The Album Review Club - Christmas Break Until 8th January

[RobMCFC]

Just a reminder that when the vote closes on this week's album, we'll be taking a break on this thread until the new year. We'll have a new album to review on 8th January.

As I'm off to Spain tomorrow, Coatigan is going to collect any votes from here and do the round-up tomorrow afternoon.

Hope everybody has a great Christmas, and thanks to everybody for their continued participation in this great thread.

 

[LGWIO]

So another couple of listens over my night shifts and I was able to sit in an office by myself and turn the volume up as we were quiet.
I do think I was turned against Rod from a formative age by listenign to DYTIS and Sailing, I think it was only with Handbags & Gladrags that I realised that he was perhaps a credible artist after all. So listening to this certainly confirmed that fact.
He does that have distinctive voice and of course you can tell he was raised in the east end of Glasgow! But I did think it lent itself so well to this offering. Like in a couple of the previous weeks it helps when you have a decent voice and a real good band behind you. Rod is certainly backed up by quality here.
A bity of fun , a bit of swagger and a bit of moodyness all come through. I even found myself tapping my feet in the office as I listened.
Have to thanks @Saddleworth2 for enlighteneing me to the joys of Rod, although he may still be a bit of a cock now...but really enjoyed this and I think it is perhaps up there with my faves over my tenure here...although thats maybe due to going in with low expecatations.
Take out the needless AG and I dont think there is a really bad track on there. A nice mix and gladly listen to again...its a 9 from the Derry jury

 

[Saddleworth2]

So another couple of listens over my night shifts and I was able to sit in an office by myself and turn the volume up as we were quiet.
I do think I was turned against Rod from a formative age by listenign to DYTIS and Sailing, I think it was only with Handbags & Gladrags that I realised that he was perhaps a credible artist after all. So listening to this certainly confirmed that fact.
He does that have distinctive voice and of course you can tell he was raised in the east end of Glasgow! But I did think it lent itself so well to this offering. Like in a couple of the previous weeks it helps when you have a decent voice and a real good band behind you. Rod is certainly backed up by quality here.
A bity of fun , a bit of swagger and a bit of moodyness all come through. I even found myself tapping my feet in the office as I listened.
Have to thanks @Saddleworth2 for enlighteneing me to the joys of Rod, although he may still be a bit of a cock now...but really enjoyed this and I think it is perhaps up there with my faves over my tenure here...although thats maybe due to going in with low expecatations.
Take out the needless AG and I dont think there is a really bad track on there. A nice mix and gladly listen to again...its a 9 from the Derry jury

Ah, you gave me 'Stop Making Sense' though

Nice one mate. Its difficult to say if he is a cock or not as I don't believe 2% of what the media tell me. He seems to have ended up with a nice lady for a wife and she seems like nobodies fool. I have a fishing buddy in the licensing trade who has socialised with him on a number of occasions and he likes him well enough (not as much as his ladies though :-)). What can't be argued with is that hen went through a phase when his musical choices were criminal.

 

[bennyboy]

So another couple of listens over my night shifts and I was able to sit in an office by myself and turn the volume up as we were quiet.
I do think I was turned against Rod from a formative age by listenign to DYTIS and Sailing, I think it was only with Handbags & Gladrags that I realised that he was perhaps a credible artist after all. So listening to this certainly confirmed that fact.
He does that have distinctive voice and of course you can tell he was raised in the east end of Glasgow! But I did think it lent itself so well to this offering. Like in a couple of the previous weeks it helps when you have a decent voice and a real good band behind you. Rod is certainly backed up by quality here.
A bity of fun , a bit of swagger and a bit of moodyness all come through. I even found myself tapping my feet in the office as I listened.
Have to thanks @Saddleworth2 for enlighteneing me to the joys of Rod, although he may still be a bit of a cock now...but really enjoyed this and I think it is perhaps up there with my faves over my tenure here...although thats maybe due to going in with low expecatations.
Take out the needless AG and I dont think there is a really bad track on there. A nice mix and gladly listen to again...its a 9 from the Derry jury

Not that it matters but he was born and raised in London.

 

[LGWIO]

Not that it matters but he was born and raised in London.

I know, it was my comment with regard to his tartan wearing/celtic supporting.
When still living in London I worked with a guy who had a slight Scottish accent, supprted Celtic and yet was from Essex. At least Rod's dad was Scottish whereas Im not sure the guy i knew had any connections

 

[Kirkstall Blue]

There's nothing much wrong with the Rod Stewart album, apart perhaps from the pretty pointless cover of Amazing Grace. Saying that if it wasn't so familiar in so many versions over the years maybe it would have been a nice rather than banal little interlude.

There wasn't too much that I could get over excited by either. I remember the Jeff Beck song I knew of with Rod singing was "Morning Dew" and that was a pretty atmospheric number which suited his voice (or his voice suited, whatever). I do think he has got a decent enough voice although not a classicly good one. That isn't a problem, add him to the list with Dylan, Neil Young, etc.

