Rod Stewart

Artist ∙ Rock

Rod Stewart has been lauded as the finest singer of his generation; he's written songs that turned into modern standards, sung with the Faces, and had massive commercial success. He's one of rock & roll's best interpretive singers, as well as an innovative songwriter whose work created a raw, loose, and charming combination of folk, rock, blues, and country. After becoming successful, he started to lose the rootsier elements of his music, adapting his style to suit the times, leading to smash hits in the disco, new wave, and MTV eras. Stewart eased into his status as a veteran singer by releasing a series of albums where he crooned The Great American Songbook, but returned to original material with 2013's Time. It began another act for the rocker, but he still offered retro material on occasion, as when he teamed with boogie woogie pianist Jools Holland on 2024's Swing Fever.

November 17, 2008 at PST
The Definitive Rod Stewart
“Tonight’s the Night,” the brilliant “I Was Only Joking,” the silly “Hot Legs” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?,” and the underrated rhythmic pummel of “Young Turks” lead right into Stewart’s unexpected cruise through the ‘80s. “Some Guys Have All the Luck,” Tom Waits’ “Downtown Train,” Danny Whitten’s “I Don’t Want to Talk About It,” the Isley Brothers’ “This Old Heart of Mine” and Stewart’s own “Forever Young” are among his strongest cuts of the era.
31 Tracks
May 7, 2015 at PDT
Everyday (feat. Rod Stewart, Miguel & Mark Ronson) - Single
1 Trackfalse
December 31, 1970 at PST
Every Picture Tells a Story
It’s amazing to listen to Every Picture Tells a Story and think about everything the then-26-year-old Rod Stewart had already done. Two solo albums, lead singer for Faces and the Jeff Beck Group, a guy as relatable to teenage mods as the wistful traditionalists of roots-rock, not to mention a pretty good ringer for an American R&B singer, at least as far as white British guys went. Every Picture Tells a Story made him the kind of household name you expected to see on tabloids and TV, but it also had the anachronistic aura of a Band or Bob Dylan album: Music obviously made as a response to modern rock ’n’ roll, but that also felt like it tapped into a sepia-toned world that came before it.

Calling it “nostalgic“ would be wrong in that “nostalgia” means wanting to go back to the past, where most of the songs on Every Picture Tells a Story sound like they want to keep the past exactly where it is, at least until they can laugh at it. If you’ve ever thought you were cool but realized you weren’t, you’ll understand the title track. If you ever realized some weird interaction you had when you were younger actually makes less sense now than it did then, that’s “Maggie May.” If you stupidly, bravely continue to fight the good fight in the face of all prevailing evidence for why you should give up, that’s “(Find a) Reason to Believe.”

This was 1971: The Rolling Stones were too edgy, Genesis was too complicated, but here was Rod Stewart making the kind of good-timey, rough-and-tumble, beautiful stuff old people could dance to at reunions and shed a tear to at funerals and feel—for a minute—like they were young again. Then the old people would die and the young people who never thought they’d get old would take their turn. In a way, the most progressive aspect of the album was the idea that rock music didn’t have to be youth culture, or at least that it could capture the pleasures of aging as well as anything else—a theme Stewart would explore later with stuff like “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” and “Young Turks” and “Forever Young.” Yeah, he was a little corny—but he had the guts to embrace it.
8 Tracks
August 24, 2017 at PDT
Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? (feat. DNCE) - Single
1 Trackfalse
July 31, 1968 at GMT-7
Truth
Jeff Beck's solo debut is a musical exercise in controlled chaos, forming the link between British blues groups like The Yardbirds (Beck’s former band) and American proto-punks like MC5. “Shapes of Things” kicks things off, its center constantly shifting between Beck’s distorted guitar, Mickey Waller’s lurching drums, and Rod Stewart’s howling vocals. On “I Ain’t Superstitious” (a Willie Dixon tune), the rhythm section locks into a heavy, start-stop blues groove, which Beck uses as a launchpad to rocket his guitar solos into the sky.
10 Tracks
October 13, 2003 at PDT
As Time Goes By - The Great American Songbook, Vol. II
14 Tracks
December 31, 2011 at PST
Merry Christmas, Baby
As with all Christmas albums, the joy is in hearing old favorites sung by a beloved voice, but this isn’t simply an exercise in sentimental nostalgia. There’s a reverent “We Three Kings” in which Stewart and Mary J. Blige recapture the awe and devotion of the star-led travelers, a slinky country take on “Blue Christmas,” and a beatific “Silent Night” that first brings in a children’s choir, then the rest of the family to send it home harmoniously. As an extra-special gift, there’s “Red-Suited Super Man,” a Stewart original in which he swings like his hero Sam Cooke.
13 Tracks
October 20, 2002 at PDT
It Had to Be You... The Great American Songbook
14 Tracks
January 31, 2011 at PST
The Complete Great American Songbook
67 Tracks
May 24, 1993 at PDT
Unplugged... And Seated (Live)
17 Tracks
May 17, 1971 at PDT
Every Picture Tells a Story
It’s amazing to listen to Every Picture Tells a Story and think about everything the then-26-year-old Rod Stewart had already done. Two solo albums, lead singer for Faces and the Jeff Beck Group, a guy as relatable to teenage mods as the wistful traditionalists of roots-rock, not to mention a pretty good ringer for an American R&B singer, at least as far as white British guys went. Every Picture Tells a Story made him the kind of household name you expected to see on tabloids and TV, but it also had the anachronistic aura of a Band or Bob Dylan album: Music obviously made as a response to modern rock ’n’ roll, but that also felt like it tapped into a sepia-toned world that came before it.

