A Spanner in the Works

Last updated

A Spanner in the Works
A Spanner in the Works cover.jpg
Studio album by
Rod Stewart
Released29 May 1995
Recorded1993–95
Studio
Genre Rock, pop rock
Length57:15
Label Warner Bros.
Producer
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 (UK) [1]
  2. "Leave Virginia Alone"
    Released: 16 May 1995 (US)
  3. "Lady Luck"
    Released: 1995
  4. "This"
    Released: 1995
  5. "Purple Heather"
    Released: 1995
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Entertainment Weekly C+ [3]
NME 5/10 [4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]

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".

Contents

Content

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

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Windy Town" Chris Rea Trevor Horn 5:12
2."The Downtown Lights" Paul Buchanan Trevor Horn6:33
3."Leave Virginia Alone" Tom Petty James Newton Howard, Michael Ostin, Lenny Waronker 4:07
4."Sweetheart Like You" Bob Dylan Horn4:54
5."This"John Capek, Marc Jordan Horn5:19
6."Lady Luck"Carmine Rojas, Jeff Golub, Kevin Savigar, Rod StewartHorn4:25
7."You're the Star" Billy Livsey, Frankie Miller, Graham Lyle Horn, Bernard Edwards 4:39
8."Muddy, Sam and Otis"Stewart, SavigarHorn4:42
9."Hang On St. Christopher" Tom Waits Horn4:04
10."Delicious"Stewart, Andy Taylor, Robin LeMesurierEdwards, Andy Taylor 4:43
11."Soothe Me" Sam Cooke Edwards3:33
12."Purple Heather" Traditional; arranged by StewartHorn4:58

Personnel

Production

Charts

Chart (1995)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [6] 28
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [7] 13
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [8] 22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [9] 49
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [10] 2
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [11] 23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [12] 9
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [13] 13
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [14] 6
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [15] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [16] 15
UK Albums (OCC) [17] 4
US Billboard 200 [18] 35

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [19] Platinum100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [20] Gold7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI) [21] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [22] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "New singles". Music Week . 6 May 1995. p. 71.
  2. ↑ AllMusic review
  3. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review By Tom Sinclair, posted on 1995-06-09, archived from the original on 2017-04-07
  4. ↑ Moody, Paul (10 June 1995). "Long Play". NME . p. 49. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Rolling Stone Album Guide". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  7. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  9. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  10. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9019". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  11. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  12. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "Charts.nz – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  14. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  15. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  16. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  18. ↑ "Rod Stewart Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  19. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Music Canada . Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  20. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  21. ↑ "British album certifications – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  22. ↑ "American album certifications – Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 5 March 2020.
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