Part 5: In Which Our Hero Polishes HIs Sound, Falls in Love with a Bond Girl and Other Musings of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Superstar
It wasn’t official, but The Faces were for the most part broken up. With Ron Wood being on “loan” to The Rolling Stones the writing was on the wall. Rod Stewart also was looking to change. It started with Britain’s crippling taxes, 83%. Rod decided to pack up and leave for Los Angeles, with his new girlfriend in tow.
Britt Ekland was a beautiful Swedish model/actress who had appeared in lots of films, including The Wicker Man and perhaps most famously as Goodnight in The Man with the Golden Gun. Rod had met Britt through Joan Collins backstage at a Faces gig in 1975. Rod and Britt became tabloid fodder and they ate up the celebrity life style of Los Angeles.
Stewart had grown tired of the sound of his earlier albums. Although Smiler wasn’t a total failure, it did seem like his creative juices were stuck. Stewart had essentially in five years made nine albums with the same musicians and while they were all brilliant he felt that he needed to change his sound.
In comes producer Tom Dowd. Dowd felt The Faces could not be flexible enough to play the sound that Rod was looking for. In fact, The Faces would go on record on not liking Rod’s new approach to music and when they played their final gigs, the only song from Atlantic Crossing they would play live was Three Time Loser.
So Tom Dowd enlisted help from musicians that he had worked with and they were doozy’s. The MG’s, Al Jackson, “Duck” Dunn and Steve Cropper. Dowd also got the Memphis Horns, giving Rod a much more layered and rich sound to his first album released on Warner Bros. Before Stewart hunkered down to really make his sixth studio album, he and his new studio band, headed into the studio and produced three songs.
The MG’s Sessions April, 1975
158. To Love Somebody (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb)
A hit song for The Bee Gees would seem like an odd choice for the newly formed frontman and studio band but it was right up their alley. From Booker T and the MG’s playing on Stax records and Rod’s soulful voice, it seemed like a perfect get to know each other.
In fact, this song seemed lost until 1990s Storyteller, where Rod says he discovered it in an old jacket pocket. Two other mixes of this song have been found since, each is pretty close to one another, with some added strings to the 2009 extended Atlantic Crossing and it also appears on The Rod Stewart Sessions. Rod losses the backing vocals on the chorus and just sings with his heart on his sleeve. I prefer the Rod Stewart Sessions version as it brings Stewart’s vocals out more and he owns the song.
Grade: B+
159. Holy Cow (Allen Toussaint)
First released by Lee Dorsey in 1966 in a much more big band style, which you should seek out. Rod funks it up and speeds it up. And in doing so freaking crushes it. I am not sure if this was ever intended for Atlantic Crossing or more of just a jam and putting something on record to see how it sounds, but it doesn’t matter, I love it. The fun bass line, and Stewart’s fun reading and phrasing make this song an absolute winner.
Plus, bonus points for Stewart yelling, “Shit!” At the end.
Grade: A
160. Return to Sender (Otis Blackwell, Scott Winfield)
When you think of Return to Sender your mind goes to to Elvis and his movie Girls! Girls! Girls! And you would be right. An early rock ‘n’ roll classic from the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Stewart had covered Presley before and here the bass line carries it again. Stewart decides to have a more laid back reading of this song. It is lazy and fun. Rod has grown musically since his Jailhouse Rock days of The Jeff Beck Group, but it totally works here.
Grade: B+
The early returns on our Hero’s new sound were extremely positive. Rod, Tom Dowd would spend the three months putting together a new sound for Stewart and bringing him closer to the sound he had always craved.
Atlantic Crossing August 15, 1975
161. Three Time Loser (Rod Stewart)
“How dare you have a party, In a Chelsea basement, when an poor excited Jezebel said come outside. She felt me up and kissed my face, put her dirty hands down in my pants…” so goes the story of a man three times stricken by venereal disease. Yes, a song about an STD.
Any concern that Rod might lose his wild ways without his Boys from previous records is immediately dismissed on his first song on Atlantic Crossing.
Not only is the music catchy, but so too are the lyrics. They are funny and clever and I am also not 100% certain our Hero is singing the lyrics that are printed in the official music sheet book my dad gave me.
It doesn’t matter, Three Time Loser rocks.
A slightly different mix appears on disc 2 on the deluxe version released in 2009, which Stewart’s vocals are a little more out front.
