Few pop stars have had to put up with as much critical abuse as Rod Stewart - and, to be fair, much of it has been well deserved. But give the man this: he's a tryer. After the commercial flops of both his covers collection When We Were The Young Boys and his RandB makeover Human, the Scottish ham could easily have retired and sat back to count his money. Instead, he's made one more attempt to prove he's still relevant to a modern audience - and, wonder of wonders, this time he might well have succeeded. It Had To Be You is an anthology of old American standards, most of which were originally made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. And while Stewart isn't quite in their class as a singer, his mature, smoky vocals still do a remarkably good job of re-animating such old favourites as 'They Can't Take That Away From Me' and 'It Had To Be You'. Respectful without being overly reverential, this is a supremely satisfying listen - and, incidentally, shows up Robbie Williams's similar venture as the cheap karaoke exercise that it was.
