Every Picture Tells A Story

Ok rod let's hear it. I don't really like this. I mean it's not that bad it's just not my favourite I suppose. Ok two minute long banjo outro. Amazing grace?? Really?? Ok girl. What are we doing? Not we actually what are you doing Rod. Tomorrow is a long time in a way. You did your big one with that Rod. Maggie girl run. Ok wrap it up. Favourite: Mandolin Wind Least favourite: That's All Right

This album was my introduction to Rod Stewart. I know it wasn't his debut but for me it was. I wore the grooves out on the vinyl copy that I had. I fell in love with that gravelly voice and I have seen him at least a dozen times since then. Even once with the Faces on Ronnie Wood's farewell tour with them right before he joined the Rolling Stones

Фигня какая то. Кантри худший жанр

Usually love Rod but found this quite monotonous. Maggie May is fab as always though.

Oli ihan hyvä levy, osa biiseistä oli tuttuja, vaikka en oo Rodia oikeastaan kuunnellut. Tykkäsin Mickey Walkerin rumpujen soitosta ja se jäi päällimmäisenä mieleen. Se oli ”tight but loose”.

Raspy voiced geezers singing classic rock with this sorta swagger just isn’t for me. The folk component of this is by far my favourite element, and I think with a different vocalist and bit more emphasis on harmony I could probably enjoy this. But that’s not what’s here, and no amount of wishing is going to turn it into CSN&Y, so I’ll just give it 2.5 stars and move on.

it started out alright but somewhere around the middle when amazing grace started playing, became not a huge fan of the front and center acoustic guitar sound i guess

Talk about an album that hasn’t aged well.

solid

Another weak spot in my music listening. I once had the opportunity to attend a Rod Stewart concert for free in the early 90s I almost declined, based on being way too cool to attend a Rod Stewart concert. I'm so glad I went. I turned out to be one of the best concerts I had been to!! There is a place for cheesy misogyny. It's not a big place, but it exists!

I am not going to swoon over Rod, or his music.

Played twice to see if I could hear what all the positive reviews were about. It didn’t happen

Okay, some of the 70s stuff in the lyrics hasn't aged well, but this is such a likeable album.

A lot better than I expected. He does have a distinctive voice

Pretty good!

Other than the major tracks, there's not too mush to say about this. It was ok, never really been much of a fan. The cover of that's alright was a surprise, and tagging amazing grace onto the end was rather weird. But overall, I'm not sure..... I do feel giving it a 2 would be a bit mean spirited, but is it really worth a 3? Oh go on then, I'm feeling generous. No I'm not!

A high 2 stars. Never been a fan and never will be. But this wasn’t the ‘drunken uncle at a wedding’ he’s turned out to be nowadays. This was almost entirely listenable. Except for the weird ‘Amazing Grace’ just randomly tagged on to the most mediocre song on the album.

Not for me. Roots rock done by a young Rod. Horrible stuff. But there are two exceptions 'Maggie May' and the one track which stuck out like a sore thumb '(I Know) I'm Losing You' what a belter. It stands out in the same way as 'Stay With Me' did on 'A Nod is as Good as a Wink ...'. The rest of this is utter toilet. Just for those two tracks, it deserves a two star score.

Better than I thought it was gonna be. I do like his raspy voice. The Amazing Grace cover was kind of weird but I didn't hate That's Alright. Rod gets a bad rapp but I didn't think this was so bad.

Forhonor breo

Accidentally listened to this on shuffle because my laptop's Spotify client defaults to shuffle for some God forsaken reason. This is certainly notes. If someone told me this was their favourite album ever I would block them

Great voice but mediocre songs

really beautiful album with gorgeous acoustics. his voice is rough and raspy, there are a lot of songs on this album that i could really happily listen to. like mandolin wind, seems like a long time, and (find a) reason to believe. sexy 70s rock with some random country and irish vibes in there hmmm

Not a fan but not a bad album

I always thought Rod Stewart albums were music strictly for old-timers, but I was surprised by how good this was. Stewart doesn't have the most beautiful voice in the world, it's a little rough around the edges, but he makes it work in his own unique way. There wasn't a single song I disliked, and I might check out some more of his most popular tunes; I don't really want to listen to more full albums of his, but I'll look into the rest of his hits. That'll put it at a low 4/5 for me.

all i'll say is thank god this album was short

This Rod Stewart was actually sick. Maggie May and find a reason were standout tracks but there was some cool grooves on this. Honestly 4.5. Shoutout Rodney Stewartship.