Grade: A+
162. Alright for an Hour (Rod Stewart, Jesse Ed Davis)
Guitarist Jesse Ed Davis lends Rod a hand in writing Alright for an Hour. An infectious song about not caring if you have a woman when you have “my dog and my car, the best friends I’ve found so far.”
Too many times on Rod Stewart albums his clever writing is over shadowed by the man himself. A lot of his reviews, the “reviewer” is reviewing Rod Stewart the jet setting, blonde chasing superstar, not his incredible catchy and often times heart wearing on your sleeve song writing. On this track he is at his witty best. I am not sure if Britt Ekland approved of this song, but you can’t change the man.
Grade: B+
A different version of Alright for an Hour appears on disc 2 of the 2009 deluxe version. Slightly different lyrics, which aren’t quite as good as the finished product, the meat and potatoes are there however.
163. All in the Name of Rock ‘N’ Roll (Rod Stewart)
Drums and guitars open a song about what it’s like in the day of a rock ‘n’ roll band. From getting high, looking good and causing trouble, Rod touches pretty much all that there is.
Not quite as good as the opening two tracks, All in the Name of Rock ‘N’ Roll, is nevertheless another catchy song that keeps Atlantic Crossing going.
Grade: B
A less polished version with appears on disc 2 of the 2009 deluxe version of Atlantic Crossing
164. Drift Away (Mentor Williams)
A pretty straight forward cover of a song made popular by Dobie Gray in 1973. The best part of Rod’s version is the sudden stop of the chorus after the third verse, where our Hero sings his heart out.
Rod doesn’t bring anything new to the recording, but he does bring his A-game in the voice department which makes it fine cover.
Grade: B
On the 2009 deluxe version disc 2, the mix is slightly different but sounds really close to what is on the original album.
165. Stone Cold Sober (Rod Stewart, Steve Cropper)
Rod teams up with Steve Cropper for a rollicking good time. Rod again flexes his incredible song writing ability to make a song catchy, funny and straight up rock ‘n’ roll. Atlantic Crossing was recorded in part in a “dry county”, meaning no booze. Which I am sure is the inspiration for the song.
Rod has fun with the second verse, which is my favorite on the album;
“Never found a dime in the gutter, always get my best friends drunk, if the president tries to calls me, say “Rodney come on over for lunch, I’d say “Gentlemen excuse me please, but I am busy with my buddies up on cloud thirty-three.”
Grade: A+
166. I Don’t Want to Talk About It (Danny Whitten)
Rod divided Atlantic Crossing into a “fast half” that opened the album and a “slow half”. The second half of the album opens with a stunning reading of the late Danny Whitten’s I Don’t Want to Talk About It. Although Rod ditched the drums for this song, letting the guitars and strings fill the listeners ears with powerful music.
Rod breaks your heart with a haunting reading, phrasing the words in a way that I am sure Danny Whitten would’ve been proud. Rod himself said “this is one of the most poignant songs written in the rock & roll genre.”
Still played at his concerts to this day, it doesn’t leave a dry eye.
Grade: A+
The alternate mix that appears on DIsc 2 of the deluxe version adds more guitar flourishes which take away from the impact of the song, I am glad that Rod and company decided to strip it down.
167. It’s Not the Spotlight (Barry Goldberg, Gerry Goffin)
Longing for a return to the spotlight, Rod sings of wishing for it to shine again him, and how the fame has slipped away.
A mellow guitar and a nice beat of the drums pepper It’s Not the Spotlight which make it catchy but it doesn’t quite deliver the punch of the other songs on the album. Rod is however in top vocal form which makes it an essential listen.
Grade: B
A slightly different mix appears on disc 2 of the 2009 deluxe version, it really just strips the album version of the over produced moments, allowing the guitars to heard more, I prefer this version.
168. This Old Heart of Mine (Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, Eddie Holland, Sylvia May)
A song that Stewart obviously adores as he loves the line, “this old heart of mine” as he would use it as a place holder for lyrics when he was trying to work through new songs.
On Atlantic Crossing, our Hero slows it down from the Isley Brothers hit, drops a verse and makes it much more romantic and almost as if he wrote a letter and is trying to when his girl back.
