His voice is unmistakable and one-of-a-kind. His stage name is actually his real name and, unfortunately, the i-tunes generation only know him as that old guy with the feathered hair that keeps coming out with albums covering the old standards. Rod Stewart may seem like a pick out of left field for me, and it is. I hope this weeks selection of music surprises some of you in the great way it has me.When you think of great R&B, soul and blues singers you think Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, and Ray Charles. Rod Stewart is definitely worthy to be mentioned in their company. His childhood influences range from folk heroes like Woody Guthrie to Rock n Roll giants like Little Richard and Bill Haley. His harmonica playing got him auditions and brief gigs with smaller British bands including the early inception of The Kinks. His first big break was with guitar god Jeff Beck, formerly of the Yardbirds, and his new group. He sang lead vocals on the Jeff Beck Group album Truth, that is a part of our listening this week, and toured all over Europe and the US behind it's success.
After developing his style and stage presence with Jeff Beck, he left to front the group Small Faces, which soon after, dropped the Small and became Faces. Joining him in Faces was future Rolling Stone guitarist Ronnie Wood and from those beginnings sprang a solo career that most musicians would die for. This week we touch upon the roots of Rod with Jeff Beck, Faces and his first #1 album Every Picture Tells A Story. This is not the "Do You Think I'm Sexy" Rod Stewart that most people know him as, but the young and gifted Brit that gave us "Mandolin Wind" and "Maggie May". Like Santana week, I wanted to shine a light on an artist who's star has dimmed a bit but whose musical legacy is a treasure to be appreciated.
The Albums:
Jeff Beck - Truth
Faces - First Step
Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
This week is reminiscent of my childhood when my mother would have Y98 on everywhere we went together. Prior to this week I have never looked at his entire collection and I am amazed at how many tracks I am familiar with. Guess I had never pieced together these 30 tracks or so were performed by the same artist.
ReplyDeleteOn ‘Truth’, I am hearing Rod in a completely different environment than I am used to. At first it sounds like Rod and Jeff are competing for the spot light on every track, but after a few listens there actually is quite a bit of chemistry between the two. I also initially did not feel Rod’s voice belonged in the atmosphere, but that is only because I am in the present and know where he ended up with his career. This genre and time period give us an unedited view of his talents. There is so much more emotion on this album than any 90’s studio album. Jeff Beck’s contributions certainly help enhance this album, but Rod Stewart is just blowing my mind in this atmosphere. The album itself is solid from top to bottom, but my lone complaint may be that Rod seems to stick with the same octave in every single track. This causes for a lack of variety in the tracks and the only reason I know it is a different track is if the guitar or piano is featured along side Rod. The only song I didn’t like was ‘Ol Man River’ due to how slow the tempo was. By including the word ‘River’ in the title, it gives me the expectation to have some fast and slow tempos throughout just like the current of the river. This takes us back to the Thrice Alchemy Index albums in how they were able to cater their sound to the elements and song titles.
The first track on Small Faces alleviates the very few complaints I had from the first album. Rod is hitting several more notes while maintaining the same emotion. The rock behind him is slightly less on the southern rock side, but still kicks ass. After a real snoozer in ‘Devotion’, we get back to another solid track in ‘Shake, Shudder’. I will say the production value leaves some room for improvement on this album. I had no idea Rod was a harmonica player and was pleasantly surprised on ‘Stone’. The sub vocal, however, was sub par. This may be an issue with how the song was loaded on Grooveshark, but eh guiatar on ‘Around the Plynth’ was crazy. It may take talent to play the instrument in that manner, but it makes it impossible to get into. ‘Pineapple and the Monkey’ reminded me of the unnecessary long transition in ‘Magic Carpet Ride’, both in sound and how after 4 minutes the payoff never showed up. The album ends on a high note in ‘Three Button Hand Me Down’ which steps up the southern rock, but turns into a good old fashioned sing along track. While I loved ‘Wicked Messenger’ more than anything on ‘Truth’, ‘Truth’ was a much more solid and consistent album. ‘Small Faces’ was like a Ben fantasy team with some highlights and some filler, while ‘Truth’ was more like a Justin fantasy team with a bunch of solid players.
