Every Picture Tells a Story

yeah it's ok

Solid record- he sounds really good striking a balance between pop, folk and Americana (pretty funny considering he's English). It's well-paced, well-composed, and I would imagine pretty re-listenable, as its hits are in the same league as its deep tracks. A high 3 fs

Managed to stay interesting throughout and I personally did not feel anything negative towards these songs. 7/10

When I was younger, Rod Stewart was only played with a few songs on the radio, which was my main source of music back then. And that was just fine. One of those songs was “Maggie May.” It was nice to hear it again. But that’s enough for a long time to come. 3/5

3.75

Better than I thought but still not listening again

Hello again Rod. I don't hate this but also don't quite get why it's considered significant enough to show up in a list like this.

Unexpectedly slaps

It's been interesting having a Faces album and a Rod album on consecutive days. Indeed this album was recorded and released the same year... and released whilst RS was recording A Nod Is As Good As A Wink. You can see how Rod might have had other things on his mind.

Truth is of the 2 albums, this is the better one. RS had a unique voice and was a great front man. By the time I'd heard of him in the late 70s he was a bit cheesy and housewives choice, but at the height of his powers (i.e here) he was a force.

It’s been so long since I’ve heard this record that my opinion of Rod Stewart was affected by how much I dislike his later song “Tonight’s the Night.” But I soldiered on despite.

This is a nice record, with lots of bluesy guitar and folky fiddle and mandolin. I don’t love Rod Stewart’s voice, but it works here. “Maggie May” and “I’m Losing You” are well-regarded songs for a reason, but the thing that affected me most on this listen was “Mandolin Wind.” I think I never really listened closely to that song before - or maybe you need to be older to really be able relate to what it's saying.

4 stars

I’m at a 5. Perhaps a touch higher.

When we got Gasoline Alley 585 days ago, my primary reason behind only giving it a 3 was that Rod Stewart simply hadn’t found his own voice as a songwriter yet, given that it was an album comprised mostly of covers & his original material wasn’t as good as the covers. This is also an album comprised mostly of covers, but what makes it work is the elevated showmanship in the production of those covers, as well as his own material reaching a similar level. Rod Stewart has found his own voice as a songwriter here, and between the title track that feels like a closer, the fun rhythms of “Maggie May”, & the lovely storytelling of “Mandolin Wind”, there’s really not a single complaint I can find about those 3 tracks.

How about the 5 covers then? They all range from good to great, especially apparent on “Tomorrow Is a Long Time”, which is a Bob Dylan cover. The band’s instrumentation gives it a nice country-esque swing, and Rod’s gravelly delivery feels like an elevation of Bob Dylan’s voice. It’s a really strong cover, and that strength applies to the rest of the cover tracks here. The push & pull of the album feels really dynamic as well – take the softer ending of “Seems Like a Long Time”, for example. The way everything pulls back to give a bit more gravitas to the wartime lyrics is a great piece of production work. The same applies to the fake-out ending of “(Find a) Reason to Believe”, where Rod’s acapella in the middle makes his sorrow that much more palpable & lets the energy naturally pick back up.

If I have any truly minor nitpicks… I probably would’ve ended on either the title track or “(I Know) I’m Losing You”, as both just carry a more definitive gravitas to their endings than “(Find a) Reason to Believe” does, although I think it’s a good way to close out the album regardless. I really am impressed by Rod Stewart here, and since this is the last album we’ll get from him on the list, I might just have to seek out more of the guy. Even if there’s not one better than this as a top-to-bottom album, there has to be a few more great tracks out there. Hell, maybe I’ll look up those old infomercials from 2005 and just play the tracks from that album. As far as this goes, I think it’s a 5, if not a little higher. Very good stuff, Rod.

One of my more popular reviews (thanks for the love guys & gals) was.......

"Anyone else think this list is a little heavy on the "white dudes do R&B / rock". Sadly, other bands (a) did it better and (b) didn't have Rod's voice ruining everything."

So yeah. That.

I do like Rod Stewart, particularly when he was with Jeff Beck. And who doesn’t love Maggie May?
I liked this album a lot but couldn’t help feeling that it lacked a lot of what he had when he was with Jeff Beck. I mean this was maybe a little easier to take. But what a great voice he has. Super unique and raspy. I love it. 3.5/5 and rounding up because this guy is a legend, doesn’t matter who you are

A low 3 … it was very Rod Stewarty.

Gorgeous folk rock album. It's got softer acoustic elements, harder rock tracks, and everything in between. The vocal delivery is outstanding, truly underrated singer of the decade. The bass too is criminally underrated as a performance, being melodically prominent in most songs. The spotlight of the drums in terms of fills and solos are super fun too, sporting a perfect backdrop to the adventurous but laid back record. It just needs to pack a little more flair and explosion.

Eh, some of this was cool.

I always thought I hated Rod Stewart for no apparent reason. But woah this was good?!

Very surprised by this outcome

4 ⭐️

It's been a while since I listened to this one, but what more could you possibly want from a roots-rock record? Eight tracks, nothing too flashy, just make it count.

Maggie May is undeniably an exceptional song. The rest is so so and feels repetitive.
Then again I am an unapologetic Rod Stewart hater.

Fun!