The Album Review Club - Christmas Break Until 8th January

[bennyboy]

That’s interesting. I haven’t seen that at all. Perhaps it was a bootleg version of something.

It was Never a Dull Moment inside cover.
Nothing to do with the Faces.

Rod Stewart, ‘Never a Dull Moment’ (10/72)

Rod Stewart’s fourth solo album is a warm, easy-going, good-humored piece of music. The packaging is quite spectacular, and it took me a few minutes to find the record itself, but the packagi…

greilmarcus.net

 

[LGWIO]

Have to say it that apart from the Lonesome Jubilee this has to be one of the biggest and best surprises since i joined the forum.
Rock/Blues/Country, whatever genre you wish to attach to it, it is fun and a great listen. Even the Country stuff which usually turns me off is enjoyable. I think perhaps as you don't have that American twang.
Apart from the now outdated references in the opener/title track, its a great start.....and it just keeps going. I don't think there is really a duff track on this...apart from maybe the little bit of Amazing Grace.

 

[RobMCFC]

Every Picture Tells A Story – Rod Stewart

For the second consecutive week, we have a British institution to review.

The title track features a satisfying acoustic opening and the chime of the acoustic in the left ear throughout is a satisfying sound as the song goes full steam ahead, with Rod whooping and hollering his way through what is a great opening to the album.

“Seems Like A Long Time” is quite a comedown. There’s nothing special about the song or performance to my ears, it just sounds like Rod Stewart-by-numbers. Apparently, it seems like a long time (it is if you’re listening to this song) and just to make sure we understand, Rod and his back-up singers keep repeating the mantra.

“That’s All Right” features some nice slide (again in the left ear) and whilst the acoustic blues that starts the “Amazing Grace” is equally good, it can’t save what feels like a bit of a pointless cover.

Thankfully, the album improves immensely after these two mis-steps. There’s a good mixture of acoustic and violin on Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow Is A Long Time”, the violin providing a lovely refrain.

Martin Quittenton’s short acoustic intro to “Maggie May”, a song he co-wrote with Stewart, is a nice touch and of course the song is superb. I’m listening on my Bose noise-cancelling headphones and the sound of Ian McLagan’s Hammond elevates the track. I can’t say that I’ve ever noticed this when I’ve heard the song in other environments, but maybe I wasn’t listening carefully enough. The mandolin sounds great too. Unsurprisingly, the lovely mandolin is carried into “Mandolin Wind”, which is also excellent.

Great funky guitar to open “(I Know) I’m Losing You” and, like the title track, this is another song with great energy. “(Find A) Reason To Believe” features evocative gospel organ and a strong performance in general, the violin making a welcome return.

The sonic palette is strong on this one – good use of acoustic guitar, slide, mandolin and violin. In an initial listen, I made a note that there was “a little too much plink-plonky piano for me”, but subsequent listens reveals that this is limited to “Seems Like A Long Time”. If only he’d put some accordion on instead, the album would have been even better.

To Rod Stewart’s credit, three of the best songs on the album are those that he wrote or co-wrote. It’s a pity that he didn’t write “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” and “(Find A) Reason To Believe” as well.

It's worth pointing out the power of this thread to get us listening to stuff. I have only ever bought two albums of cover versions, each by two of my favourite artists. One of them features incredible songs and performances across the board, and I’m currently enjoying it again now. So much so that I may consider putting it up for review on here to see what everybody makes of it.

But back to Every Picture Tells a Story. This is an album that is superbly produced and performed with some strong songs (and great stereo separation of the instruments), but it has way too many cover versions and a couple of them aren’t that great. If you are going to do a cover version, make it great and don’t make it feel like you are simply padding out the album. There’s certainly enough here for me to enjoy and all things considered 8/10 feels fair.

 

[bennyboy]

A good album let down by 3 songs from making it great.
Seems like a long time,That's alright and I'm losing you.
Good start with Every picture tells a story then a couple of fillers before Tomorrow is a long time in which i found out was a Dylan cover the post above.
Without hearing the original Rod does a good job on it.
Then Maggie May a great song despite the amount of times i have heard it.
Mandolin Wind my favourite Rod song of all time.
Then the pointless I'm losing you ending with the great Reason to believe.
Thought about a 7 but going to give it an 8 due to instrument playing especially acoustic guitar and organ.
Got into Rod and the Faces through my dad who was a big fan and had most of his stuff will into the 1980's.
Myself i liked Rod up until A night on the town.Even liked Atlantic crossing despite the awful sailing probably his biggest hit
8/10.

 

[Saddleworth2]

Have to say it that apart from the Lonesome Jubilee this has to be one of the biggest and best surprises since i joined the forum.
Rock/Blues/Country, whatever genre you wish to attach to it, it is fun and a great listen. Even the Country stuff which usually turns me off is enjoyable. I think perhaps as you don't have that American twang.
Apart from the now outdated references in the opener/title track, its a great start.....and it just keeps going. I don't think there is really a duff track on this...apart from maybe the little bit of Amazing Grace.

Really pleased you like it mate.

 

[Blue Mist]

Every Picture Tells A Story – Rod Stewart

For the second consecutive week, we have a British institution to review.

The title track features a satisfying acoustic opening and the chime of the acoustic in the left ear throughout is a satisfying sound as the song goes full steam ahead, with Rod whooping and hollering his way through what is a great opening to the album.

“Seems Like A Long Time” is quite a comedown. There’s nothing special about the song or performance to my ears, it just sounds like Rod Stewart-by-numbers. Apparently, it seems like a long time (it is if you’re listening to this song) and just to make sure we understand, Rod and his back-up singers keep repeating the mantra.

