The last time Rod Stewart put his balls on the line was for "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?," a ridiculous, superb disco classic. That was twenty-three years ago. So if you're not salivating at the thought of a new offering from a craggy vet who's coasted throughout much of the last two decades, you can be forgiven. Enter Rob Dickins, the U.K. label boss who oversaw Cher's Believe. Dickins brings a bevy of R&B-pop producers and songwriters, including Metro (Enrique Iglesias), Rick Nowels (Madonna) and Gregg Alexander (of the New Radicals), as well as a slew of young and old guest stars eager to give Uncle Rod a Santana-esque resurrection. The R. Kelly-like title cut ingeniously juxtaposes Stewart and ex-Guns n' Roses guitarist Slash against jittery drum machines and gospel wailing, while stylistic stepchild Macy Gray turns in "Smitten," a slow groover that evokes both Gray's debut and Stewart's Seventies ballads. And although Human occasionally slides into easy-listening soul, the still-spiky star delivers assured, remarkably smooth vocals throughout. Finally, Rod once again sounds mod.

“All Along the Watchtower”

Jimi Hendrix got hold of Bob Dylan's early John Wesley Harding tapes and in late 1967 recorded a version of "All Along the Watchtower" with the Experience in London. Dissatisfied with that first development, Hendrix brought those tapes with him to New York in early 1968 when he began work on Electric Ladyland. Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer at the time, told Rolling Stone that Hendrix "was still looked upon by his basically white audience as the mammoth black guitar hero. There was a constant fight within him to expand himself." Hendrix's successful take on Dylan's work has long been recognized by the songwriter. "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way," Dylan wrote in the liner notes to his Biograph box set. "Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."