ROD STEWART RARITIES TWO-CD SET EARNS OUR HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION & FEATURES TRACKS FROM SINGER’S CLASSIC EARLY SOLO ALBUMS, IN-STORES NOW Collection Includes Previously Unreleased BBC Radio One Live Performances of “Maggie May” and “Country Comfort” with Faces 24 Tracks Boast Alternate Versions, Singles, B-Sides, Studio Outtakes, Covers of The Who, Bob Dylan, Goffin/King, Cole Porter, Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Lee Lewis, Stealer’s Wheel, Brewer & Shipley and More Whom You Know Could Not Be More Thrilled to Kick Off Coverage of Rod Stewart's Music Our Coverage Sponsored by Hallak Cleaners the Couture Cleaner
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We celebrated our 600th post in Read This with Rod Stewart's autobiography, which we were absolutely delighted with. Of all of the music we have ever had the chance to review, we love Rod's vocal talents the most and could not be more thrilled to kick off our coverage with something old that's new again-Rarities is a winner and a keeper. Prepare to be serenaded!
The hit parade opens with "It's All Over Now," a punchy single from Gasoline Alley released 5/70 originally. We love the piano in it and of course Rod's signature raspy voice. This album release is so perfect for those in Peachy's generation that were not around for these original releases. With a bit of a soothing beat, "Country Comforts" (from 9/70) is brand new to us as it is previously unreleased. It's a nostalgic look at what we imagine to be the English countryside-we have yet to spend a lot of time there though we've spent a lot of time in the Irish countryside. (Dowager Countess we would love to visit you and drink scotch with you and Rod.)
If we have to tell you about "Maggie May," the third song, you must have been living in a cave since 1971. The massive hit by Stewart is the song that makes everyone want to get out of bed in the morning, however this one is the early version with different words. Of course we have the standard words memorized, so it is quite fun to sing the overlapping lyrics with Rod who will sing this early version. At first it is incredibly odd to hear different lyrics! But we just had to laugh and collect the autograph...
"Seems Like a Long Time" is a lilting tune that could almost be considered a ballad and reminds us a bit of Handbags and Gladrags, and "Lost Paraguayos" is essentially a party in a song (don't end up in a Mexican jail)-a perfect follow up with a more upbeat tone. "Italian Girls" is a song we'd want to hear performed live in a bar/pub- in regards to a lyric- we're glad you didn't become a film star-what would we listen to! "You Wear It Well" is a both bouncy and comforting. It's shocking to us that Rod was not an even bigger hit sooner.
"I'd Rather Go Blind" will next warm your ears, and we were just, just, JUST so impressed with the emphasis on the just. You have to listen to the song to see what we mean. A great song to sip a bit of scotch to. "Angel," the 9th track (lucky Gordie Howe number), is by far the best song on both CDs according to Peachy Deegan. We used to associate Angel as a song only with Aerosmith (did you know we've heard that Steven Tyler and Joe Perry met by scooping ice cream together in Boston) but stand corrected. This Angel is totally different, and is an alternate version from the Jimi Hendrix original as well. The beat, rhythm and lyrics culminate in a song that will be addictive and if you are anything like Peachy you'll put it on repeat. Again, and again.
"What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)" was not our favorite but is funny. As a fairly avid pinball wizard herself, Peachy was always familiar with The Who's version of "Pinball Wizard" but we're glad to be enlightened by this Stewart version, complete with contributions by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Choir. Pinball has become an even more ethereal experience listening to this! "Everytime We Say Goodbye" closes the first disc; does it get any better than Rod singing Cole? We don't think so and naturally we love the lyric "in the know." But it's not really a goodbye since there is a stellar second disc.
A twangy opening "Oh! No Not My Baby" announces the start of the second disc. Drumroll, please and here's "Jodie"! We wish you all the best with your current success, and don't let the flashbulbs turn your head. A fantastic soothing lullabye is "So Tired," because really, aren't we all? "Missed You" has similar tonality however somehow with these slower, seemingly brooding songs Stewart actually shines them into something that cheers you up with that voice! And if you are into Rod-note that you don't really have to miss him much as he's in New York early next week, so "Think I'll Pack My Bags" he must be saying to himself-Manhattan is the perfect place to get away! "Girl From The North Country" is another laid-back traveling song. This second disc is ideal to listen to on a trip-stay tuned to hear more about our recent trip to Washington DC and the gorgeous Westin Georgetown!
