The When They Were Good feature exists for one man, and one man only. He’s a cheeky English chap who boasts hair like Ellen DeGeneres and a preternatural ability to wreck nubile young women. And he was, believe or not, really good. At some point. Truly.
Try this lovely cut, a Stewart original that would’ve gotten Berry Gordy firing up the vinyl press in excitement:
MP3: Rod Stewart - “I’d Rather Go Blind” (from Never A Dull Moment, 1972).
In fact, his first four solo albums (An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down, Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells A Story, and Never A Dull Moment) were beautiful records, mixing traditionals (Man Of Constant Sorrow, Amazing Grace) with top-notch covers (Dylan’s Mama You Been On My Mind, the Stones’ Street Fighting Man) and Rod originals (You Wear It Well, Every Picture Tells A Story). And his voice was in fine form, sounding sandpapered with whiskey and cigarettes.
MP3: Rod Stewart - “Handbags And Gladrags” (from An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down, 1969).
MP3: Rod Stewart - “Dirty Old Town” (from An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down, 1969).
MP3: Rod Stewart - “Seems Like A Long Time” (from Every Picture Tells A Story, 1971).
It’s hard to believe it’s the same man who sang Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?, which even fans of kitsch and genuine mediocrity would have a hard time defending.
Now Stewart is a music industry zinger, a past-his-prime old fool put out to pasture, turning classics like Blue Moon, They Can’t Take That Away From Me and I’ll Be Seeing You into pap. And it’s a damn shame, because when Rod was good, he was really good.
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I heart this posting.
And he had a killer backing band in those days. My personal favorite is his cover of Elton John’s Country Comforts on Gasoline Alley with Ron Wood mumbling in the background.