Written by Tío Esqueleto
Rod Stewart has been making records in one form or another since 1968. His latest effort, The Definitive Rod Stewart plays like a field trip through American pop music over the last 40 years. From the late ‘60s British blues-pop invasion, to the pop ballads of the 1970s, as well as an inevitable turn at disco and ‘80s synth pop, before finally settling comfortably into adult contemporary in the ‘90s and recent years, it is all covered in this collection including 31 of “The Bod’s” biggest hits, as well as a bonus DVD of 14 music videos.
The tracks run chronologically, starting, fittingly, with “Maggie May,” with the first ten tracks or so covering Stewart’s work up through the mid 1970s. Classics such as “You Wear It Well,” “The Killing of Georgie (Part 1 and 2),” and “You’re In My Heart (The Final Acclaim),” as well as “Stay With Me” from his early work with The Faces, showcase Stewart’s undeniable, folk-inspired storytelling and songwriting abilities, as well as that trademark rasp that along with the hair, the pants and the schnoz helped solidify him as a ‘70s pop icon.
Next, Stewart took the next logical step and did what any and every pop star with a record on the horizon did in the late ‘70s: he went disco and he did it quite well. Same strong songwriting, same signature rasp, just a different sound to back it all up. “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” was a huge hit and paved the way for Stewart’s foray into 1980s pop. With the eerie and often forgotten “Passion” from 1980 and 1981’s synth-driven anthem “Young Turks” we are treated to the start of an era of Stewart’s career that is vastly underrated and equally unappreciated. Songs such as the latter two, as well as hits like “Baby Jane,” and mid ‘80s super hits, “Infatuation” and “Some Guys Have All The Luck,” are often tossed aside, or worse, laughed off as ‘80s/bad Stewart, which is simply not true. Hopefully, their inclusion in this collection will help to finally clear that up. Let me just say that this era, “Young Turks” in particular, was the sole reason I took this assignment.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
This article appears out of phase like Kirk in "The Tholian Web."
2 - JC Mosquito
If you're gonna buy a box set of Rod Stewart, buy Reason to Believe: The Complete Mercury Recordings. And if you need more, then get the sprawling Faces 4 CD box set. But I suppose fans of Rod's recent work might like this - I just think his newer material is merely competent compared to his earlier output, which had moments of passion and brilliance.