# When We Were the New Boys

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | C |
| The Hartford Courant | (mixed) |
| People | (favourable) |
| Rolling Stone | |
When We Were the New Boys is the eighteenth studio album by Rod Stewart, released on 29 May 1998. It was Stewart's last studio album to be released by Warner Bros. Records. It produced the singles "Ooh La La", "Rocks", and "When We Were the New Boys".

## Background

When We Were the New Boys was the first album by Stewart to not be released on vinyl. The tracks are mostly covers, such as "Cigarettes & Alcohol" by Oasis, "Rocks" by Primal Scream, "Hotel Chambermaid" by Graham Parker, and "Superstar" by the band Superstar. Two ballads were included that were suggested by Elvis Costello: Ron Sexmith's "Secret Heart" and Nick Lowe's "Shelly My Love".
The album also includes "Ooh La La", a song recorded by Stewart's previous band the Faces. The Faces' version of the song was originally sung by the band's guitarist Ronnie Wood; Stewart recorded the song for When We Were the New Boys as a tribute to the song's co-author, Faces bassist Ronnie Lane, who had died in 1997 a year before the album's release.

## Track listing

* "Cigarettes and Alcohol" (Noel Gallagher) – 4:03
* "Ooh La La" (Ron Wood, Ronnie Lane) – 4:15
* "Rocks" (Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Innes, Robert Young) – 4:45
* "Superstar" (Joseph McAlinden) – 4:21
* "Secret Heart" (Ron Sexsmith) – 4:07
* "Hotel Chambermaid" (Graham Parker) – 3:49
* "Shelly My Love" (Nick Lowe) – 3:38
* "When We Were the New Boys" (Rod Stewart, Kevin Savigar) – 4:39
* "Weak" (Deborah Dyer, Martin Kent, Robbie France, Richard Lewis) – 4:38
* "What Do You Want Me to Do?" (Mike Scott) – 3:36
* "Careless With Our Love" (Rod Stewart) (bonus track on Japanese release) – 4:28

## Personnel

* Rod Stewart – lead vocals
* Kevin Savigar – horn arrangements (1, 3), accordion (2), Hammond organ (2, 5), keyboards (4, 7–10), bass (4), drum programming (7, 8)
* Jeff Paris – acoustic piano (6), backing vocals (6)
* Oliver Leiber – guitars (1–3, 6, 9), lead guitar (4), backing vocals (6), acoustic guitar (10)
* John Shanks – guitars (1–3, 6, 8, 9), electric mandolin (2), horn arrangements (3), acoustic guitar (4, 5, 7, 10), electric guitar (4), slide guitar (5), backing vocals (6), harmonica (10)
* Michael Landau – electric guitar (4, 7)
* Jeff Baxter – acoustic guitar (4), pedal steel guitar (4, 6), electric guitars (7)
* Lance Morrison – bass (1–3, 5–10)
* David Palmer – drums (1–4, 6–10)
* Paulinho da Costa – maracas (1, 3), percussion (7)
* Caroline Corr – bodhrán (2)
* Jimmy Roberts – tenor saxophone (1, 3)
* Nick Lane – trombone (1, 3)
* Rick Braun – trumpet (1, 3)
* Andrea Corr – penny whistle (2)
* Eric Rigler – low whistle (8)
* Sharon Corr – fiddle (2)
* Richard Greene – fiddle (6)
* Suzie Katayama – cello (9)
* Steve Richards – cello (9)
* Daniel Smith – cello (9)
* Sue Ann Carwell – backing vocals (1, 3, 5, 7), tambourine (3)
* Jacki Simley – backing vocals (1, 3, 5, 7)
* Richard Page – backing vocals (2)
* Will Wheaton – backing vocals (4)
* Dee Harvey – backing vocals (5, 7, 8)
* Lamont Van Hook – backing vocals (5, 7, 8)
* Fred White – backing vocals (5, 7, 8)
* Jeff Pescetto – backing vocals (6)

## Production

* Executive producer and liner notes – Rob Dickins
* Producer – Rod Stewart
* Co-producer – Kevin Savigar
* Additional production – Chris Lord-Alge
* Engineers – Barry Rudolph (1, 3–10); Steve Harrison (2, 9, 10); Charlie Bouis (4)
* Assistant engineers – Greg Collins, Jim Horetski, Allan Sanderson, Rafa Sardina and Jeff Thomas
* Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge at Image Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA), assisted by Michael Dy
* Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA)
* Artwork – Ed Fotheringham
* Art direction and design – Lawrence Azerrad
* Photography – Ken Sharp
* Management – Annie Challis and Arnold Stiefel at Stiefel Entertainment

## Charts
### Weekly charts

| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) | 14 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) | 25 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 16 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) | 1 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) | 14 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 2 |
| US Billboard 200 | 44 |

### Year-end charts

| Chart (1998) | Position |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 76 |

## Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for When We Were The New Boys :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Gold | 100,000$^^$ |
| United States | — | 285,000 |
| $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||