What Are You Listening To?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ROD STEWART  "human" cd, 2001

from the box set...
his nineteenth and final cd in the set...
lots of R+B/soul ballad type material here...
only album of his career of original material that he did not contribute a self penned tune...
an excellent collection of songs IMO and a great way to finish off the set of cds...
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

1:   human  ***
2:   smitten  **
3:   dont come around here  ***
4:   soul on soul  ***
5:   loveless  ***
6:   if i had you  ***
7:   Charlie Parker loves me  **
8:   it was love that we needed  *
9:   to be with you  ***
10: run back into your arms  ***
11: i cant deny it  **

3s -  7
2s -  3
1s -  1

rating:  2.5

i cant believe that the two tracks i loved immediately werent even singles:

---

and this one:

[JeromeD]

James Taylor with a top notch band behind him and a superb live recording - just listen to that drummer - https://youtu.be/iZbDZYRF5cQ

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ROD STEWART  "an old raincoat wont ever let you down" cd, 1969

his debut solo album...
in early '69 Stewart left the Jeff Beck Group to join the newly formed Faces but inbetween he recorded this solo album...
so what we have is an album that contains an almost 'who's-who' of London's blues muso's including Keith Emerson, Mike D'Abo, Ronnie Wood, Ian McLagan and Jeff Beck.
the album contains just eight tracks and half were written or co-written by Rod Stewart...
its rootsy, its bluesy, its rough and ragged, theres three covers and a a traditional folk tune on here...
it is a really solid album IMO and shows just how good he was even in the early years
album peaked at #39 here in Australia and #189 in the US but failed to chart in his homeland.
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

1:  street fighting man  **
2:  man of constant sorrow  **
3:  blind prayer  **
4:  handbags and gladrags  ***
5:  an old raincoat wont ever let you down  ***
6:  i wouldnt change a thing  **
7:  cindy's lament  **
8:  dirty old town  ***

3s -  3
2s -  5
1s -  0

rating:  2.4

i love this song by whoever sings it:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ROD STEWART  "gasoline alley" cd, 1970

his second solo album
released just after the first Faces album and thus those guys feature heavily on this one...
its rootsy and bluesy, earthy and folk & rough and ragged just like the debut...
of the nine tracks two are self penned, several i know are covers, the remainder im not sure...
another solid album from "rod the mod"...
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

1:   gasoline alley  **
2:   its all over now  **
3:   only a hobo  **
4:   my way of giving  ***
5:   country comfort  ***
6:   cut across shorty  ***
7:   lady day  ***
8:   jo's lament  **
9:   youre my girl  **

3s -  4
2s -  5
1s -  0

rating:  2.4

[JeromeD]

Today's pick - https://youtu.be/pXZ7tyUo_LE

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ROD STEWART  "every picture tells a story" cd, 1971

Rod's third...
and if im going to be perfectly honest i find this one a huge let down after the first couple and what ive listened to over the last few weeks...
the issues i have with it are song selection, i mean someone with a rough raspy voice should not sing Amazing Grace IMO....
the covers, Dylan's "tomorrow is a long time", Temptations' "im losing you" and Arthur Crudup/Presley's "thats alright mama" all seem too diverse to make this a cohesive album.
these issues along with the lengthy guitar intro to Amazing Grace and the little instrumental called "henry" which intro's Maggie May all sound somewhat pretentious.
all that said though, this isnt a bad album, it just doesnt stack up to the others...
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

1:   every picture tells a story  **
2:   seems like a long time  *
3:   thats all right  **
4:   amazing grace  *
5:   tomorrow is a long time  **
6:   henry *
7:   maggie may  ***
8:   mandolin wind  **
9:   im losing you  *
10: reason to believe  **

3s -  1
2s -  5
1s -  4

rating:  1.7

i cant go to any other track from this album:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ROD STEWART  "never a dull moment" cd, 1972

his fourth....
as is the usual for these early albums The Faces are his backing band...
blues rock, a couple of covers and a couple of ballads, the stock standard Rod formula...
a welcome return to form after the previous album which although was good was a let down of sorts...
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

1:   true blue  ***
2:   lost paraguayos  ***
3:   mama, you been on my mind  **
4:   italian girls  ***
5:   angel  **
......interlude
6:   you wear it well  ***
7:   id rather go blind  ***
8:   twisting the night away  **

3s -  5
2s -  3
1s -  0

rating:  2.6

again, hard to go past this classic single:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ROD STEWART  "smiler"  cd,  1974.

his fifth studio album...
twelve tracks, numerous covers, an instrumental, a couple of self penned tracks and a couple written for him...
i dont understand why he would need an instrumental being as he doesnt play anything,
and who told him to change the Goffin/King classic "natural woman" to "natural man"....WTF!
also, not a fan of the Dylan "girl from the north country" song whoever sings it...
on a positive note, album opens up with a pretty cool Chuck Berry cover and closes with a song McCartney penned for him...
everything else is relatively hit or miss IMO making this his worst album IMO
I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

1:   sweet little rock and roller  **
2:   lochinvar  **
3:   farewell  **
4:   sailor  *
5:   bring it on home/you send me  **
6:   let me be your car  *
7:   (you make me feel like) a natural man  *
8:   dixie toot  **
9:   hard road  **
10: ive grown accustomed to her face (instrumental)  *
11: girl from the north country  *
12: mine for me  **

3s -  0
2s -  7
1s -  5

rating:  1.6

favourite, the Paul McCartney penned ballad

[JeromeD]

Today's pick - https://youtu.be/k7YuOMcHAp8

[JeromeD]

Today's pick - and seeing as it's my sister's birthday today - here you go Des - one of your favourites - https://youtu.be/8eUGbIqpzAQ