When We Were the New Boys

When We Were the New Boys was the first album by Rod Stewart to not be released on vinyl. The album was recorded at Ollywood Studios (Hollywood, CA), Royaltone Studios (Burbank, CA), Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, CA), Le Mobile (Carlsbad, CA), Beverly Park (Los Angeles), Satinwood Studios, and Record One (Sherman Oaks, CA).

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 shortly before the album's release.

When We Were the New Boys rallied to #2 in the UK where it went gold on 15 June 1998. In the US the album would reach #44 on the charts.

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

• Rod Stewart – lead vocals
• Oliver Leiber – guitar (1, 2, 3, 6, 9), lead guitar (4), backing vocals (6), acoustic guitar (10)
• John Shanks – guitar (1, 2, 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 guitar (7)
• Kevin Savigar – horn arrangements (1, 3), accordion (2), Hammond organ (2, 5), keyboards (4, 7-10), bass guitar (4), drum programming (7, 8)
• Jeff Paris – piano (6), backing vocals (6)
• Lance Morrison – bass guitar (1, 2, 3, 5-10)
• David Palmer – drums (1-4, 6-10)
• Paulinho Da Costa – maracas (1, 3), percussion (7)
• Caroline Corr – bodhrán (2)
• Rick Braun – trumpet (1, 3)
• Nick Lane – trombone (1, 3)
• Jimmy Roberts – tenor saxophone (1, 3)
• Sharon Corr – fiddle (2)
• Richard Greene – fiddle (6)
• Andrea Corr – penny whistle (2)
• Eric Rigler – low whistle (8)
• 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)

• When We Were the New Boys album liner notes. Warner Bros. Records.
• "When We Were the New Boys album review". All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved 27 June 2007.

• http://www.rodstewartfanclub.com/about_rod/disco/album_detail.php?album_id=21