The fourth Rod Stewart album to contain his trademark acoustic-electric mix of instruments and bluesy vocals, Never a Dull Moment feels anything but formulaic, kicking off with the aw-shucks modesty of "True Blue" and rollicking on through the enduring original "You Wear It Well". Some of the best tunes here are covers--Bob Dylan's searching "Mama You Been on My Mind," a soulful reading of Sam Cooke's "Twistin' the Night Away," and a scorching take on Etta James's "I'd Rather Go Blind"--but, as always, Stewart manages to make them sound of a piece with his own compositions. Unlike the promises proffered by some album titles, Never a Dull Moment (ironic though it was, given the cover painting of a terminally bored Stewart) proved to be dead-on. --Daniel Durchholz
