When I say “Rod Stewart” you may think of the current creepy crooner singing American classics or the even creepier late 1970’s guy in tight Spandex (is there any other kind?) singing bad Disco (again, is there any other kind?) But when I think of Rod I try to block out all those painful visions and sounds and I concentrate on the rock and blues belter of the early 70’s. To remind me of that, my turntable is spinning the next on my list* of favorite albums, the 1971  multi-million seller Every Picture Tells a Story. It might be in my CD player as well, since it is the only recording I ever purchased as an LP, and years later, as a compact disc.

Rod, with his raspy voice and spiky hair, was everywhere back then. He sang with The Jeff Beck Group. He sang with The Faces. But it was with E.P.T.A.S., his third solo album, that he exploded onto the US music scene. The first single released from the album was “Reason to Believe,” the cover of a Tim Hardin tune. I liked it, and it got decent radio play. But there was so much more.

Surprisingly, it was the flipside of “Reason to Believe” that shot Rockin’ Rod to the top of the charts. I can still remember Casey Kasem whispering into his American Top 40 microphone that the new #1 song across the country was about “a boy… and a prostitute.” Rod Stewart and “Maggie May” were at the Top of the Pops. Over time, Ms. May has never left my heart. By my estimation, “Maggie May” is one of the two songs I have listened to the most, whether it be by album, radio, illegal download or Pandora streaming. (Dire Straits’ iconic “Sultans of Swing” shares that particular podium.)

The title cut on the album is a long, wide-ranging coming of age song, moving from the UK to the Far East, with stops in Paris and Rome along the way. The “slit-eyed lady” lyrics would definitely not be well received these days, but that lady does turn out to be the singer’s heroine. Rod even throws in a shoutout to classic British writers Dickens, Shelley, and Keats to showcase his literary chops.

There is a lot more good music on the record. “Mandolin Wind,” is a sweet love song. There’s  a hidden version of “Amazing Grace” that really rasps, and covers of Dylan (“Feels Like a Long Time”)  and The Temptaions (“I know I’m Losing You.”) It is almost 50 years later, and Every Picture Tells a Story is clearly Rod’s zenith.

I’ve never seen Rod Stewart in concert, and probably never will. But blow the intro to “Maggie May,” in my ear and I promise to follow you anywhere.

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*Previous Albums on My Top Ten List

• Alan Sherman Package
• This is Sinatra
• Hard Day’s Night/Sticky Fingers

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