ReplyDelete‘Every Picture Tells a Story’ has Rod in the environment I am more used to hearing. After hearing the alternative, I am torn on which I prefer. The opening track lost the rock feel, but Rod kept the raw, unedited sound from the prior efforts. I did not like ‘Seems Like a Long Time’ at all due to the repetitive nature of the chorus. I enjoyed how ‘Every Picture Tells a Story’ did not feel the need to use the standard verse, chorus, verse, chorus format. ‘Seems Like a Long Time’ lacked any form of hook or creativity. This is unfortunate, but ‘Maggie Mae’ reminds me of when Rod Stewart was a guest on American Idol and Taylor Hicks walked up to the piano singing this song to Rod. Rod said in a semi-facetious manner ‘wow and surprisingly in tune.’ So Taylor Hicks has slightly lowered my enjoyment of this song. Fuck that guy. My dad played the mandolin when he recorded an album, so I have always been a big fan of the instrument. ‘Mandolin Wind’ isn’t as good as the Goo Goo Dolls’ ‘Sympathy’, but still hits a nerve with me. It may be that I have Taylor on the brain, but all I can think of on ‘I Know I’m Losing You’ is ‘Soul Patrol’. This song screams soul to me both with Rod’s antics and the piano. Coming into this week, ‘Reason to Believe’ was probably my favorite Rod Stewart song. What I failed to realize previously was he was performing the harmonica solo on this track. There aren’t too many realistic feel good songs like this one anymore. Very cool week to hear how Rod ended up where he did.
When I heard that Justin was picking Rod Stewart, I was obviously really surprised. Rod was always one of those artists that I had heard a few songs by and loved, such as "Maggie May", and many songs that I thought were terrible, such as "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?". This week definitely went a long way towards making me see the real artistry of Rod Stewart's early career, along with introducing me to my favorite album of Music Togetherness thus far, Rod's solo album 'Every Picture Tells a Story".
ReplyDeleteOn 'Truth', the real star of the show is obviously Jeff Beck, as it's his name on the album cover. At this point in his career, Rod Stewart was playing the role of your basic blues band frontman, and that role was basically to take as little focus away from the lead guitar player as possible. Rod seems to lack a lot of the charisma that he developed a little later on, and his vocals, while good for what they are, weren't as varied and interesting as he was capable of. With that being said, this is still a really good album, as Jeff Beck's guitar playing skills are fantastic. The similarities with Led Zeppelin's early music are very clear, which makes sense since both Beck and Jimmy Page (along with Eric Clapton) came out of The Yardbirds. This is one of the earliest examples of the beginnings of heavy metal music, and shows how it developed the blues into something heavier and more forceful than had ever been heard before. The album features an abundance of screaming guitar solos, such as on "Let Me Love You". My favorite songs on the album are actually the instrumentals, the beautifully haunting English folk song "Greensleeves", and "Beck's Bolero", which features Jeff Beck basically trying out every style of guitar playing he can possibly think of. The closer "I Ain't Superstitious" is my favorite of the songs featuring Rod Stewart, in large part due to the awesome drum solo at the very end. Overall I think that this album features a very young Rod Stewart who was just beginning to come into himself as a vocalist, but is dominated by the abilities of Jeff Beck.
'Truth' Album Rating: 80%
On Faces first album after dropping the Small from their name and adding Rod Stewart, we see Rod starting to develop into the vocalist we all know even more. While there's still a very heavy blues style to his vocals, he's a lot more adventurous with the notes he goes after than he was on the first album that we listened to. "Wicked Messenger" is a great opening track, and shows former Jeff Beck group bassist and future/present Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood to be a pretty capable lead guitar player in his own right. "Stone" is a really interesting song, and instrumentally it reminds me a lot of the kind of music that The Rolling Stones were making around this time period. The vocals, which as far as I can tell are by Ronnie Lane, hearken back to the more psychedelic music coming out of England in the 60's, and I think fit the style of the song perfectly. "Flying" is my favorite track on the album, as it's got a hint of British folk mixed in with it's blues sound, and this is a style that I've loved previously, such as on Led Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore". "Nobody Knows" is a really beautiful song, and sounds a little more like the Rod Stewart solo sound that we'd get later from him. This is a pretty uneven album, and not my favorite of the Faces albums (I listened to some others this week, and 'A Nod is as Good as a Wink.." is great), but it still features some really good tracks. We get a little closer to Rod Stewart coming into his own on this one, and on our next album everything comes together.