Grade: A
In 2009, two more versions of “This Old Heart of Mine” appear on both the deluxe version of Atlantic Crossing and the compilation, The Rod Stewart Sessions. The deluxe version is a more stripped down version, and not quite finished. On The Rod Stewart Sessions, we hear a little background studio chatter and the song then picks up. I actually prefer The Rod Stewart Sessions version as it is stripped down and beautifully sung.
169. Still Love You (Rod Stewart)
A sweet song about losing your love and reminiscing about the good times you had. Rod’s tender reading, and infectious chorus makes this mellow song a winner.
Rod again uses his boyish charm to sell the song,
“Oh darlin, didn’t I promise, I’d never go so far away again, but here I am writing this letter, goodbye to you my love, see you again…”
Grade: B+
A different mix appears on disc 2 of the deluxe version. Again we hear a much stripped down version, some different lyrics and phrasing, with Rod’s voice being front and center. It makes a mellow song mellower, it’s a winner.
170. Sailing (Gavin Sutherland)
If you wanted to have a song to close your night as a performer, it would be Sailing. Longing for someone that is separated by an ocean, Stewart gives an impassioned reading with his heart on his sleeve.
A massive hit in England, it never fully gained traction in the United States. Rod owns this song and it feels like he is singing it to you, or singing it to your love, in words you could never express.
Grade: A+
Two other versions of Sailing appear on both The Rod Stewart Sessions and Atlantic Crossings deluxe version. On the deluxe version, we get basically the same song, but it loses some of the embellishments. But for my money, the version on The Rod Stewart Sessions will give you goose bumps. Almost all the instruments are gone except a few, with Rod pleading his heart out, it is an absolute barn burner.
A couple of songs where lost to us fans, but dug up for the 2009 deluxe release of Atlantic Crossing.
171. Skye Boat Song (The Atlantic Crossing Drum & Pipe Band) (Harold Boulton, Annie MacLeod)
There are many versions of this song, most in a traditional Celtic style. Rod delivers a a hymn style with lots of back up singers and bagpipes and drums.
The song tells the story of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, his journey and how he escaped capture after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden.
I don’t think Rod’s version was released until 2009, but I could be wrong, as I can’t find any other mentions of the song before then. I had heard of it from a totally legitimate website that listed songs that Rod had recorded but were not released, I can’t remember the actual website and I am sure it doesn’t exist anymore.
Anyways, there are two versions of the song on the deluxe version of Atlantic Crossing. I prefer the version on disc 2 as it is just Stewart, no back up singers.
Grade: B
172. Too Much Noise (Early Version of Stone Cold Sober) (Rod Stewart, Steve Cropper)
Rod was working through the lyrics of “Stone Cold Sober” and landed on the chorus, “Too Much Noise”. The music is the same, but the lyrics are totally different. With the first two verses lifted from Stewart’s “True Blue” which both songs open with “Never been a millionaire”. I am sure Rod was trying to get the feel of the song and used lyrics he knew.
“Too Much Noise” is not quite done, in fact it probably was abandoned when Stewart thought of the title “Stone Cold Sober” and what the finished song was about. “Too Much Noise” is a blast however, and it would’ve been fun to hear a finished version, but I wouldn’t replace “Stone Cold Sober” in a million years.
Grade: B
Rod Stewart released Atlantic Crossing in the summer of 1975. The album shot to the top of the UK Albums chart and reached number 9 on the Billboard charts, vindicating Stewart’s desire for a new sound and a new direction.
The Faces were not quite done yet however and embarked on a tour. The last Faces show took place in Minneapolis on November 1, 1975. The other Faces members were not a fan of Stewart’s new sound and Rod was getting tired of making the same sounding album. Their split was inevitable.
Rod wasted no time getting back into the studio. In December 1975, Stewart started work on A Night on the Town. Rod also recorded some of the album in Colorado, my home state at the Caribou Ranch in Nederland.
A Night on the Town June 18, 1976
173. Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright) (Rod Stewart)
Stewart changed things up for A Night on the Town and opened the album with the “slow half”. The first song on the album is also the first single. The story in which our Hero tries to seduce a virgin and get her “upstairs before the night’s too old”.
Lyrically Rod sings lines that would make you blush and get it banned from the radio, especially “spread your wings and let me come inside.” It did not stop the public form adoring the song as it reached number 1 on the Billboard Charts.
The music is exquisite with a complicated opening which Stewart stated in Storyteller “We spent more time working on the somewhat complicated intro than the song itself.”
