Every Picture Tells a Story

Track Listings

1. Every Picture Tells A Story

2. Seems Like A Long Time

3. That's All Right

4. Tomorrow Is Such A Long Time

5. Maggie May

6. Mandolin Wind

7. (I Know) I'm Losing You

8. Reason To Believe

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Greil Marcus' classic book Stranded asked a number of rock critics to name their "desert island disc;" the one record they would take to the farthest corner of the world. This is mine, hands down. Rod Stewart made such a perfect record with this 1971 classic that he never really recovered. Decades later, it still jumps out of the speakers as fresh as the day it was recorded. He matched his own best songs ("Maggie May") with well-chosen covers (Tim Hardin's "Reason To Believe") that he made every bit his own. He then dressed them up with American roots music played by drunken Brits and something was found in the translation. Picture stands as rock's shining hour--at least in my book. --Michael Ruby

Tracks:

Every Picture Tells A Story
Seems Like A Long Time
That's All Right
Tomorrow Is A Long Time
Maggie May
Mandolin Wind
(I Know) I'm Losing You
(Find A) Reason To Believe

Amazon.com essential recording

Once upon a time, Rod Stewart was not vamping indiscriminately about "Hot Legs" and asking "D'ya Think I'm Sexy?" He was a singer with a gravel-voice approximation of Sam Cooke and excellent taste in cover material. Here, he's toned down with folksy covers of Tim Hardin ("Reason to Believe"), Bob Dylan ("Tomorrow is Such a Long Time"), and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (via Elvis, "That's All Right Mama"). He tops his interpretive abilities with two originals that have since become standards ("Maggie May, " "Every Picture Tells A Story"). Quite a different Rod from the one the world has come to know. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews:

Indeed, It Does.......2007-05-25

Gene Santoro wrote that Rod's lyrics were "almost offhand, conversational, the kind of rambling talk you might overhear at the table in a bar." That was this album - a good friend, talking to you over (maybe slightly too many) drinks. Folkie melancholy, rockin' and rollin' - with this album you were hanging with a bud. Rod was alternative when this was released - he had instruments that no one else was using, the songs were different, the mood was congenial. Why Rod can't do something like this again, from a different perspective, is still something I can't figure out.

