Thoughts on the historical figure that is Rod Stewart.

Being the OP, I must thankfully say that there is a wide array of opinions thus far. Terrapin's statement here is well taken and I well see both sides being that I morphed into a 'Rod' fan much later in life. That said, the breadth of his work is truly amazing as he covered a lot of bases, from 'hard' rock to disco with other bits of fluff thrown in. He knew how to test the waters and his work will stand the test of time as he truly sang his heart out no matter what!

Blondes do have more fun?

 

Hear Hear!

 

Rod in his prime was one of the best singer/songwriters of his generation.

 

I think (and have long thought) that this is fantastic (and better than Etta James' original).

But I wish that the horns were louder in the mix.
.

 

I Like Rod with Jeff Beck, especially the Mercury albums, the Faces, and the Warner Bros albums up through Footloose and Fancy Free (which was the first Rod Stewart album I purchased). When Blondes Have More Fun was released, and I was a sophomore or junir in high school, and that album and cover was a HARD STOP for all my hard rockin' teenager friends. It was not until I was in my 30's and 40's that I began to dig into the Faces and the Mercury albums, and that is some great early 70's rock.

A year or two ago, I somehow picked up a compilation, If We Fall in Love Tonight, which is a lot of Rod's ballads from over the years. And don't you know it, me getting older, I really like that cd. I have not tried Rod's Songbook albums, because I'm so used to hearing the Great American Songbook delivered by Sinatra, Ella, and the great jazz improvisers. But I'm glad Rod is working in a new genre, and hopefully has introduced a lot of people to those great old songs.

 

I have a similar timeline for Bob Seger as well. Both were huge favorites of my mom, although I prefer their stuff from 1975 and before where as most of what they released up to that time were too hard rock for her taste.
The point is that Tonight I'm Yours (and the Distance) roughly coincide with when I left the house.

 

I don't think the Jeff Beck Group stuff works. Beck and Stewart seem to come from two distinctly different approaches

 

How do sales figures make an artistic observation sound silly?

 

Is that good? I hate Robert Plant.

 

I like middle-aged housewives.

 

I love the song "Forever Young" ;however, I have never enjoyed any other song he ever did. Years ago I dated a girl who loved him and had all his albums. Also, my grandmother really liked him as well. I have probably heard most of his music at one time or another and yet I only ever enjoyed that one song.

As a person I have always had a negative opinion of him. Of course I have never met him and if I did that opinion could change, but from all the interviews I have seen of him I have come to the conclusion that he isn't that great of a person. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

And you are a middle aged man who likes ahem.... Manfred's Mans Earthband!
And please, drop the dated and predictable housewife crap, this isn't the 1950's....

 

The Rise and Fall of Rod Stewart

Literally a month and two days ago..

 

Love his work from Jeff Beck to early solo/Faces and the odd single all the way up to "Rhythm Of My Heart" in 1991. I haven't liked anything that he has done since and especially the American Songbook stuff. I don't like his post-op silky voice. I bought my wife (loves "Roddy") the Still The Same covers album (which isn't all that bad as it happens) and I made her a CD of all the original versions.

 

Best Early Rod Stewart related Album (Before 1975)

and this one too.

 

I put Rod as an musical artist on the top shelf. Maybe that's why he's held to a higher standard
For me he's up there with Elvis and Sinatra in my book.
But I equate his artistic career, unfortunately, more along the lines of Elvis's than Sinatra's
Elvis was sidetracked into ridiculous movie roles/soundtracks, schmatzy Vegas numbers
and putrid pop pablum. But he did manage to pull off a great TV comeback with "Elvis Is Back"
where he briefly returned to form but apparently wasn't sure where to take it from there.
Rod pulled off a similar thing when he reunited with Ron Wood for MTV's Unplugged.
No coincidence that he also recorded one of his best later period albums around this same time
"Spanner In The Works" ( also the unreleased "Once In A Blue Moon.")

Sinatra somehow managed to stay relevant as a recording artist from the 1940's until up to almost the end.
There were occasional forays into absurdity, like when Lawrence Welk got him to record "Mama Will Bark" ( where he got to duet with a barking dog.) During the 1960's he'd record pop tunes in an attempt to stay relevant but always made sure the quality was up to his standards. He may have been focused on chasing skirts and the money, the same as Rod, but you knew he was still listening closely to jazz or classical or whatever musically drew his interest.
I got the feeling with Rod that the music became secondary in a way at some point, pretty much just material to be assembled into a product and sold to the consumer. I dunno, maybe I'm wrong but that's just my take on it.

 

Why did he only do 4 "Great American Songbook" albums?

 

I can see some of the parallel with Presley, although I don't think Rod, even at his worst, ever came close to the lows of Elvis' mid-1960's soundtrack work. And I certainly understand why a number of observers were and have been so disappointed with Rod's post-1975 career path, but as I stated earlier, I think it is a bit unfair and hypocritical at times. For example, I don't think Mick Jagger (both in and out of The Stones) has produced a significant amount of high quality work since the early 1980's, yet rarely does anyone suggest he squandered his talents and wasted decades. That isn't to say The Rolling Stones have not made some respectable albums over the past few decades, but are they really at the level of Beggars Banquet, Exile On Main Street, or even Some Girls? Of course not.

When it comes to Rod, he also embraced being a pop star, the pop sounds and production of the 80's, and was okay aligning himself with musical trends of the day (both during the 80's and 90's), and latter commercial gimmicks with the Songbook projects. And because he prioritized aligning himself with musical trends (and moved away from songwriting), perhaps it was a more glaring sell-out and noticeable artistic decline. That said, it cannot be denied that his best creative and artist statements were largely made between the mid-1960's and mid-1970's, but he did produce a lot of good work after that period regardless if music elitists thought it was legitimate.

 

Because he exhausted the formula. The soul and rock attempts were DOA. Although there is apparently a country themed project ready to go.

 

I was being sarcastic.

 

Hopefully that country / folk album will have nothing in common with the committee chosen Clive Davis produced releases of the noughties.

 

But then, so is Lester Bangs.

 

Now, now... That stomach pumping story isn’t true.

 

Case in point:

 

This is your doing, isn't it, Rod Stewart?