Grade: A+
Two different versions of “Tonight’s the Night” appear in 2009, one on the deluxe version of “A Night on the Town” and the other on “The Rod Stewart Sessions”. The opening on the deluxe version we learn that it was originally called “Golden Times” which Rod corrects the engineer by saying “It’s called “Tonight’s the Night”. It must have been a long time because he snaps back,”Well, make up your mind!”
Both versions have a slightly different intro, which Rod was eluding to in “Storyteller”. The opening two verses are nearly identical, with some slight variations on the lyrics, the last verse is completely different as Stewart sings; “Oo, baby when the daylight breaks, I walk you home and ease all your aches, but the sun should turn into rain, we will stay home and do it all again.”
Also these two version omit Britt Ekland’s French cooing for an extended play out by the band.
174. The First Cut is the Deepest (Cat Stevens)
To cover a song and make your own is something Rod Stewart is really great at. The First Cut is the Deepest is such a song. Rod’s version is so well known that when people cover it now they use the Rod Stewart version. On Cat Stevens’ version the chorus goes like this “when it comes to being lucky she is cursed, when it comes to loving me she’s worst, but when it comes to being loved she’s first.”
Rod drops the last part making the song much more heartbreaking. So so everybody else who has recorded it since. Sheryl Crow’s version completely apes Rod’s from the intro to the whole song’s arena ready sing along. But I can see why maybe people do not know Stevens’ version, Rod stated in Storyteller, “As I recall, nobody knew how the song went, apart from myself, so a phone call was made to L.A. and some madman had to go out and buy it, rush back, and play it on the phone with seven guys crowded ‘round the receiver on the other end.”
Stewart sings his heart out and gives yet another world class performance on how to be a rock star.
Grade: A+
Two different versions of “The First Cut is the Deepest” appear on the deluxe version of “A Night on the Town” and another on “The Rod Stewart Sessions”. On the deluxe version the lyrics are slightly different, the opening is more haunting, skewing he guitar for an organ. On “The Rod Stewart Sessions” the production is scaled way back, just Rod and a guitar, it is stunningly beautiful and I implore you to listen to this version.
175. Fool for You (Rod Stewart)
A mid-tempo song in which our Hero leaves his lover behind. Rod excels at these songs. His voice is in top form. I love the guitar work on this track. Rod yet again wears his heart on his sleeve with lyrics like “You’re my everything, but now you’re my end, it may be over, but just before I go, I can make a new start, But I can’t mend a broken heart.”
Grade: A-
176. Fool for You (Alternate Version) (Rod Stewart)
On the deluxe release of “A Night on the Town” a completely different version of “Fool for You” appears. Musically it is similar but the lyrics are not. Rod opens with “Ain’t love a bitch…” which us fans know Stewart will return to in two years on the album, “Blondes Have More Fun”. This version is not quite finished but it is so good lyrically. I love how he ends each verse with more of his under appreciated song writing, “Over and over again, you say that you won’t get hurt again, but here it comes, round and round on a carousel, you wanna get off but you know damn well that you like it.”
Grade: A-
177. The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II) (Rod Stewart)
Stewart’s telling of the murder of a gay friend is one of his most beautiful songs ever. The upbeat style to the song paints a vivid picture of a life gone too soon. The wistful and hopeful nature of the song is replaced with a senseless murder and the song never loses it’s upbeat tempo, which stylistically is a bold choice which makes the song more impactful.
Rod reached a crescendo and a sense of urgency and driving force behind the lyrics. It propels the song to its finish line, breaking your heart, while also making it race with the hope that his friend might survive, the nonchalant way Stewart sings “Georgie’s life ended there, but I ask who really cares?” Gives the listener i peek into the treatment of the LGBTQ community in the late 1970’s.
Part 2 pleads with Georgie to not leave, giving the song one last bittersweet moment.
Grade: A+
The deluxe version of “A Night on the Town” contains a stripped down version of Part 1 of “The Killing of Georgie” and with just a a guitar accompanying Stewart, this song would fit on to any of his early 1970’s album. Listening to the outtakes from Stewart’s career you soon realize he truly had never left his roots behind, he just added flourishes to the songs. In any event, seek this version out it makes a classic song that much better.
178. The Balltrap (Rod Stewart)
If Stewart was reflective on the “slow side” he wastes no time on the “fast side” telling us listeners that he hasn’t left The Faces completely behind. “The Balltrap” refers to a man’s manhood, lusting after a woman who doesn’t reciprocate the lust.
