Between the magnificent title-track and majestic Dylan reading on side one of its predecessor (the second side is outstanding from start to finish), there are a couple of instances where ‘ Every Picture Tells A Story‘ treads water, but twelve months on the quality rarely wavers, Rod the writer, cover-merchant and singer in top-notch form throughout.įrom his previous albums Stewart once more gathers the gang of players – Wood (guitar/pedal steel/bass), McLagan (keyboards), Micky Waller (drums), Pete Sears (piano), Dick Powell (violin) and Martin Quittenton (acoustic guitar) – who bless his music with its abundant spirit, although during his tenure with the Faces, (which would last until they split three years later), ‘ Never a Dull Moment‘ is the album of his that most sounds like a Faces record, not least because the five of them perform opening cut ‘ True Blue.’ It is tempting to state ‘ Never a Dull Moment‘ could be the most consistently excellent album of his entire career. In the event Rod stuck to doing what he did as well as anyone and came up with four great originals, four delightful covers and shaped them into an entity entitled ‘ NEVER A DULL MOMENT‘ (July 1972). Unlike fellow Londoners Pete Townshend and Ray Davies, Stewart had no inclination to wrap his work in a conceptual bow, so a ‘themed’ LP was not happening (having said that perhaps his entire output has been one continuous ‘concept’ album of wine and women songs). So, back to the original question, just how could he follow ‘ Every Picture Tells A Story‘ a record that had been such a resounding success on every conceivable level? Yet perhaps his biggest achievement through the three albums bearing his name was the adorable warmth he had managed to infuse them with, Rod producing a blend of folk, rock, soul and blues that was triumphantly charming while at the same time sounding as pleasurable to make as it was for the listener to hear. Not that there was a lack of serious intent in the albums Stewart had so far made as a solo artist – his reputation as a first-rate wordsmith, song interpreter without equal and singer of the highest order already well established. Indeed, what renown they had was built primarily on the boozy bonhomie of their live shows, performed to fellow inebriates who saw rock as a means to fall about fun, rather than the introspective intentions of a host of emerging singer-songwriters or backs to the audience noodling of those popularising prog-rock. With Wood (guitar) and Stewart (vocals) in tow, Kenny Jones (drums), Ian McLagan (keyboards) and Ronnie Lane (bass) – former Small Faces singer/guitarist Steve Marriott having left to form heavy rock ensemble Humble Pie – realigned as the Faces, who by 1971 had recorded three albums of variable quality, but each a steady improvement on the last. After cutting his musical teeth in the mid-60s English R&B scene, Stewart, born in North London to Scottish parents on 10 January 1945, spent two years as vocalist with blues/rock forerunners the Jeff Beck Group.īut on tiring of the self-absorbed ways of its guitar-virtuoso leader quit in July 1969 to follow Beck-band carousing campadre Ron Wood to the Faces – a rumbustious, ramshackle outfit formed from the remnants of 60s power-pop maestros the Small Faces.
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