Back in 2009, Warner Brothers released a 4 CD set called "The Rod Stewart Sessions- 1971-1998," which features over 60 unreleased tracks- demos, alternate takes, rough cuts, jams and the like. I only discovered this set in July of 2022, if you trust my iTunes library, and my interest in this set only appeared last week, which is when I finally decided to peruse the content after a track from the set popped up at random.
It's fair to say my lack of interest probably had something to do with not caring about officially released Rod Stewart post 1979, so did I really want to hear "Body Wishes" outtakes? But then a raw but raucous take on Billy Boy Arnold's "I Wish You Would" started playing off the iPod that I would have bet was recorded in the early 70's. It was a "Body Wishes" outtake.
I started playing random cuts, like an early take of "Hot Legs" which has more of a sloppy Faces swagger than the spit polished hit.
Or, a cover of Dylan's thumper "The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar," which was apparently on a mail order only record from Rhino called "Once In A Blue Moon," a 1992 session that was shelved until 2009. I also noticed a song called "I Wanna Stay Home." Was this a cover of the Jellyfish track? Yes. Yes it was.
There is also a somewhat swampy take on "This Wheel's On Fire," also from the "Blue Moon" sessions as well as a solid version of "I'm A King Bee," from 1995's "Spanner In The Works" sessions.
So basically, while Sir Rod was flooding the market with volume after crappy volume of standards, he was actually having fun in the studio making some very listenable rock and roll. Thanks, ya bastard.
I haven't gone through all 68 tracks on "The Rod Stewart Sessions," but so far, what I have heard has been a helluva lot more fun than that last swing thing with Jools Holland.
12 comments:
Great detective work Sal! It's like an alternate universe where Rod stayed on a rock & roll pathway.
Captain Al
Thanks for the tip. I miss the old Rod. It will be fun to sift through this previously unknown to me collection.
Honest question. Is there really anything worth hearing after 1976 (A Night On The Town)? That's when I gave up on Rod, and I loved Faces and his early solo material. But after Hot Legs and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy I gave up.
Cleveland Jeff,
No, not really. Every record has one or two gems--like "I Wish I Was Home Tonight" from "Foolish Behavior," " or "My Heart Can't Tell You No" from "Out Of Touch," which is gorgeous. But I can't think of one full album worth its length.
I love the Jellyfish cover!
This is truly bizarre - Rod doing a Jellyfish tune.
Hot Legs is wonderful!
Randy
Has anyone betrayed their talent as much as Rod has? And I LOVE the guy, but Jesus did he commit to a lot of crap over the years. This is a fun listen
I had some fun with this release, but I couldn’t think of finishing it. I agree with Chris about Rod wasting his talent. It always sounds like the producer records everything and Rod comes in and sings. With Faces and his early solo records he was surrounded by talent that required him to push a little, and maybe he had something to prove. But to say he has skated for a very long time seems about right to me. Great voice. Cleveland Jeff
Sessions 1971-1998 is definitely for completists. I admit, I am such a person. Sal's picked some good ones and there a few more interesting tracks. But I never get the feeling that these outtakes, are anything more than that. With artists like Dylan or Neil Young, there are gems that should have been released long ago. Their quality demanded they see the light of day. But this Rod collection doesn't reach that level.
In reference to some earlier remarks, I liked Foot Loose and Fancy Free and to a lesser degree, Blondes Have More Fun. For me there are three phases in the quality of Rod's popular career and they diminsh in quality with each succeeding phase. Jeff Beck Group through Never a Dull Moment. Smiler through Blondes Have More Fun. Foolish Behavior through the present. Sal's right, there are selected gems in the post-70's output but the albums don't hold up. On top of that, the production gloss of the eighties helps ruin many glimmers of hope. Vagabond Heart from the early 1990's stood out a bit.
There's a great bootleg which collects early Rod rarities from 1964-1971. It's called "Don't Tell Nobody." It features "Stone Crazy" recorded with Peter Green, Jabk Bruce and Aynsley Dunvar. Nice to get these in one place,
VR
Rod at his very best is as good as anyone in classic rock (if I may refer to something so vague but that we know what I mean, I think).
Well at least somebody agrees with me (I think) after the arguments I've had. To me, Rod's musical output has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous, traversing through the Faces glorious ragbag albums, his early "solo" stuff, then the load of old codswallop that was the American Standards and others of that ilk.
The "I Wanna Stay Home" is my favorite! Enjoy listening to the rest!
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