Third times the charm? Rod Stewart had spent 1970 trying to break through as a solo artist; the resulting two albums, An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down and the following Gasoline Alley, were met with positive reception but underwhelming sales. At the time of writing, I haven't listened to An Old Raincoat and Gasoline Alley is a perfectly fine if not underwhelming folk album. With Rod's third album, everything all came together; commercially, it became Rod's breakthrough off the back of the successful single "Maggie May," topping the UK and US album charts. Musically, it's a step forward from Gasoline Alley as Rod's rich singing voice melds with country, blues, folk, and soul in what is easily his most consistent and enjoyable work yet. The musicians are hot, and Stewart is consistently proving his talents on this album from start to finish; certifiably the best I've heard from him yet.
Rod Stewart takes a massive step forward musically on this album, as he grabs from various genres across every moment on this album - blues folk is the best way I can describe this album. Moments like the title track are an encapsulation of powerful rock, soulful blues, and rich folk, executed so thoroughly and so well that they play like A-tier Rolling Stones cuts - Hell, for my money, I'd even say that Rod is a better singer than Mick Jagger. It's a high-octane album for the most part, filled with fast-paced moments, but one that's occasionally under-penned by sublime moments of beauty and earnestness; the rocking "That's All Right" ends on a slow steel-guitar driven rendition of "Amazing Grace," which immediately contrasts the passionate edge with a beautiful rendition, sounding like Rod himself is truly the wretch that was saved in the song.
The album pretty much always hit the sweet spot. Of course, moments like "Maggie May" are some of Rod's best known songs, and for good reason; it's a musically rich song, but still memorable enough to make an easy pop hit. Seldom does Every Picture Tells a Story miss the mark, as it trucks through 8 songs with energy and passion that I felt was often missing from Gasoline Alley. Perhaps the only flaws are that each side of the album ends rather weak. "Tomorrow Is Such a Long Time" is the kind of slower pace moment that didn't do anything for me on Gasoline Alley, and while the closer "Reason to Believe" is certainly more energetic, it doesn't come close to scratching the same itch that the rest of the album does; of course, any song would have a lot to live up to following an excellent rocker like "(I Know) I'm Losing You," but I stand by my critique.
Rod's third album hits all the right notes. A realized blend of folk, blues, and rock that takes everything Rod did well on his previous album and leads to its culmination. Songs build and burst with energy, all while he gives some of his most galvanized performances put to tape. It can still be rocky at points, but this is everything that I'd want out of Rod Stewart. Certainly worthy of its classic reputation.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Every Picture Tells a Story.
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