If “Tonight’s the Night” made you blush, then “The Balltrap” will have you in church asking for forgiveness, with deliciously inappropriate lyrics like “the first time I had you up on old Park Lane, you didn’t know my name, even when I came, as I recall, you let me walk home in the rain. You say I’m cute, but tell the truth, it’s my body you want with the red hot juice…” some one get the fire extinguisher!
Grade: A-
179. The Balltrap (Alternate Version) (Rod Stewart)
The deluxe version of “A Night on the Town” contains an unfinished version of “The Balltrap” with different lyrics, instead of being overtly sexual, this version is more about our Hero being tricked by a “big old girl who said do you wanna dance?”
It’s not quite finished, but it’s really funny.
Grade: B
180. Pretty Flamingo (Mark Barkan)
Manfred Mann scored a hit with “Pretty Flamingo” in 1966, Rod decides to lose some of the poppy-ness of the original, changing into more of a boogie.
It is fun, light song that I will never listen to without my mom saying this to me one day when she was riding with me in my car and “Pretty Flamingo” came on, and my mother said “I saw a male stripper perform to this song.” Um barf mom.
Grade: B
The deluxe version of “A Night on the Town” contains an alternate mix to “Pretty Flamingo” which is nearly identical.
181. Big Bayou (Gib Guilbeau)
Horns and violins pepper Stewart’s cover of a Cajun favorite, in fact Rod’s mate Ronnie Wood cut it the year before on his solo album, “Now Look”.
Rod’s version is more driving and goes without saying sung better as well. Wood has fun with it, but I think Rod’s band is tighter and sounds better.
Grade: B
A nearly identical version of “Big Bayou” that isn’t finished also appears on the deluxe version of “A Night on the Town”
182. The Wild Side of Life (Arlie Carter, William Warren)
Hank Thompson released “The Wild Side of Life” in 1952, as a country song. Stewart dirties it up nicely and adds a nice southern boogie to the song with fighting guitars.
And who can’t love the chorus “I didn’t know God made Honky Tonk Angels, I might have known you’d never make a wife, you gave up the only one that ever loved you, and went on back to the wild side of life.”
Rod transforms the song from heartbreaking to a fun bar sing along. You should listen to Thompson’s original to hear the contrast. It is quite eye opening.
Grade: A+
“Wild Side of Life” has a nearly identical alternate mix version that appears on the deluxe version of “A Night on the Town”.
183. Trade Winds (Ralph MacDonald, William Salter)
There are very few Rod Stewart songs I dislike, even fewer that I would skip. “Trade Winds” is my least favorite Rod Stewart song. He sings well, but the lyrics are dorky, the song is overproduced, and the wailing of the back up singers drive me crazy…some people like it, I am not one of them.
Grade: F
The alternate version of “Trade Winds” is not as intrusive as the finished product on the plus side it ditches the obnoxious back up singers, but I still am not a fan. If you want to compare the two, you can find it on disc 2 of the deluxe version of “A Night on the Town”.
Stewart had a few songs trickle out of his A Night on the Town sessions, some from 1976, and one that was lost until it was unearthed, and it is a doozy.
184. Rosie (Rod Stewart)
Of all the songs regulated to the b-side of a single and a missed opportunity for it to be on an album, “Rosie” to me is the biggest miss. How a song about our Hero running away with a woman named Rosie with a lively band, funny lyrics with my favorite being “but no more head behind the bicycle shed, I’m getting married on a state welfare!”
Every time, I hear “Rosie” I rack my brain with the question “how in the world was this left off the album and the dredge that is “Trade Winds” make the cut. Oh, well with modern technology I can add it to the proper album and leave “Trade Winds” off.
Grade: A+
Two more versions of “Rosie” pop up on the deluxe version of “A Night on the Town” and “The Rod Stewart Sessions”. On the deluxe version, the lyrics are still being worked on, with it almost resembling the finished product.
My favorite version is the acoustic version on “The Rod Stewart Sessions” where the song loses the big band feel, leaving behind just Stewart singing his heart out with a guitar. Chills!
185. Get Back (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
Rod contributed to the soundtrack of an odd film where stitched together footage from World War II is shown with covers of Beatles songs. The critics hated the film, the soundtrack did not fair much better. Rod was singled out however as delivering a winning version of “Get Back”.