Calling it “nostalgic“ would be wrong in that “nostalgia” means wanting to go back to the past, where most of the songs on Every Picture Tells a Story sound like they want to keep the past exactly where it is, at least until they can laugh at it. If you’ve ever thought you were cool but realized you weren’t, you’ll understand the title track. If you ever realized some weird interaction you had when you were younger actually makes less sense now than it did then, that’s “Maggie May.” If you stupidly, bravely continue to fight the good fight in the face of all prevailing evidence for why you should give up, that’s “(Find a) Reason to Believe.”

This was 1971: The Rolling Stones were too edgy, Genesis was too complicated, but here was Rod Stewart making the kind of good-timey, rough-and-tumble, beautiful stuff old people could dance to at reunions and shed a tear to at funerals and feel—for a minute—like they were young again. Then the old people would die and the young people who never thought they’d get old would take their turn. In a way, the most progressive aspect of the album was the idea that rock music didn’t have to be youth culture, or at least that it could capture the pleasures of aging as well as anything else—a theme Stewart would explore later with stuff like “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” and “Young Turks” and “Forever Young.” Yeah, he was a little corny—but he had the guts to embrace it.
8 Tracks
August 16, 1999 at PDT
The Best of Faces: Good Boys... When They're Asleep
Ultimately, the Faces’ legacy is not built on concepts, or even songs, but spirit. The band’s greatness comes from the feeling they brought to the material — the looseness and affection with which they delivered the music. That essence is imparted on Good Boys When They’re Asleep, a best-of compiled by keyboardist Ian McLagan. The collection touches on every stage of the band’s brief, four-album career, and places famous songs (“Stay With Me,” “Ooh la la”) next to overlooked but crucial album tracks (“Bad ‘n’ Ruin,” “Debris,” “Glad and Sorry,” “Borstal Boys”). The collection also makes available a pair of tunes drawn from the band’s final two singles: “Pool Hall Richard” and “You Can Make Me Dance, Sing, or Anything…” both excellent, although the latter song features replacement bassist Tetsu Yamauchi instead of Ronnie Lane. Though the band persisted until 1975, Lane’s 1973 departure effectively ended the Faces, and if there is a downside to Good Boys it’s that it should put a bigger emphasis on Lane’s contributions. Rod Stewart was the band’s mouthpiece and salesman, but Lane, undoubtedly, was its heart.
19 Tracks
October 17, 2004 at PDT
Stardust...The Great American Songbook III
14 Tracks
November 3, 1977 at PST
Foot Loose & Fancy Free
Rod Stewart aimed for hips and hearts on this 1977 album. Opening track “Hot Legs” has grinding guitars that you feel in your pelvis and lyrics that are all licked lips and arched eyebrows. But he soon turns in two of his finest ballads: “I Was Only Joking” examines his past over a lovely descending melody, while “You’re In My Heart (The Final Acclaim)” is a stirring tribute to former girlfriend Britt Ekland, with Stewart cheekily ranking her above his favorite football teams.
8 Tracks
October 31, 1971 at PST
A Nod Is As Good As a Wink... To a Blind Horse
9 Tracks
October 16, 2009 at PDT
Soulbook
For the sixth album of his songbook era, Rod Stewart softens his trademark rasp while paying tribute to soul music. He lovingly tousles the Sam Cooke hit “Wonderful World” and recasts the Motown snap of “It’s the Same Old Song” as a torchy ache before tapping its party potential. Stewart also teams up with some of the original songwriters (Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson) and turns in silky duets with Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Hudson. He even dabbles in disco with the effervescent “Love Train.”
