I must confess that
I'm not a huge Rod Stewart fan, but I also don't know much of his material
other than the big songs, so I was willing to give it a fair hearing.
This, Rod's second
album, is made up of a number of covers, with three Stewart compositions, and
the rest covers. It reached number 27 in the UK, but had no singles of note
from it. It sparked positive reviews at the time and since, but I can't say I'd
ever heard of it.
The title-track and
opener is a Stewart and Ronnie Wood composition, and it has a not unpleasant
reminiscent air. The guitar sound is fairly thick, against some tinny
percussion, with Stewart's voice unsurprisingly front and centre. It's All Over
Now is a Womack track, and has a lovely swagger to it, with a real honky tonk
piano driving proceedings. I'm not sure this style suits Stewart's voice, as he
struggles to lose control, but the overall song is great. Only a Hobo, a Bob
Dylan number, is paper-thin, and struggles to elicit much of the sympathy it
looks so earnestly for. My Way of Giving is pretty forgettable, some nice
guitar licks aside. Country Comfort sounds like a budget "Handbags and
Glad rags", although Stewart's voice suits this style of narrative song
well. Cut Across Shorty is one of the more bizarre songs I've ever come across,
and that is putting it politely. If you're interested in listening to a song
that is an extended analogy about the "turtle (sic) and the hare"
then please, fill your boots. Lady Day is a slow, ponderous number, and Jo's
Lament is 3 minutes 30 of my life I would like back. You're My Girl (I Don't
Want to Discuss It) is a nicely strutting rock and roll number with a guitar
show of real aplomb by Ronnie Wood.
Overall, this was a
very 'meh' album. It has a couple of decent tracks on it, but it is so
inconsistent that the overall impression is of low expectations not really met.
There is a huge amount of variety in the songs, and Rod can't be accused of not
stretching himself musically, but that isn't really sufficient to making a good
album. I can't imagine coming back to it in the future, and can find little to
recommend it to you, and don't really know why it's on this list.
Chloe's album rating: 5
Chloe's
favourite track: 9. You're My Girl (I Don't Want to Discuss It)
Olly's
album rating: 4
Olly's
favourite track: 2. It's All Over Now
Next week
is 467. Kilimanjaro by Teardrop Explodes.
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