Rod wasn’t a fan though, when it appeared for the first time on a Rod Stewart collection all he had to say was “What’s this doin’ ere?”
Grade: B+
An alternate take of “Get Back” appears on the deluxe version of “A Night on the Town”.
186. Share (Rod Stewart)
Wow. Another song written by Stewart that was strangely left of the album and I had to endure over 20 years of “Trade Winds”. You see I started really getting into Rod Stewart around 1988 when I was seven and I only had what he had released to that point, it would not be until 2009 “Share” was released to the delight of this Rod Stewart fan.
I keep harping on Stewart’s writing because he doesn’t get enough credit, take this nugget from our Hero “Someone else, there may well be, who could steal your heart away but in your heart she was the only one”
Just like the producer at the end of this song, “ya, lovely!”
Grade: A+
A Night on the Town was another Rod Stewart hit. Reaching number 1 in the UK and number 2 here in the States. Selling over 3 million copies in those two countries alone. Stewart was riding high. I am sure in his eyes he made the right decision to leave The Faces and his old way of making records behind. I agree with Stewart as well. His sound is more polished and his albums were starting to have much more depth. His Mercury days are fondly remembered for a reason, but Rod would continue to evolve and continue to make hit records.
Rod jumped right back into writing songs and recoding in the studio, in between world tours. Rod would record his next album, Footloose and Fancy Free from late 1976 to early 1977.
Footloose and Fancy Free November 4, 1977
187. Hot Legs (Rod Stewart, Gary Grainger)
Rod had ditched (that’s a little harsh) Britt Ekland and the format of his last two albums for a more straight rock ‘n’ roll album. No longer divided into two halves, Stewart dives into funk and hard rock.
Hot Legs was my favorite Rod Stewart song for a long time. It’s funny, pure rock ‘n’ roll of fighting guitars and with new drummer Carmine Appice a really driving beat.
Rod’s sense of humor is on full display. With the opening of the song gets you in the right mood, “Who’s that knockin’ on my door, it’s gotta be a quarter to four, is it you again coming ‘round for more?”
Grade: A+
An early take of “Hot Legs” appears on “The Rod Stewart Sessions”. It’s nearly identical with a slightly different mix and ends more abruptly.
188. You’re Insane (Rod Stewart, Phil Chen)
The funk and rock are on full display on “You’re Insane”. I don’t want to make any assumptions, but this song seems to be calling out Britt Ekland. She and Rod had a very public and nasty split. She sued him saying she is responsible for his new wealth…
Rod is nasty to the woman on question on the track, but the catchy music and chorus make this track a winner.
Grade: A-
189. You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim) (Rod Stewart)
The sing along to end all sing alongs. Rod sings sweetly and gently to the love of his life. It is up to the listener if that love is a woman, or football (soccer). I think it’s both.
Stewart name checks his favorite clubs in the song, but my favorite bit is “the big-bosomed lady, with the Dutch accent who tried to change my point of view.”
I adore this song and is always a highlight live.
Grade: A+
An acoustic version of “You’re in My Heart” appears on “The Rod Stewart Sessions”
190. Born Loose (Rod Stewart, Gary Grainger, Jim Cregan)
The wistful “You’re in My Heart” gives way to Stewart declaring he is not going to be faithful because he was “Born Loose”. This song feels like another response to Britt Ekland, who wanted to marry Stewart. Stewart had other ideas, in fact he told reporters in 1976, “Britt and I will never marry. I value my freedom. Britt is closer than any woman has ever been to me, but there is no question of marriage.” (I don’t know which newspaper this came from. It was in a poster book my dad gave me of Rod Stewart. When I asked my dad where he got the newspaper clipping from, he couldn’t remember.) Britt was not amused and told Midnight “It was very hurtful to hear Rod talk about not marrying me.”
Yikes.
Grade: B+
191. You Keep Me Hangin’ On (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland)
Rod took The Supremes monster hit and adds some sinister music to it. By doing this he strips it down to its emotional core.
Stewart also slows it way down, giving the song an organ intro that seems at home with the Phantom of the Opera. When the song kicks into gear it is a heavy rock song sung with gusto by Stewart. It might not be for everyone, especially with The Supremes version so etched into our minds.
Stewart delivers a hell of a performance, give the song a chance, it’s a brilliant cover.