This is the second Rod Stewart album we've gotten this week in my group. It's pretty much exactly the same style and sound as Gasoline Alley; I think either set of songs could be on either one. This one does seem to make use of a little more instrumental variety like the mandolin or whatever that is in Maggie May (and you know, Mandolin Wind). It's a nice little touch to an otherwise classic ensemble of rock music instruments. Better than the last one but not that much.

3.5

Really good album and I’m gonna round up. To be fair I think it’s more a 3.5 than a 4 but it’s close. It’s just a good Sounding album and “Maggie May”’is one of the greatest singles of all time. Gonna rate 4 but it’s more like 3.8. It’s Just not all there for me

This sure did seem like a long time, despite only being ~40 minutes long. I have no reason to believe I'll be listening to this again, he lost me... but that's all right.

In a crowded field, there is much better

Decent album that feels like a bunch of musicians just hanging out and making something happen. I discovered Reason to Believe by Vagabon and Courtney Barnett is a cover, and one I prefer to Stewart's version which incidentally is also a cover. So it lead me down that rabbit hole if nothing else. If this somehow slipped into the record player I wouldn't turn it off, but I doubt I'll go back for another helping.

This album sounds like it was recorded in somebody's basement, a late-night impromptu session after the bars had closed and all the musicians still wanted to play. (Given that the liner notes include references to "the mandolin player in Lindisfarne" since Stewart couldn't remember Ray Jackson's name, that may not be too far off.) It's rough around the edges and a little sloppy in places, but the band is good enough that it sounds good regardless. Stewart's lyrics tend to be long and rambly in a way that doesn't really appeal to me (particularly when he talks about his "slit-eyed lady" in the title track). Solid album, not really my style.

These three stars are in no way a validation of Rod Stewart or his antics. He is still an absolute bell end.

Very forgettable. Never understood Rod Stewart’s being considered up there with the other British blues greats. Maggie May is a fine song, but there’s nothing here that can hold a finger to cream, the stones, Fleetwood Mac, etc…

https://youtu.be/3xPDBA2mSHI?is=tu-JZxQmBurL8fZw

In the words of Steven Van Zandt: "You're not gonna believe this, but Rod Stewart is white!" 7 keepers in 8 (88%). 1 banger (13%).

It's all fine playing, but I really don't like the sound that's strung together. Not a fan of the voice either. Great bass playing.

This starts off super strong--I really like the title track. Mandolin Wind is a good track. There were some forgettable tracks but I might go back to this. High 3/5.

interesting guitar sections on most of the intros. I'm not a fan of Rod (in British that means I dislike him, but I'm not a hater either). 1 song is familiar as I'm old enough...

Always great to hear childhood albums. Didn’t realize that this was likely an influence on the Black Crowea

Another Rod Stewart album. Another solid rock-and-roll album, with some nice folk and mandolin. It is a pitty that it does not contain more original songs. For me, this is between 3 and 4 stars. I especially enjoy the original tracks: "Every Picture Tells a Story", "Maggie Mae" (clearly my favourite), and "Mandolin Wind". Among the covers, I think "Tomorrow Is A Long Time", or "(Find A) Reason To Believe" are ok. Overall, I think this is 3,5 stars. However, irt is better than Gasoline Alley for me, so I'm awarding 4 stars here.

I just didn't need more dad rock. 3/10

Oh the torture of repetitive lyrics (I skipped That's All Right halfway through) but other songs were okay. I'm only familiar with Maggie May.

Just good fun. Rod's voice is in top Faces form. And yes, I enjoyed the little slide into Amazing Grace at the end of That's All Right. Just some solid singing, songwriting, and covering. Exacltly what you want in a rock and roll album.

Full disclosure: I have NEVER liked rod stewart, so this album was going to have to fight one hell of a battle to change that opinion. It didn’t achieve that. The musicianship is fine, but outside of a few songs, they don’t seem particularly well constructed, rod’s lyrics and vocals have never been my cup of tea. “Maggie Mae” is well constructed, as is “Reason to Believe” but it’s not the version I was most familiar with, not better or worse, per se, but it didn’t sound quite right. Anyhoo, long story short it isn’t god awful, but it doesn’t seem good to me either. If you like it, cool, but it’s not for me.

Lyrics are problematic but I love dancing to the title track of this album. Get a little jag on and pretend I’m in Almost Famous lol I feel like this one hosted a lot of living parties with stubby beer bottles.

This has a clip I wasn't expecting. Amazing Grace being there was kinda weird but fine

I can't get excited for Rod Stewart. Maggie May is pretty good. I do think Rod is ruined for my generation to a certain extent.. like he's Michael Bolton-ified

This is a good album for the most part. There are a few misses, but somehow this album kind of rocks. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, but there's a great mix of rock, folk, and blues that gives it a lot of character. Definitely one of the better Rod Stewart albums I've heard so far.

