It’s been 20 years since Rod Stewart last released any new, original music. And while other artists may be struggling with personal issues and band’s may be challenged by dissent within, there’s a very simple reason why Stewart hasn’t been in the news as much lately. He had writer’s block. And luckily now, he’s over it.

Stewart says that it was writer’s block stemming from a lack of self-confidence that made his stop releasing music, but that when he wrote his autobiography, Rod, it all came flowing back to him.

“It was probably the longest writer’s block in history, you know, 20-odd years. But it wasn’t self-imposed. It was maybe a lack of confidence,” he said. “I’d sort of given up, let’s put it that way. But because of the autobiography, it inspired me. And I had a lot to write about. Probably I was in the right state of my life to start writing these very personal songs.”

He also says that the process for his newest album, Time, was much easier and much more enjoyable for him than song writing has been in the past. Before, he said, he hated it and viewed it as a chore. With this record though, he’d be so inspired he’d get up in the middle of the night to scrawl down his next lyric.

Both Rod and Time should be considered as companion pieces, Rod said when speaking about his two latest projects. But while Rod is more about his evolution into the mega rock star he is today, on Time you’ll hear about how happy he is with his current life, and stories that are much more personal and revealing than what you’ll find in the book.

Both the album and the book are available in stores and online now.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 17th, 2013 at 8:00 am and is filed under Concerts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.