I prefer him here on the slower songs but really none of them, incuding Mandolin Way, grabbed me to the extent that I felt I would be missing out by not exploring more. Although I did, I listened to Never a Dull Moment which had a similar impact on me. Which is to say it didn't much.

So, glad I've finally given a listen to a rock legend, I can see the appeal but not really so much for me. It's an unexciting 6.

Do you think it was “of its time” for you ? trying to evaluate an album in 2024 is always going to be a six, if it didn’t age well.
For me Mandolin Wind is a 10 we bought the albums when they were first released so the memories are 10 in 1971 :)

 

[journolud]

Do you think it was “of its time” for you ? trying to evaluate an album in 2024 is always going to be a six, if it didn’t age well.
For me Mandolin Wind is a 10 we bought the albums when they were first released so the memories are 10 in 1971 :)

That might be a fair point, I was 8 in 1971 but I do have favourites albums that predate it, plenty probably but off the top of my head Forever changes and Astral Weeks both being in my all time top 5. Maybe if I’d heard Rod in my formative musical enlightenment years it might have had more resonance than listening to it for the first time now

 

[Saddleworth2]

That might be a fair point, I was 8 in 1971 but I do have favourites albums that predate it, plenty probably but off the top of my head Forever changes and Astral Weeks both being in my all time top 5. Maybe if I’d heard Rod in my formative musical enlightenment years it might have had more resonance than listening to it for the first time now

its almost impossible to rate an album you have never heard before compared to how you feel about an album that has grown old with you, that you love, and has many associated memories.

It takes me repeated plays over many months to decide an albums merits. There have been instances on here where I have heard an album for the first time, had an initial adverse reaction to it only to mellow after months and end up really enjoying it. It works both ways too. There is one popular album on here that I initially thought was very good and now simply cannot listen to it. Isn't that common with most folk or am I just weird or musically thick?

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

its almost impossible to rate an album you have never heard before compared to how you feel about an album that has grown old with you, that you love, and has many associated memories.

Every Picture Tells A Story - Rod Stewart

Well, given that statement above, I've got some good news for you.

Do I remember when this came out? Do I own this album/CD? Am I a big Rod Stewart fan?

No, no, and no... in fact, by the time I first remember hearing Rod Stewart on the radio right as my teenage years were upon me, DYTIS was all the rage as a hit on the (dance) charts, but I was, um, to be kind, not a fan. The music Rod released after that did even less for my enjoyment of him as an artist throughout the 80s.

However, by the time the 90s were upon us and classic rock appreciation found a place with me, I gave early Rod another chance and got his the Mercury Anthology double CD release. And wow, what an enjoyment that was and has been. That CD includes 5 of the 8 tracks off of this album (all but 2-4), and many more great songs through the 1974 album Smiler when Rod was with Mercury.

So, of the hits, I've known them well. Memories of appreciating his FM radio rock staples of "Every Picture Tells A Story", "Maggie Mae", and "(I Know) I'm Losing You", the latter that was performed with The Faces band on this album led me to get the CD in the first place. Those are simply great classic rock songs that when I still hear them now, I wonder why he had to change so drastically from this early classic period. I (mostly) appreciated how David Bowie evolved over the years, but with Rod, he had lost me by the time I became aware of him in the late 70's, not really giving these songs their proper due until I was much older and it was 20+ years past their release.

"(Find A) Reeason To Believe" has that classic electric organ and violin that really gives it that uniqueness, including the brief part stripped of the instruments as Rod sings a capella. "Mandolin Wind" was another fantastic find from the CD, less heard on the radio, but very memorable and a great tune - just love the mandolin here. Quite the B side to "(I Know) I'm Losing You" indeed.

I enjoyed the 3 songs I hadn't yet heard from this album. "Seems Like A Long Time" was a good blend of rock and gospel blues. The "That's All RIght" cover was a bit more hit/miss, with the guitar and piano being the strong points. I too was a bit puzzled by his rendition of "Amazing Grace" at the end, though it was nice the first time, I'm not sure it fit as well as it could have as the ending of the song itself. "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" had that nice country guitar feel to it and reminded me a bit of his remake of Elton John's "Country Comfort" from his prior album.

It was good to revisit the album where many of these songs I knew quite well came from during a period when Rod, to me, was clearly at his best. This is an 8/10 for overall enjoyment and memories of the artist I didn't appreciate when I first listened to in the late 70's, but really did when finding his songs from the Mercury years. Thanks @Saddleworth2.

 

[Mancitydoogle]

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY



Great pick Sadds, as I’ve already mentioned I was a fan of Rod and The Faces, in the early days.
There’s some great tracks on this album that I know so well as four of the songs are on the ‘Sing it Again Rod Album’I was also familiar with the title track which apart from the non PC lyrics is a fun song.I have a bit of a problem with ‘Maggie May’ great song that it is , it was played to death when I was in my teens by every DJ at the end of the night and everyone used to sing along to the chorus.
I’m not so keen on the Elvis cover, but the Dylan cover, the Temptations cover and especially the Tim Hardin cover are excellent.i also love the instrumentation on this album ,good use of mandolin and pedal steel on some tracks.

A solid 9/10