Review, Rod Stewart,

Home Park, Plymouth

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THE self-titled 'Rodinator', sent to combat half-baked tracks from the modern music industry, did exactly that and then some.

The amusing intro might have been self deprecating, but the concert turned out to be a masterclass in live performance.

The event was a rare moment where the performance was far superior to what you would get on a CD, despite all the advantage of mixing and a controlled environment.

It seems Rod is one of life's live performers, and dressed in a shiny blue suit he shone as the Home Park crowd erupted for his opening offering Some Guys Have All The Luck.

And it appears some guys do, Rod announcing he had spent the day in Salcombe with his beautiful missus.

But luck only goes so far before talent takes over.

Rod bounced around the stage like a teenager, clearly up for this, perhaps his only UK concert this year.

As he announced he would be performing for a good two hours he joked: "I'm 64, you guys better pace yourself."

But the pace was quick as he and his band and three backing singers served up hit upon hit from his own back catalogue and also a fine selection of borrowed tunes.

Tom Traubert's Blues and Handbags and Gladrags were performed with precision quite happily with the likes of You Wear It Well and Sailing.

He treated the crowd, most of who were standing on their chairs swooning and swaying by the stage, to a sneak preview of tracks from his half-finished American Songbook.

It's an album I envisage most of the crowd will be investing in, if nothing more than to reminisce just how good that live performance was.

'Costume' changes every four tracks or so combined with three large screens and some well thought through graphics added to the joy of the night.

Talented backing singers and musicians were given space to breath and strut their stuff with songs like Love Train while Rod nipped side stage.

A half-time interval, the first in my outdoor concert going life, ensured both Rod and crowd were full of beans for the second-half.

An encore of Do You Think I'm Sexy will happily reverberate around the heads of the audience for some time to come.

It seems the Rodinator may be able to educate audiences one football stadium at a time. A class act.