This was okay. I find his voice a little grating in all honesty, but I’ve definitely heard worse. Won't rush back, but wasn't ready to rip off my ears either.

not bad

I have not heard this before. I’m not a big fan of Rod Stewart but that’s based entirely on his radio hits, which range from great to abysmal. I used to hate Rod Stewart which I think was based on oversaturation on both oldies radio with his old songs and and pop radio with his 80s output, and then mtv playing his unplugged session over and over again when I was in high school. I’m grown up to admit that Maggie May and Reason To Believe are great songs now. The covers of I’m Losing You and That’s All Right are both my favorite versions of them by a long shot but they’re an interesting take. The rest of the album is a decent mix of hard rock and folk that’s nothing special but it’s fun. I like Rod Stewart just fine I guess.

Fine but boring and repetitive. I kept thinking a song was ending only to find there was half of it left.

Time makes fools of us all I suppose. My impression of Rod Stewart was as a bit of a 'lame-o' by the time I was coming into consciousness; Da Ya Think I'm Sexy being the touchstone. Hard to square his reputation as a hard drinkin' blues man, full of soul at this point in 1971 with the picture in my mind. This album is full of very competent twangy, bluesy rock; nothing I feel is mind blowing. The mandolin is star I think - even the mega hit Maggie May feels pretty straightforward until the mandolin at the end, which I admit is sublime. I prefer the Faces record from this same year, which has a bit more oomph.

Instruments are decent, his voice is okay on the couple tracks he’s not rasping and shrieking

first time listening to rod stewart.

Another one I wanted to like more than I did. Rod has a classic rock voice, but the songs just aren't that good. Some decent musicianship, but qlso some lyrics that have NOT aged well. Didn't lead me to hate it but I really can't see why it's here. Scrapes a 2.

I could've passed on this one. I was underwhelmed. Hopefully if another Rod Stewart album appears it will be a better one.

Two Rod Stewart albums in a fortnight. My word. It's barely passable soft rock with just a little more guitar. Maggie May okay, first song really agonisingly racist by today's standards.

You know I've always discounted Rod Stewart as I kind of associated him with being the sort of music that your nan liked to listen to, gushing over how handsome he is/was. I was fairly surprised to find I enjoyed this quite a bit, and that whilst sometimes his raspy voice got a bit annoying and a sudden rendition of 'Amazing Grace' was a bit of a travesty, sometimes your nan knows what's she's talking about and we should all pay a bit more attention.

Maggie May is a good song. The rest: Boring as hell. But I didn't Pooped Muh Pants! So: 2/5

Good album. I like this much better than his more recent years.

1062 - "Here's your juice box and orange slice. Thanks for coming."

Liked a good one song

I always thought Rod Stewart had a great voice but crap songs. I was right.

toen het schuurpapier nog schuurde en geen gepolijst glossy papier was... sommige dingen zijn wel gruwelijk toegetakeld door de tand des tijds (teksten incluis)

Rod Stewart is a familiar name, though I can't say I know a song of his off the top of my head. Given that this album released in the 70s, it's either a hard rock, blues rock or piano rock outing. The album cover is certainly operatic, though it's also quite elegant with the flowery embellishments and theatre typeface. Hmm. That latter element doesn't appear to align with any of the genres I've listed. Blues rock seems like the most plausible guess, so I'm going all in on that. 'Ere goes. Folk rock. Wow. I never, ever would have guessed that. I suppose I should have been more focused to the album title rather than the artwork. This was alright. An A-OK listen. Stewart has a nice voice and the rugged, harsh sound fits with this no-nonsense style of rock music quite well. As far as the instrumentals are concerned, the folky acoustic guitar is the clear highlight, guiding many of these songs along in addition to containing a satisfying level of texture and depth. Other elements like the pianos, organs, strings and country guitars are welcome, though they're markedly less engaging and interesting. At only 40 minutes in length, this album is quite a short listen, though truth be told I thought many of the songs dragged on for longer than they needed to. All-in-all, however, this was a competent listen. Book time. "...one of the all-time great British voices". All five members of Faces (Stewart's other band) contributed instruments to this album, as was also the case with his prior two releases. "Maggie May" proved to be the album's most successful single, topping the charts in both the UK and US. That's about it, however. Wikipedia says this album is beloved by critics, with it receiving enduring acclaim in the years following release. It performed well in just about every country where it charted, notably topping the charts in Australia and Canada as well as the UK and US. It also made the top ten in Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden. On the year-end charts, it was the 34th best-selling album of 1971 in the US, the 17th in Australia, the fifth in the Netherlands and the second in the UK. For 1972, it was the 65th best-selling US album, the 47th best-selling Netherlands album and the 23rd best-selling Australian album. Sure. This album seems like it has a good reason to be here. I cosign this inclusion.