13 Tracks
December 31, 1971 at PST
Never a Dull Moment
9 Tracks
November 21, 2019 at PST
You're In My Heart: Rod Stewart (with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)
22 Tracks
November 16, 2008 at PST
The Definitive Rod Stewart (Deluxe Version)
It’s no easy task to sum up the long-lasting and eclectic career of the mercurial Rod Stewart, but this 31-track collection does an admirable job. All the major landmarks from his solo output, up to the early ’90s, are laid out here: the bristling folk-rock story songs (“Maggie May”), the big, heart-thumping ballads (“Sailing”), the hip-shaking disco era (“Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”), the nervy New Wave years (“Young Turks”), and a selection of his finest covers (“Downtown Train,” “This Old Heart of Mine”).
35 Tracks
June 17, 1976 at PDT
A Night On the Town
Rod Stewart perfectly displays two sides of his musical personality on this 1976 album. The first half contains some of his most heartfelt ballads, including the lush and lusty “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” and the ambitious Dylan-esque storytelling of “The Killing of Georgie, Pts. 1 & 2.” Stewart pulls out all the stops on the back half, letting loose that belting rasp on gritty rockers “Pretty Flamingo” and “The Wild Side of Life,” recalling his days with the Faces.
9 Tracks
November 11, 1996 at PST
If We Fall In Love Tonight
15 Tracks
May 16, 1988 at PDT
Out of Order
Rod Stewart plugged into The Power Station for this 1988 album, energized by the clucking guitar of Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor and funky basslines of Chic’s Bernard Edwards. Throbbing, sparkling “Forever Young” finds him aiming for U2-level arena rock, while “My Heart Can’t Tell You No” is set to a simmer with glassy, chiming keyboards. Stewart’s familiar howl continues to charm, whether riding the thwacking snare of “Lost In You” or bringing extra warmth to the soul ballad “Try a Little Tenderness.”
11 Tracks
May 31, 1969 at GMT-7
Beck-Ola
Jeff Beck’s sophomore LP finds him perfecting his tight, jam-packed take on blues rock, officially adding pianist Nicky Hopkins to his lineup of late-'60s British rock icons. On "Girl from Mill Valley," Hopkins even takes the lead, guiding the group through a melodic instrumental that's both nostalgic and sweet. On tracks like "All Shook Up," however, Hopkins becomes just one piece of a coordinated full-band attack, adding some rhythm underneath Beck's adrenaline-filled guitar workouts and Rod Stewart's searing vocals.
7 Tracks
December 31, 1972 at PST
Ooh La La
The fourth and final Faces album serves as the curtain call for one of the ‘70s’ greatest rock bands. Rod Stewart’s massive solo success destroyed the camaraderie that had fueled the quartet since the beginning. With Stewart distracted by his solo projects, his bandmates had more control over Ooh La La, and keyboardist Ian McLagan later referred to it as “Ronnie Lane’s album.” Lane had always been the band’s secret weapon. His small-guy sweetness helped to counter Stewart’s overwhelming machismo and saved the Faces from being just another chest-beating hard rock band. While Ooh La La does feature some of the group’s most powerful rock songs (the Stewart-led “Silicone Grown,” “My Fault” and “Borstal Boys”), the album’s heart grows out of Lane’s material. Love songs don’t come more gentle or genuine than “If I’m On the Late Side” and “Glad and Sorry,” while “Just Another Honky” and “Ooh la la” prove that the Faces’ essence was ragged and wistful, not tough and blustering.
10 Tracks
October 18, 2010 at PDT
Fly Me to the Moon... The Great American Songbook, Vol. V (Deluxe Version)
18 Tracks

Rod Stewart

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