“That’s All Right” features some nice slide (again in the left ear) and whilst the acoustic blues that starts the “Amazing Grace” is equally good, it can’t save what feels like a bit of a pointless cover.

Thankfully, the album improves immensely after these two mis-steps. There’s a good mixture of acoustic and violin on Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow Is A Long Time”, the violin providing a lovely refrain.

Martin Quittenton’s short acoustic intro to “Maggie May”, a song he co-wrote with Stewart, is a nice touch and of course the song is superb. I’m listening on my Bose noise-cancelling headphones and the sound of Ian McLagan’s Hammond elevates the track. I can’t say that I’ve ever noticed this when I’ve heard the song in other environments, but maybe I wasn’t listening carefully enough. The mandolin sounds great too. Unsurprisingly, the lovely mandolin is carried into “Mandolin Wind”, which is also excellent.

Great funky guitar to open “(I Know) I’m Losing You” and, like the title track, this is another song with great energy. “(Find A) Reason To Believe” features evocative gospel organ and a strong performance in general, the violin making a welcome return.

The sonic palette is strong on this one – good use of acoustic guitar, slide, mandolin and violin. In an initial listen, I made a note that there was “a little too much plink-plonky piano for me”, but subsequent listens reveals that this is limited to “Seems Like A Long Time”. If only he’d put some accordion on instead, the album would have been even better.

To Rod Stewart’s credit, three of the best songs on the album are those that he wrote or co-wrote. It’s a pity that he didn’t write “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” and “(Find A) Reason To Believe” as well.

It's worth pointing out the power of this thread to get us listening to stuff. I have only ever bought two albums of cover versions, each by two of my favourite artists. One of them features incredible songs and performances across the board, and I’m currently enjoying it again now. So much so that I may consider putting it up for review on here to see what everybody makes of it.

But back to Every Picture Tells a Story. This is an album that is superbly produced and performed with some strong songs (and great stereo separation of the instruments), but it has way too many cover versions and a couple of them aren’t that great. If you are going to do a cover version, make it great and don’t make it feel like you are simply padding out the album. There’s certainly enough here for me to enjoy and all things considered 8/10 feels fair.

In defence of Stewart. His cover version of (I Know) I'm Losing You was probably the first time most people in the UK had heard it.
As a 14 yr old I was not aware the Temptations released it in 1966. (I was only 8 !) Black music did not get played by the BBC, instead we were forced to accept that Lulu shouting Shout was a British single. When I eventually heard the Isley Brothers doing the original I could not believe the difference. One was a brilliant song the other was a jock woman shouting.
But back on topic, Stewart like many White British artists covered American (black) soul music as there own and nobody knew any different. It is one reason why I have always hated the old farts in suits at the BBC.

 

[mrbelfry]

In defence of Stewart. His cover version of (I Know) I'm Losing You was probably the first time most people in the UK had heard it.
As a 14 yr old I was not aware the Temptations released it in 1966. (I was only 8 !) Black music did not get played by the BBC, instead we were forced to accept that Lulu shouting Shout was a British single. When I eventually heard the Isley Brothers doing the original I could not believe the difference. One was a brilliant song the other was a jock woman shouting.
But back on topic, Stewart like many White British artists covered American (black) soul music as there own and nobody knew any different. It is one reason why I have always hated the old farts in suits at the BBC.

I asked on one of the other threads if Motown was popular in the UK at the same time as the US or if bands like the Beatles popularised it with covers. Do you know?

 

[Coatigan]

Remember to send me your 2024 top 10 albums you fuds.

 

[bennyboy]

Remember to send me your 2024 top 10 albums you fuds.

Paul Weller....66.
The rest sadly all old deluxe editions

 

[Blue Mist]

I asked on one of the other threads if Motown was popular in the UK at the same time as the US or if bands like the Beatles popularised it with covers. Do you know?

Sadly Motown and other black music rarely got a look in. There are imo 3 reasons, racism, the class system and trade unions
Until September 1967 Radio 1 did not exist. The ONLY radio station was called The Light Programme. As an example of how you were dictated to, on a Sunday tea time they had the hit parade. It stopped at 6pm for what we used to call War We War We. In other words a church service (the choir sounded like war we war we :-) )
No pop music was then heard until the next day.
Apart from the lucky few who could get the pirate radio station Radio Caroline, starting at 10pm each night, that was it.

Virtually no black music was played on the Light Programme, maybe Nat King Cole and Harry Belafonte.
Very little black music was played on Radio 1. The Supremes being the only ones I can think of.
The Upper Class ran the BBC and decided what you should hear, not what was new or innovative. How the Stones, never mind black artists, ever got airtime still surprises me.
I mentioned racism, perhaps as the UK was predominantly white they, in their tiny little minds, knew we wanted to listen to white music. That is why UK artists covered black songs and we thought they were the original recordings.
I mention Trade Unions. The Musicians Union would not allow any live performances unless the BBC orchestra was used. Can you imagine the Isley Brothers singing Shout backed by the BBC Light Orchestra ?
As a side note the Musicians Union opposed the introduction of commercial television in 1957 and independent local radio in 1973. Up until Radio 1 they also restricted the amount of records that could be played on the Light Programme. To be fair to the BBC, Radio 1 would have been on air earlier than 67 but the M.U. stopped it.
Finally, sorry for going on for so long, because airtime was so restricted for black artists, what became known as Northern Soul came into its own. The Twisted Wheel in Manchester started as a Soul/Blues nightclub (1963?) before becoming niche with Northern Soul.
I'll shut up now.