Soulbook is the 25th studio album by Rod Stewart. Like his previous five albums, Soulbook features Stewart singing old material; for this album he sings classic material from Motown and the soul genre. It was released on 17 October 2009 and was produced by Steve Tyrell, Steven Jordan and Chuck Kentis.

The album became Stewart's sixth consecutive album to debut in the top 5 on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number 4. It also found success in Canada and the UK, making it to number 3 on the Canadian Albums Chart and number 9 on the UK Albums Chart. Furthermore, the album featured at number 41 on the Canadian Albums year-end chart of 2010.

Track listing

Notes signifies Jennifer Hudson vocal producer

Personnel

Musicians

Rod Stewart – vocals, backing vocals (9) Michael Bearden – keyboards (1), Rhodes electric piano (2), Wurlitzer electric piano (4, 11) Greg Phillinganes – acoustic piano (2, 4, 14), keyboards (5, 12, 13), backing vocals (5), arrangements (5, 12–14), synthesizers (14) Bob Mann – keyboards (3, 15), guitars (3, 7, 15), arrangements (3, 7, 15), mandolin (5) David Paich – keyboards (6, 8, 10) Henry Hey – acoustic piano (7, 15) Chuck Kentis – keyboards (9) Charles Hodges – organ (11) Ray Parker Jr. – guitars (1, 2, 4, 6, 8–11) Dean Parks – guitars (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11) Paul Jackson Jr. – guitars (3, 5, 12–15) Michael Landau – guitars (5, 13, 15) Don Kirkpatrick – guitars (9) Paul Warren – guitars (9) Bob Babbitt – bass (1, 2, 4, 8, 10) Reggie McBride – bass (3, 5, 13, 14) Darryl Jones – bass (6, 11) Leland Sklar – bass (7) Conrad Korsch – bass (9) Nathan East – bass (12, 15) Steve Jordan – drums (1, 2, 4, 6, 8–11), percussion (1, 2, 4, 6, 8–11), backing vocals (9) Ricky Lawson – drums (3, 5, 12–15) Russ Kunkel – drums (7) David Palmer – drums (9) Milt Chocolate – vibraphone (2) Clayton Cameron – vibraphone (4) Lenny Castro – congas (5) Tom Scott – baritone saxophone (1), saxophones (8–10), alto sax solo (9) Lou Marini – saxophones (9) Jim Spake – tenor saxophone (11) Jeff Driskill – flute (13) John Yoakum – oboe (13) George Bohanon – trombone (8, 10) Larry Farrell – trombones (9) Jack Hale – trombone (11) Nick Lane – trombone (15) Chuck Findley – trumpet (8, 10) Wayne Jackson – trumpet (11) Matt Fronke – trumpet (15) Brian O'Connor – French horn (14) Gayle Levant – harp (6) Willie Mitchell – horn arrangements (11) Bridget Anne Cady – backing vocals (1–4, 7–11, 14, 15) Di Reed – backing vocals (1–4, 7–11, 14, 15) Dorian Holley – harmony vocals (2), backing vocals (5) Stevie Wonder – vocals (2) Mary J. Blige – vocals (3) Judith Hill – backing vocals (3, 12) Natasha Pearce – backing vocals (3, 7–10, 14, 15) Darryl Tookes – backing vocals (3, 5, 7, 12–15) Will Wheaton – backing vocals (3, 5, 12, 13) Smokey Robinson – vocals (5) Lynn Fiddmont – backing vocals (5) Pam Trotter – backing vocals (5) Lisa Vaughn – backing vocals (5, 13) Jennifer Hudson – vocals (6) Steve Tyrell – backing vocals (9)

String sections

The Los Angeles Strings (Tracks 1, 2, 6 & 8) Howard Drossin – string arrangements (1, 6, 8) Michael Bearden – string arrangements (2) David Low – contractor Steve Juliani – music copyist Bruce Dukov – concertmaster David Low and Andrew Shulman – cello Robert Brophy, Karen Elaine, Marlow Fisher and David Walther – viola Bruce Dukov, Julie Gigante, Phillip Levy, Neli Nikolaeva, Searmi Park, Mark Robertson, Anatoly Rosinsky and Roger Wilkie – violin

Tyrell String Orchestra (Tracks 3, 5, 7 & 12) JoAnn Tominaga – contractor Charlie Bisharat – concertmaster Matt Cooker, Tim Loo, Miguel Martinez and Giovanna Moraga-Clayton – cello Brian Benning, Charlie Bisharat, Mark Cargill, Susan Chatman, Nicole Garcia, Neel Hammond, Gina Kronstadt, Joel Pargman, Kathleen Robertson, John Wittenburg and Shari Zippert – violin

The New Memphis Strings (Track 4) Willie Mitchell – string arrangements Lester Snell – orchestration, music copyist Jonathan Kirkscey – string session leader Jonathan Kirkscey and Mark Wallace – cello Beth Luscombe and Jennifer Puckett – viola Roy Brewer, Barrie Cooper, Jessie Munson and Marisa Polesky – violin

Production

Keith Naftaly – A&R JoAnn Tominaga – production coordinator Josh Cheuse – art direction, design Mark Seliger – photography Rod Stewart – sleeve notes Loftus Donovan – project manager Arnold Stiefel for Stiefel Entertainment – management

Technical credits Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY) Niko Bolas – recording (1, 2, 4, 9, 11), mixing (1, 4, 8–10), horn recording (1, 8–10) Al Schmitt – string recording (1, 2, 6, 8), recording (6, 8, 10), mixing (6, 11) Steve Genewick – BGV recording (1, 11) Bill Schnee – mixing (2, 3, 5, 7, 12–15), string recording (3, 5, 7, 12), recording (14, 15) Jon Allen – recording (3, 5, 7, 12, 13), vocal recording (14, 15), horn recording (15) Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell – horn recording (4, 11), string recording (4) Andrew Hey – vocal recording for Jennifer Hudson (6) Paul Smith – BGV recording (8, 10) Chuck Kentis – recording (9) Darwin Best – additional engineer (1–13, 15) Kenny Moran – additional engineer (1–13, 14) Ryan Petrie – additional engineer (1–13) John Kilgore – additional engineer (15) Charlie Bybee – string recording assistant (3, 5, 7, 12) Martin Pradler – additional Pro Tools editing Ross Garfield – drum technician for Steve Jordan Chris Gott – drum technician for Steve Jordan Paul Jamieson – drum technician for Steve Jordan

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2009)Peakposition Chart (2010)PeakpositionHungarian Albums Chart12

Year-end charts Chart (2009)PositionAustralian Albums (ARIA)55Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)99Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)18UK Albums (OCC)31 Chart (2010)PositionAustralian Albums (ARIA)82Canadian Albums (Billboard)41US Billboard 200162

Certifications

References

External links