ReplyDelete'First Step' Album Rating: 79%
On 'Every Picture Tells a Story', every aspect of the sound that Rod Stewart should have been making came together completely. He still has a hint of soul and the blues in his voice, but on this album it's all about the sheer power of his vocals. When this is coupled with the intricate and layered instrumental tracks behind him, it goes together to make my favorite album that I've been introduced to by Music Togetherness, and one that has quickly moved up the charts to become one of my favorite albums of the 1970's. The opening title track gets things started off quickly, and instantly it's apparent that Rod Stewart has found himself. His vocals are amazingly powerful, and driving acoustic guitar and bar band sound behind him let you know that he's trying to make a statement. "That's All Right" is a great song to move around to. I can imagine hearing this being played in a bar in the 70's and the place just going wild. "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" is gorgeous from beginning to end, and features a really sincere and tender vocal from Rod Stewart. After this track, though, the album goes from great to legendary. "Maggie May" has always been one of my favorite songs of the 70's, and hearing it here in it's natural setting is amazing. This song makes me long for an age when you could hear something like this being played on pop radio stations...nothing like this has gotten airplay in years. The best part of hearing this song within the album is hearing the mandolin section at the end, and how it leads directly into "Mandolin Wind". Speaking of that mandolin section, it has got to be one of the greatest pieces of music ever incorporated within a rock and roll song. Never will I be able to hear the end of this song and not get chills instantaneously. I had heard "Mandolin Wind" before this week, but it's true power had never really hit me until now. Along with "Maggie May", it's the second half of one of the great two song stretches that I've ever heard. I may just be a sucker for the mandolin, which I'd never really realized before, but when it starts up in this song the chills are right back again. "Reason to Believe" is a song that I've heard a million times before, but mostly in the live version that's played on the radio a lot. It's a really good song in it's own right, but after the few songs that precede it, it loses a little bit of it's luster. It's a nice ending to an amazing album, though, albeit much too soon. I could probably listen to this album on repeat for a long time, and I just might do that. This album alone has given me an entirely new respect for Rod Stewart, which I think makes Justin pretty successful in picking him for us to listen to this week.
ReplyDelete'Every Picture Tells a Story' Album Rating: 95%
Starting with Jeff Beck's "Truth," I am impressed with the guitar, although I know that's not the point this week. As lead singer, Stewart adds a certain authenticity and charm to this music. Even though this is no "Maggie Mae," I still can connect to the song via the familiar and oft-stunning crooner. I love the rasp and drawn out emotion on "You Shook Me." Is "Greensleeves" really supposed to be an acoustic version of "What Child is This?" or did Grooveshark trick me into holiday world? If not, this seems super out of place... Anyway back to Rod... his voice is just, well classic. I don't know how else to describe it, but Rod Stewart's voice sounds like rock to me. Love it. Great album overall. Not what I'm used to but I really enjoyed it. My favorite track: I really liked the smooth, piano-bar vibe on "Blues De Luxe." Turns out blues I like... jazz, not so much.
ReplyDeleteHearing a lot of organ and raspy voiced Rod on "First Step." It's kind of psychedelic blues rock, and I can dig it. It's very Allman Brothers meets... well, Rod Stewart. Not digging the track "Devotion" though - it's a little slow for my liking, then again I'm probably listening to a crappy version... For the most part, I found it tough to find this album on Grooveshark. And when I did find a lot of the songs, they wouldn't play. So that was fun. I think it was the frustration more than anything, but when I did get to hear the songs, I guess they weren't as good as I expected after all the effort. It was a pretty solid effort, nonetheless. I do like that I'm starting to hear a little more of the Rod Stewart I was familiar with going into this week, and it's also interesting to look at him as an artist from these perspectives. I am a little ashamed to know I didn't even know he was in any groups before he was his own solo act. I feel pretty dumb right now...
ReplyDelete"Every Picture Tells a Story" is the Rod Stewart I was familiar with. That being said, it was interesting to see how he got here, now I'm going to enjoy. Love the twang and the gee-tar on "That's Alright." I feel like I need to be at a bar in Jerseyville right now, and liking it. Is it wrong to call Rod "sassy"? On this track he's got an attitude reminiscent of Paul McCartney on in his "Get Back" days, or so it seems to me. I can't say this version of "Amazing Grace" is the prettiest I've heard, but I applaud the guy for taking it on. It seems to fit the tone of the album anyway, and I enjoyed the folksy guitar. One of my favorite tracks of the album, other than "That's Alright," turned out to be a beautiful fiddle tune called "Tomorrow is a Long Time." But of course, I can't forget "Maggie May," which I would almost certainly include in a list of my favorite songs of all time. The song is solid throughout, no doubt, but I've always been a sucker for the breakdown :) and the line "all you did was wreck my bed, and in the morning kicked me in the head." "Mandolin Wind" continues a similar sound as "Maggie May," and keeps up the enjoyment. Opposite of what someone else said - I was surprised at how LITTLE I knew of Rod Stewart's collection until this week, but as David said, am finding a new respect for him beyond "Maggie May."
