Stewart gives another reason to believe

Robert E. Klein for the Boston GlobeFriendly, feisty, and endlessly enthusiastic, Rod Stewart, 63, has fared better over time than much of his catalog. (Robert E. Klein for the Boston Globe)

MANSFIELD - Many thanks to whoever persuaded Rod Stewart to take a break from the standards and revisit rock 'n' roll. Last night's show at the Comcast Center was a big, wet kiss for the fans who predate his wildly successful and dreadfully bland American Songbook series - a hit parade peppered with feel-good karaoke, Scottish pride, and plenty of soccer love.

It's been easy to forget Stewart started his career as a great interpreter. He reminded us while plumbing the early catalog, on "The First Cut is the Deepest," "Maggie May," and "You Wear It Well," songs he recorded before the starmaker machinery required constant feeding.

Of course the superstar period was well represented, with smash singles that sounded astonishingly mediocre and warmly welcoming. Stewart opened the concert with "Some Guys Have All the Luck" and closed it down with "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," tacky but appealing bookends that nod to new wave and mirrored the concert's overall aesthetic: from Stewart's silver lamé jacket and leopard-print shoes to the all-white set to the bodacious blonde saxophonist in hot pants.

Stewart sounded like an old man when he was 20, so it's a bit disingenuous to note that, at 63, his voice hasn't aged a bit. The bottom line is he knows how to use it. Friendly, feisty, and endlessly enthusiastic, the artist has fared better over time than much of his catalog. "You're in My Heart, You're in My Soul" - written for Dutch actress Britt Eklund and now a love song to a soccer team - and "Tonight's the Night" were case studies in how a few million radio spins can transform a middling song into a communal lovefest.

Technically still touring behind his 2006 collection of classic rock covers, Stewart devoted a huge chunk of the show to karaoke. His renditions of Bonnie Tyler's "It's a Heartache" (a nod to Rod in the first place), John Fogerty's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain," and Cat Stevens' "Father & Son" (accompanied by a montage featuring three generations of Stewart men and boys) were singable but senseless. Stewart brings nothing new to the material, and the recycled tunes smacked of for-profit nostalgia mongering.

And he didn't stop there, trotting out his big Celtic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" and his signature strutting take on Tom Waits's "Downtown Train." He crooned "Have I Told You Lately" and sleepwalked through "On Broadway."

But he shone where he always has: on the greasy, honky-tonk rockers. "Hot Legs" stole the show, which says as much about relativism as the Stewart catalog.

Josh Kelley, a.k.a. Mr. Katherine Heigl, opened with a set of garden-variety pop rock, including "To Remember," a surprisingly sweet anthem composed for the 2008 Olympics.

Joan Anderman can be reached at anderman@globe.com. For more on music, visit boston.com/ae/music/blog.