Great, energetic, raw rock

Some great guitar playing on this - only so much of Rod's voice I can handle in one sitting.

An amazing album from a 26-year-old with the voice of a gravel-chewing chain-smoking angel.

Folksy and bluesy, mellow and melodic. All in just the right combination. The songs felt simple, yet also intricate. Really enjoyed this more than many of the previously unvisited albums I’ve encountered for the first time here.

Some ok tracks, Maggies a classic but his voice grates on me and I can't get past it.

alright

This hits hard right out of the gate with the title track, which is a musical antidepressant. Regardless of my state of mind, my mood has no choice but to improve once this song wraps. The drum accents here are what packs the punch and makes the song work, along with Rod’s raspy “HA!”. Sure, it slows in a couple spots on the front side, and Elvis did “That’s all right” better as his debut single (cover). The back half finishes very strong with all very solid tracks, “Maggie May” “Mandolin Wind” and “Reason to believe” have always been favs of mine as well. Great drums on “I’m Losing you” as well.

I like some Rod Stewart. Dude writes some good songs and has some boogie woogie. Maggie May and find a reason are great songs. The rest pretty solid. And Ronnie Wood playing guitar is always a treat. 3.75

Feels like they finished every song and then said "what if we add another two minutes?" Rounding up based on the hits which I still enjoy very much. 3.5/5

2026.09.06.

"The morning sun, when it's in your face really shows your age" I was not a fan of this album one bit. It was super boring, uninspired, and frankly very monotonous in its sound. I suppose Maggie May would be a redeeming song in this album, but I'm not particularly fond of that song anyways. I found his voice abrasive, the instrumentals uninspired, and the album a chore to sit through. 🖼️

Bueno

This is a phenomenal blues rock album. Rod the Bod is at his absolute best with his vocal range and songwriting. He showcases the talent that would propel him to superstardom.

1,5

Vaca catch up

Wait, first of all, he’s 26 here?? That feels impossible… was his voice as a baby this raspy? It must have been. I just love him. A couple of weeks ago I got Gasoline Alley, and I think I said something like I bet this is his only album on the list, and I bet he has way better ones. So, wrong and right, looks like. Anyway, let’s go sellick.

3.4/5 - meh. nothing special.

Maggie!! Such a fun and solid soul/blues rock album. Is it up there on the pantheon, probably not - but love this album. Just every single track is so good and well done- and that rhaspy voice fits unlike anything else.

Another 1971 gem and the album that established Rod as a star on both sides of the Pond. In addition to the obvious mega hit single we have Mandolin wind and Reason to believe, not to mention a raucous Elvis cover and his (almost obligatory) Dylan song. The title track is a classic of its kind and shows him not needing the Faces for all his albums, though they show up on I know I’m losing you. All killer no filler and I wonder if it’s follow up will also be in this list. He was on fire during this period.

Classic. What a voice!

An awesome album that put Rod Stewart on the global map. Hit after hit still resonates today.

Rocky Roddy.

I recognize the hits on this album, but otherwise have never listened to this start-to-finish. This is pretty thoroughly meh.

True.

Left absolutely no impression apart from "oh it's the Maggie one"

Enjoyed this way way more than I expected. I had really struggled with some of the Rod Stewart stuff here so far, but this had a bunch going for it. There are some excellent musicians involved - this made me appreciate Ronnie Wood a bit more too, Danny Thompson.. More. And the blues isn't too hammy and hard rock actually.. Pretty nicely hard rock. It kind of works.

I liked the way this was recorded with lots of acoustic instrumentation. As an entire album it does feel like a cohesive whole. The songs are okay, I'm fine with Rod Stewart. There weren't any real standout tracks for me, obviously Maggie Mae has been played to death on radio stations so I can only wonder how I would have received it if I had never heard it before.

Young Rod really did have a great voice, prefer him as lead singer of a rock band but this his still pretty good. “That’s alright” was the highlight for me, outside of Maggie Mae.

2.9 Rod Stewart kinda seems like a karaoke/lounge singer to me and Im not the biggest fan but no matter what way you cut it, up, down and side to side Maggie May is a burner. First time I really listened to the bass on that one, little bit of overplaying going on but quite interesting.

pretty great.

More so than other "roots" music by white musicians, this felt very ersatz. It's the 1971 version of marketing nostalgia, with a lot of songs that were written by and for earlier Americana artists like Bob Dylan and Elvis. Well done but not especially enlightening.