Every Story Tells a Picture - So Do I.......2007-05-18

Folks. Your favorite Seer (me), despite my grandiose aspirations for Nirvanic pefection, can get himself in really dumb situations. Chance, my sometimes morose guide (who teaches movie stars how to scowl) came by and suggested that I needed a change. So he had a stylist come in to war against my long grey hair. People. I could cry. I wound up with a rooster cut and, not only that, but now it's blond! How can I go to a Seer's convention looking like this? And I can't tame this hair. I bought exotic spray (with ingredients from the figi islands), minty fresh laquer, and jell made from grapes- and nothing - absolutely nothing affects this hair at all! I must have combed it in a thousand ways-but it came out lookig just the same. However, I am a Rod Stewart look alike now without that incredible voice. You should hear me sing - sounds like sqeeks. I do a mean mousetone folks!
Anyway, Rod, on this album, secures and deserves his legacy no matter what age has done to him. In this he is the ultimate rocker, the soulful crooner, the balladeer all rolled into one. And, let's not forget those vocals. Gritty and wonderful and one of a kind.
The thing that strikes me most about this album is the wise choice of songs and the ability to really create "live" sound. It sounds like they are playing in your living room and this makes the music sound alive and real.
We begin with "Every Picture Tells a Story" which is Rod at his finest, rockin' rave best. Even the break in this song is picture perfect. Then on to that slow soulful piano ballad "Seems Like a Long Time" with the essential female backing vocals. Listen to how the chorus gets insistent near the end and then goes back down to the beginning sparse arrangement. So superb.
Wonderful slide guitar and the band in fine, soulful swing with "That's All Right". All the instruments groove on this one. Then the acoustic, beautiful "Tomorrow is a Long Time" with tasty guitar and fiddle and aching vocals by Rod. I should point out that he secured some extremely talented musicians for this project. The unity of playing is prominent with the joy of hearing all contributions so crisp and clear.
The acoustic beginning of "Maggie May" reminds me of when I went back in time to King Arthur's court. It was during a big feast. I remember getting sick on the wine. Anyway, the song is about the love of a young man and an older woman. I'm sure you have all heard this classic by now. But, as an aside, your Metamorpho has personally tried to make a living out of playing pool and it was not pretty. They almost broke my thumbs.
Then we have "Mandolin Wind" with beautiful mandolins and slide guitar. Again, how sweet this song begins and then moves towards a crest. Rod knows what he's doing. He offers the gritty syrup and then belts us with sheer gravel. What a mason he is.
"(I Know) I'm Losing You" is a great version of that soulful tune. Aside from the great beat, Rod treats us to a meaningful, expert vocal, brimming with emotion and desperation. His interpretation of this song is right on target.
He ends the album with Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe". Beautiful. You can hear the ache of a man who has lost faith but still wants to find a shred of that faith in order to have some meaning in life. Absolutely so well done.
In closing, the peaks and valleys of this album resonate long after you hear it. It is so well thought out and the order is an inspiration. This is classic Rod Stewart. His career may have had peaks and valleys as well. But this one stands on the highest peak. A classic - and so good to hear instruments that have a real sound.
That's all for now people. Now, don't feel too badly for me. Warmer weather is coming so I'm going to buzz cut my hair and then put on my seer's hat. If that doesn't work I can get my orange clown wig out of storage. The future, after all, belongs to the clever.

Yours, from the French Bank ------Metamorpho

Every Picture Tells A Story, Don't It?.......2007-04-18

This album is what church aspires to be but can never be. Even more soulful, by a hair, than the "Truth" album by the Jeff Beck Group. In fact, just listen to these two back-to-back. If "Blues Deluxe" (from Truth) doesn't rip your blues-lovin' soul out, you ain't alive. And if "Ever Picture..." doesn't break your heart like it needs to be broke, just go out and pick yourself up some Justin Timberlake, bro, 'cause it's over.

to my grandchildren........2007-04-09

yes children, there was once a time when rod stewart made good albums. even a great one. this is the great one. great rock and roll numbers. beautiful ballads. music with soul. listen to "mandolin wind," for instance. that's great stuff. so is the title track and "tomorrow is a long time." and hear what he does with the tim hardin classic, "reason to believe." that's certainly great. "maggie may," you may even have heard this on the oldies station. fine tune, isn't it? lots of excellent guitar on this album, as well. ron wood, who would soon become a rolling stone, plays here; and the boy sure has a feel for rock and roll. somebody needs to get ahold of mr stewart and make him listen to this album. couldn't he do something like this again? just for his old fans. maybe rick rubin could slap him upside the head and talk some sense into the old geezer. anyway, children, this is how it was, back even before the days of disco. those were good times. oh, nostalgia.

Don't it, don't it.......2007-03-30

Great covers of Bob Dylan and Tim Hardin mixed w/ Rod Stewart originals and whiz bang, you have a seminal early 70's rock classic. The musicianship's great- thumping bass, clean guitar and a bit of cheesy keyboards fronting a great gravel-voiced Stewart and on occasion, wailing backups by the estimable Maggie Bell.

This is is the one Rod Stewart disc you must have---what a shame that he turned into a clown.

Average customer rating:

Masterful blend of folk and rock
The Best Rod Stewart Album; Still a Timeless Classic
Shining moment
Best, By Far
Don't it?

