggs – backing vocals (7, 8) * Lamont Van Hook – backing vocals (7, 8) * Fred White – backing vocals (7, 8) * Luana Jackman – choir coordinator (7) * Bobbi Page – choir coordinator (7) * Josef Powell – backing vocals (10, 11) * Oren Waters – backing vocals (10, 11) * Terry Young – backing vocals (10, 11) * Glasgow Gaelic Music Association – choir (12) * Kenneth Thompson – choir leader (12)

Production

* Executive Producers – Rob Dickins and Michael Ostin * Recording – Tim Weidner (Tracks 1, 2 & 5); Steve MacMillan (Track 3); Le Mobile (Tracks 4-12). * Engineer – Charlie Bouis (Tracks 6-12) * Assistant Recording – Mike Baumgartner (Tracks 1) * Assistant Engineer – Eric Johnston (Tracks 7-12) * Mixed by Steve MacMillan * Mix Assistants – Danny Alonso (Tracks 1 & 2); Rich Rowe (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 9 & 12); Pat 59 (Track 6); Rail Rogut (Tracks 7, 8, 10 & 11). * Mixed at Sarm Studios (London);

Conway Studios Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * Conway County, Arkansas * Lake Conway, Arkansas * Conway, Florida * Conway, Iowa * Conway, Kansas * Conway, Louisiana * Conway, Massachusetts * Conway, Michigan * Conway Towns ...

(Hollywood); A&M Studios and Ocean Way Recording. * Mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Precision Mastering (Hollywood). * Design – Greg Ross * Photography –

Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black ...

* Management – Annie Challis, Randy Phillips and Arnold Stiefel at Stiefel Phillips Entertainment.

Certifications

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spanner in the Works, A Rod Stewart albums 1995 albums Albums produced by Trevor Horn Albums produced by Lenny Waronker Albums produced by Bernard Edwards Warner Records albums Albums recorded at A&M Studios