ReplyDeleteOn Jeff Beck’s “Truth” I get an almost Jimi Hendrix vibe right from the start. The guitar is definitely the focal point in the songs. “Let Me Love You” is a great song. Rod sounds great and I think his voice is well suited for this type of music. He is able to project his soulful tone, and the psychedelic background adds a nice touch to it. I also love the emotion coming through his voice, it is deep and very relevant to the song’s title. I am kind of surprised I have never heard any of these songs before now. They are very relevant to the times, and I think they are just as good as anything else that was coming out at that time. “You shook me” has a nice bluesy vibe to it, although for some reason I am not digging Rod’s voice as much in this track. Perhaps his raspy voice is better suited to really belting out those rock songs instead. Beck’s guitar and the piano are the real standouts on this track. Of course I really like their rendition of “Greensleeves.” It is a beautiful song, and I think the simplistic use of the guitar. It really makes each note sound extraordinary. I will admit though that to me, it doesn’t really fit well on this album. “Rock my Plimsoul” is another Blues song, but I think Rod sounds much better in this one than in “You shook me.” To me it sounds like he is just being himself and not striving to be like John Lee Hooker. This album was very much a look at Rod Stewart doing a Blue album. Having said that, for this being Rod’s first big album debut his voice sounds just as unique and raspy as it does today.
ReplyDeleteOn “First Step” you definitely see a transition from the Bluesy feel to the more hard rock vibe. I really like on “Wicked Messenger” how Rod’s voice is kind of pushed to the limits. It is really testing his pipes, how the range goes from high to low. I am also noticing that Rod’s voice is taking more of a center stage to the songs, unlike on “Truth” where the guitar was the main star of the show. “Shake Shudder” had an almost southern rock feel to it. I personally didn’t like Rod’s tone on this track, as it seemed that he was stretching himself to thin on some notes. “Around the Plynth” was all over the place, I don’t know if my earbuds had a short in them, but I almost felt nauseous at times. Could also be these pregnancy hormones going on. Other than the nauseosness, I actually liked the song, for the simple fact that you have no idea what is coming at you next. I really like the harmonizing, and how the tempo keeps building up on “Flying.” “Nobody Knows” is a nice ballad for the album. Having said that though, whoever was harmonizing with Rod on this number did not do such a great job. The two vocals did not mesh very well together for me, and I think it made Rod’s usually very distinctive voice, less than lackluster. Overall this album was not as good as “Truth” for me. There were definitely some highlights on the album, but some of the songs seemed to be lacking the depth and bluesy feel that I liked so much on “Truth.” Still a good album and a key step in the formation of Rod’s solo career.
ReplyDelete“Every Picture Tells a Story” stands out immediately on the first track, as Rod’s voice is much louder than on either of the previous albums. You can tell that Rod wanted to make sure that on his solo effort he was being heard, and that the band was for backup. The actual song “Every Picture tells a Story” unfortunately is one of my least favorite of the week. It almost seemed too repetitive, and I kept wondering when the song was going to end. “Seems like a long time” is a nice track and I really like the use of gospel singers in the background. You can tell that this is the type of music Rod wants to be making, it is unlike anything on the previous two efforts. “Tomorrow is such a long time” is a great storyteller song. I love everything about it, from the violin at the end to the simplistic country vibe the song gives off. It really shows that Rod can sing just about anything. “Maggie May” is just an all around great song. I hear this song probably once a day in the summertime when all I really listen to is the oldies station. The fact that I hear it on a daily basis and never grow tired of it, really says something about the quality of the song. “I’m losing you” is a powerful song, and I love the yearning in Rod’s voice, and the piano forte, along with the tribal sounding drums really are impactful. “Reason to Believe” has always been one of my very favorite Rod songs. Not exactly sure what it is about the song that resonates with me so much, so I will just end by saying it’s a great way to finish out the album.
ReplyDeleteThis was not at all what I expected when I saw that we were doing a Rod Stewart week, and I am very glad that Justin introduced a side of Rod I would never have otherwise known about.