Every Picture Tells a Story
Rod Stewart
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Never a Dull Moment
Gasoline Alley
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
In Search of the Lost Chord
The Rod Stewart Album

ASIN: B000001F7E
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Every Picture Tells a Story
Seems Like a Long Time
That's All Right
Tomorrow Is a Long Time
Maggie May
Mandolin Wind
(I Know) I'm Losing You
Reason to Believe

Amazon.com

Greil Marcus' classic book Stranded asked a number of rock critics to name their "desert island disc;" the one record they would take to the farthest corner of the world. This is mine, hands down. Rod Stewart made such a perfect record with this 1971 classic that he never really recovered. Decades later, it still jumps out of the speakers as fresh as the day it was recorded. He matched his own best songs ("Maggie May") with well-chosen covers (Tim Hardin's "Reason To Believe") that he made every bit his own. He then dressed them up with American roots music played by drunken Brits and something was found in the translation. Picture stands as rock's shining hour--at least in my book. --Michael Ruby

Customer Reviews:

Masterful blend of folk and rock.......2006-03-11

If Rod Stewart had carried on in this vein, he would have been bigger than Elvis now and with his credibility intact, like Tom Waits and the Rolling Stones. These songs are real gems, from the hard rocking Maggie May, the stirring Reason To Believe and That's Alright to the more folky numbers like Tomorrow Is A Long Time, Seems Like A Long Time and the deliciously sad but uplifting Mandolin Wind. The music is moving and authentic, the lyrics are poetic and evocative and the melodies are beautiful. Maggie May/Reason To Believe was a double-sided single and one of the biggest hits of 1971 on both sides of the Atlantic. A perfect blend of superb material and passionate delivery make Every Picture Tells A Story a classic rock album and one of the very best albums of the 1970s.

The Best Rod Stewart Album; Still a Timeless Classic.......2006-01-08

This 1971 album is far and away the best Rod Stewart album and one of the Top 10 albums of that decade. This was only his third album and it went to the top of the album charts both in the U.S. and the U.K., whereas "Gasoline Alley," released the previous year had only made it to #27 on the Billboard chart (it would not be until 1979 that Stewart would have another album reach #1, with "Blondes Have More Fun"). In the early part of his career Stewart managed to find interesting ways of mixing folk, rock, blues and country, both in his single career and as the front man for the Faces, who released both their second ("Long Player") and third albums ("A Nod Is as Good as a Wink...To a Blind Horse Faces") that year as well ("Stay With Me" was the big hit off of the later). So for Rod Stewart 1971 was a very good year.

The big single off of this album, of course, is "Maggie May," hit #1 for several weeks (this was the first song we played for our daughter Maggie, the day after she was born). This is one of the great songs about being seduced by an older woman. Two other singles charted, the rockin' cover of "(I Know) I'm Losing You" originally done by the Temptations, which made it to #24, and Stewart's poignant cover of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe," which ends the album on a quiet note and made it to #62. Then there is the exquisite "Mandolin Wind" (played by some guy Rod forgot the name of) and the frenetic energy of the title track, which lulls you into a false sense of security by beginning with an acoustic guitar part before the drums start drivin' this one hard and fast. Surprisingly, most of the songs on this one are covers, the exceptions between "Mandolin Wind" and the title track, the latter co-written by Stewart with lead guitarist Ron Wood.

Stewart exhibits a lot of range on this album and for me the only that could possible qualify as a misfire would be the cover of Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow Is Such a Long Time," which is a bit ironic because you would think that would work. "Seems Like a Long Time" is pretty good, as is the rollickin' "That's All Right" by "Big Boy" Crudup. I even love the sheet music on the "back cover" ("It's Full of Good Things and Loads of Suggestions"). As far as I am concerned if your choice is between this and a Rod Stewart "Greatest Hits" CD, get this one because it is all downhill for Stewart from this point on.

Shining moment.......2005-12-17

Many people think Rod Stewart sucks, and frankly, based on much of his work, I cannot fault them for thinking so. If you like rock and roll and can spare 15 bucks, buy this CD and you'll learn that Rod had at least one shining moment. Along with Exile On Main Street by the Stones, this is the best rock album of the 1970's.