Next in the batting order Rod sings with great feeling "(You Make Me Feel) A Natural Man" which is the lyrics reverse take on the one we're more familiar with by Carole King. "Farewell" has some intelligent lyrics that foretold the future because of course he did become a star one day. An early version of "So Tired" follows-it's such a comforting song you'll be glad both versions are included. Wisdom beyond his years in 1974 is reflected in "You Put Something Better Inside Of Me," and its introspective thoughts and stellar delivery you'll enjoy. "Crying Laughing Loving Lying" is a light tune from the Smiler Sessions; we are glad you are laughing now.
And the perfect ending: "Maggie May!"
The 9/28/71 BBC Radio One Performance. If we could hug a song, we'd hug this one.
Rarities is indeed a jewel!
Finally, we'd be remiss not to commend Rod on his hair in these pictures. Hair is important!
Two thumbs up to you, Roderick David Stewart, blessed with one of the best voices in history in a person that knows what to do with it.
Rarities by Rod Stewart has earned Whom You Know's Highest Recommendation.
Many thanks to Universal Music! We are so proud to begin working with you.
Before Rod Stewart became known as a global rock superstar and master interpreter of the Great American Songbook, the albums he made for the Mercury label between 1969 and 1974 established him as one of rock’s most distinctive and expressive singers and gifted songwriters. The five solo albums that Stewart released during that period— The Rod Stewart Album (1969), Gasoline Alley (1970), Every Picture Tells a Story (1971), Never a Dull Moment (1972) and Smiler (1974) —feature a rootsy, folk-blues-leaning style, steeped in traditional soul and R&B. On Rarities, which will be released September 3, 2013 on Mercury/UMe, Stewart’s blend of playful swagger and modest introspection provide a complementary contrast to the raw, boozy rock ’n’ roll that he was recording in his parallel career as frontman of the seminal U.K. quintet Faces.
The brand-new, two-CD, 24-track Rarities, offers a comprehensive selection of alternate versions, non-LP singles, B-sides, studio outtakes and BBC Radio One performances and covers of songs by The Who (“Pinball Wizard”), Bob Dylan (“Girl from the North Country”), Gerry Goffin and Carole King (“Oh! No Not My Baby,” the gender-bending “[You Make Me Feel] Like a Natural Man” with Jerry Wexler), Jimi Hendrix (“Angel”), Cole Porter (“Every Time We Say Goodbye”), Jerry Lee Lewis (“What Made Milwaukee Famous [Has Made a Loser Out of Me]”), Brewer & Shipley (“Seems Like a Long Time”) and Stealer’s Wheel (“You Put Something Better Inside of Me”).
The collection also spotlights alternative takes on such Stewart classics as “Maggie May” and Elton John/Bernie Taupin’s “Country Comfort,” recorded with the Faces’ guitarist Ron Wood, bassist Ronnie Lane, keyboardist Ian McLagan and drummer Kenney Jones, live for BBC Radio One, both of which are previously unreleased.
Among the two-disc sets other highlights are re-workings of Gasoline Alley’s Bobby Womack by way of Rolling Stones’ “It’s All Over Now,” in its leaner, edited version released as a single, and two separate versions of Every Picture Tells a Story’s #1 U.S./U.K. hit “Maggie May,” one an early rendition with completely different, unfinished lyrics, the other a September 1971 performance on BBC Radio One that is available for the first time on an official release. Offering a peak into Stewart’s future successful series of albums extolling the Great American Songbook is a cover of Cole Porter’s “Every Time We Say Goodbye,” as well as a version of Jerry Lee Lewis’ weepy, honky-tonk lament, “What Made Milwaukee Famous [Has Made a Loser Out of Me]),” originally the non-LP B-side of the single which featured Jimi Hendrix’s “Angel.” Rarities also includes both sides of the 1973 single--credited to Rod Stewart and the Faces--featuring the Goffin/ King-penned Maxine Brown hit “Oh! No Not My Baby” and the Stewart/Wood/ McLagan collaboration “Jodie,” co-produced by Stewart and Wood, with Rod backed by Wood, McLagan and drummer Kenney Jones.
As Scott Schinder’s Rarities liner notes put it, “For many serious fans, Stewart’s Mercury years represent his creative peak, and the music that he made during that period retains a special place in the hearts of his admirers.”
Stewart recently released Time, his first rock album in a dozen years, on Capitol Records. The album features 11 original tracks and marks Rod’s return to songwriting after nearly two decades. Time entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1, setting a new British record for the longest gap between chart-topping albums by an artist -- and in the US, it marked Stewart’s highest-charting album of original material since 1979. Most of the release was born during the period he worked on what would later become his internationally best-selling book, Rod: The Autobiography. The collection, Rarities, offers crucial musical insight into his early creative development, and his emergence as a major artist.