Grade: A
192. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right (Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Raymond Jackson)
Stewart revisits a song that he first tried with The Faces that was to appear on “Ooh La La”. It didn’t make the cut.
A piano tinkle opens the song and it serves as a nice one-two punch with “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”.
Rod again is in top vocal form and you can tell by his singing that he adores this song. I don’t think it is quite as good as “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” but it is powerful. You should seek out the live version of this song that appears on “Absolutely Live: Deluxe Edition” it is awesome.
Grade: B
193. You Got a Nerve (Rod Stewart, Gary Grainger)
Another haunting break up song, sung with emotion and hurt by Stewart. If “Born Loose” and “You’re Insane” are hateful responses to his break up with Ekland, “You Got a Nerve” looks back more remorsefully at a crumbling relationship.
You can hear the hurt in Rod’s voice when he pleads, “Go away, go away, please please go away, I loved you once I don’t love you now, please please go away…”
Grade: A-
194. I Was Only Joking (Rod Stewart, Gary Grainger)
Two of Rod Stewart’s best written songs are on Footloose and Fancy Free. The previously mentioned “You’re in My Heart” and the absolute show stopper that is “I Was Only Joking”.
Conjuring up images of growing up, falling in love and just hanging with your friends is something we all relate to. Our Hero puts it into a wonderful song that has him”pouring his heart out in a song”.
This song touches me in my heart in a way I could never fully explain. A lot of my past loves and and I am sure my wife heard from me many times, “I was only joking”. When I think about my early life and where I am now, this song is always playing in the background of my slide show. I relate to it so much, with lyrics like, “now you ask me if I’m sincere, that’s the question that I always fear…”
Grade: A+
An acoustic version of “I Was Only Joking” appears on “The Rod Stewart Sessions”.
If A Night on the Town signaled the “new” Rod Stewart, Footloose and Fancy Free fully embraced it. The United Stated fully embraced this album as well as it sold over 3 million copies here alone. It soared to number 3 in the UK and number 2 on the Billboard Charts.
On The Rod Stewart Sessions us fans were promised a deluxe version of Footloose and Fancy Free. So on that compilation only one unheard song from those sessions was put on the album. We never got it due to supposedly weak sales of the deluxe versions of Atlantic Crossing and A Night on the Town. And while the song that was found is brilliant it wouldn’t be until 2021 that we would hear some of the promised songs.
195. Innocent (The Killing of Georgie Part III) (Rod Stewart)
Rod continues the journey of his friends death, this time detailing the other side, the murderer Billy’s trial. Rod details Billy’s plead of innocent with a driving rock beat, forgoing the acoustic feeling of the original “The Killing of Georgie”.
Another song I would love to have heard in its finished version, as the song as it appears on “The Rod Stewart Sessions” is somewhat drowned out by Appice’s drums, which Andy Zax explains they couldn’t bring Rod’s vocals up anymore.
It doesn’t matter though as the song is still brilliant.
Grade: A
196. You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me (Smokey Robinson)
A winning cover of Smokey Robinson’s 1962 hit. Here Rod Stewart’s band is playing restrained and in control with Rod’s vocals matching the performance of his band.
Rod would cover this song again over 30 years later, on his album Soulbook.
Grade: A
197. Honey, Let Me Be Your Man (Rod Stewart)
A super cool funky rock track that is so close to being finished. “Honey, Let Me Be Your Man” has a catchy chorus with some clever lyrics.
I feel like dancing every time the chorus starts, “Honey, let me be your man, do the best that I can.” It just has such a fun vibe to it. Oh, what might have been…
Grade: B+
198. Lost Love (Rod Stewart)
Rod returns to a bitter, jilted lover in “Lost Love”. Rod explains that he doesn’t need the love of a woman because “she’s gone and I am not too pleased, it doesn’t matter, I’ll move in with someone else by tomorrow.”
“Lost Love” is almost finished, more so than “Honey, Let Me Be Your Man”.
I do love the end verse where after the song and singer become longing and Rod snaps out of it telling us “Fuck her, I can do without her tomorrow”.
Grade: B+
Rod Stewart was riding a wave of highly successful albums, little did he and the public know that he was about to unleash his biggest, most divisive song ever.
Stay tuned for Part 6: In Which Our Hero Sells His Rock ‘N’ Roll Soul to the Disco Devil and Laughs All the Way to Hell and a Number One Smash Hit