Best, By Far.......2005-12-04

The Best Without A doubt

Don't it?.......2004-12-30

Most critics say that this is Rod Stewart's best album, and I'm inclined to agree with them. It starts with the great "Every Picture Tells a Story", ends with the superb "Reason to Believe" and has a bunch of fine songs in between them. What more need be said? Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Masterful blend of folk and rock
The Best Rod Stewart Album; Still a Timeless Classic
Shining moment
Best, By Far
Don't it?

Every Picture Tells a Story [GOLD CD]
Rod Stewart
Manufacturer: Mobile Fidelity
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
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Never a Dull Moment
Gasoline Alley
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
In Search of the Lost Chord
The Rod Stewart Album

ASIN: B000000IRJ
Release Date: 1990-03-26

Tracks:

Every Picture Tells a Story
Seems Like a Long Time
That's All Right
Tomorrow Is a Long Time
Maggie May
Mandolin Wind
(I Know) I'm Losing You
Reason to Believe

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Masterful blend of folk and rock.......2006-03-11

The Best Rod Stewart Album; Still a Timeless Classic.......2006-01-08

Shining moment.......2005-12-17

Best, By Far.......2005-12-04

The Best Without A doubt

Don't it?.......2004-12-30

Average customer rating:

String Quartet Tribute to Rod Stewart
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Vitamin Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

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The String Quartet Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd: This Sweet Home

ASIN: B000095J4S
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Tracks:

Mandolin Wind
Tonight's The Night
Maggie May
Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
You Wear It Well
Hot Legs
Every Picture Tells A Story
Gasoline Alley
You're In My Heart (The Final Acclaim)
Every Movie Has A Message (Original Composition)

Product Description

1. Mandolin Wind
2.Tonights the Night
3. Maggie May
4. If You Want My Body
5.You Wear It Well
6. Hot Legs
7. Every Picture Tells A Story
8. Gasoline Alley
9.You’re in My Heart,You’re in My Soul
10. Every Movie Has a Message

Format: CD

Average customer rating:
Every Picture Tells a Story

Manufacturer: Dave Walton
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAFHE2
Release Date: 2001-01-16

Tracks:

Every Picture Tells a Story - Jeanne Guastaferro
Give Me Tonight! - Dave Walton/Jeanne Guastaferro
Truck Stops - Dave Walton
Silver Rings - Dave Walton/Jeanne Guastaferro
Network - Dave Walton
Best Friends - Dave Walton/Jeanne Guastaferro
Leap of Faith - Dave Walton/Jeanne Gustaferro
Bus Stop - Dave Walton/Jeanne Guastaferro
Sailin' Game - Dave Walton/Jeanne Guastaferro
South Bristol - Dave Walton
Sante' Fe - Dave Walton
White, Blue, Yellow and You! - Dave Walton/ Joe & Jeanne Guastaferro

Average customer rating:

Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod Stewart
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Classic Rock | Imports | Stores | Music

Pop | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000C2YW

Average customer rating:

Every Picture Tells a Story

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000J234ZM
Release Date: 2006-11-28

Average customer rating:

Popular Songs
Mr. Brown's Talent Show
Manufacturer: Acre Of Fun
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA2VFK
Release Date: 2001-04-17

Tracks:

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One Cool Moment
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Pills
Quick F
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Venus (As Big as a House)
Change
Just One Kiss
Jenny
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The Very Best Of Rod Stewart Box Set
Rod Stewart
Manufacturer: Mercury Nippon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000KPRRNI

Product Description

4 Disc Box Set. 46 Tracks. Japanese Import.

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

1. Every Picture Tells A Story
2. Seems Like A Long Time
3. That's All Right
4. Tomorrow Is Such A Long Time
5. Maggie May
6. Mandolin Wind
7. (I Know) I'm Losing You
8. Reason To Believe