Album: Rod Stewart, Time (Capitol)

A keenly autobiographical Rod writes his first songs in 20 years – and nobody gets kicked in the head.

Indeed, the songs are mostly about mature love and happiness and divorce and lessons learnt. And in place of the suavité we associate with Songbook Rod, we get a whooping, sequenced modernisation of 1970s Guitar-Rock Rod. Plus big ballads and a "Maggie" moment. The phrase "deep down inside" leaps out at you, like a big slappy salmon.