As he alludes to in his hugely entertaining autobiography, in 1975 somebody somewhere might have been having a better time than Rod Stewart – although it is hard to imagine who that person could be.
Ten years on from making his first record as a twenty-year-old, Stewart, a north-Londoner of Scottish parentage, had come to prominence in 1967 as the gravelly voiced lead vocalist of the Jeff Beck Group, subsequently reprising the role a couple of years later as front man of rowdy, ramshackle rockers the Faces (a band formed from the remnants of the Beck ensemble and 60s power-pop aces The Small Faces).
By the middle year of the 1970s Stewart remained the front man of a band who were sometimes inspired, more often than not inebriated – the Faces generating huge affection for the boozy bonhomie of their live performances.
While their four studio albums had returned respectable sales figures, they paled in both critical and commercial terms to the five made by Stewart as a solo artist during the same 1969-1974 timespan.
The worldwide success of singles such as ‘Maggie May‘ (1971) and ‘You Wear It Well‘ (1972), along with global number one status for parent albums ‘Every Picture Tells A Story‘ and ‘Never A Dull Moment‘ elevated Stewart to superstar billing – yet all the time he appeared to maintain an air of being unaffected by the wealth and fame to have come his way.
Sure, he wore flashy clothes (although nowhere near as strange as Bowie or Elton), drove a fast car (de rigueur for any 70s rock star worth their salt) and while for the most part his albums were brilliant, there was an engaging nonchalance about them – ‘Every Picture Tells A Story‘ captivating and full of charm, opposed to say ‘Who’s Next‘ that was complex and challenging.
Along with his self-professed ponchance for beautiful, blonde-headed women, Rod would play a game of football whenever the chance arose, (no Faces show complete without him kicking footballs into the audience) and rarely said no to a booze-up, just as well considering the group he was in – the Faces existing in near permanent state of being out on the drink, Rod one of the lads in a band every lad in the early 70s wanted to be in.
In terms of songwriting and sinking bottles of Mateus Rose, his closest collaborator was Faces guitarist Ron Wood, himself a former Beck group member.
From the second album onward they had become the prime source of Faces material, also writing at least half a dozen superb songs spread across the albums made by Rod, Wood on acoustic and electric guitar leading a troupe of musicians who had become mainstays of Stewart’s solo sessions – the core of whom were Micky Waller (drums), Pete Sears (piano), Danny Thompson (bass), Dick Powell (violin) and Martin Quittenton (acoustic guitar), who had co-written with Stewart the two aforementioned hit singles and also a third ‘Farewell‘ another delightful lyrical ballad which had been included on the 1974 ‘Smiler‘ album.
This eclectic band of musical mavericks had provided Rod with spirited often inspirational backing, no matter if he was recording his own material or covering Dylan, Motown, Tim Hardin, Eddie Cochran or Sam Cooke.
But turning thirty in the early weeks of 1975 set in motion a series of changes that by the end of the year would find Rod Stewart in a different place musically, romantically and geographically from where he had been in January – the boy from Holloway becoming a Hollywood emigre complete with film star girlfriend, this change of circumstances reflected in the title of his sixth solo album ‘ATLANTIC CROSSING‘ (1975), an LP which effectively set the tone for the next ten years of his career in generating huge sales, but a slew of negative reviews.
To counteract stringent UK tax laws introduced by the newly-elected Labour government in 1974, Stewart, in order to safeguard his earnings, decamped to the US, a move that increased his growing dislocation from fellow Faces, Wood, Ian McLagan (keyboards), Kenny Jones (drums) and bass player Tetsu Yamachi, who had replaced original bassist Ronnie Lane on his departure in 1973 – Lane wracked by disenchantment not least caused by Rod’s commitment, or perceived lack of it, to the Faces.
With Rod relocating it raised the question of how the band could function with their lead singer living in Los Angeles, the precarious situation emphasised by cancellation of several proposed UK stadium shows in the summer of 1975, performances that failed to materialise as Stewart was in America recording his next album.
Having previously cut his albums in London, laying down tracks in the US was not the only break with formula – Stewart turning production duties over to renowned rock and soul control panel maestro Tom Dowd, with legendary studio aggregation the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section drafted to provide the polish the artist now craved for his music.
Whereas a new Rod Stewart LP was big news for the music press, not long into the sessions he found himself on most front pages of the UK national press when it was revealed Rod and recent Bond-girl Britt Ekland were now a romantic item – Stewart taking heed of suggestion by the Swedish actress to divide ‘Atlantic Crossing‘ into a ‘slow‘ and ‘fast‘ side, being so taken with the idea as to do it again on his next album ‘A Night on the Town.’
In the event, it probably didn’t do ‘Atlantic Crossing‘ many favours, the superior ‘slow’ side doing little more than exposing the sterility of the other, Stewart having his wish granted for a more substantive sound, but it came at the expense of swing and style – although it remains doubtful if even Wood or Waller could have set off some sparks on the generally lacklustre ‘fast’ side.
It would be overstating the case to say his four compositions (‘Three Time Loser‘, ‘Alright for an Hour‘, ‘All in the Name of Rock ‘N’ Roll‘, ‘Stone Cold Sober‘) are poor songs, yet in truth none are particularly memorable. In fairness, Rod comes up with some good lines to show he is still not taking life or himself too seriously, but most of his witticisms become lost amidst technically accomplished, but stilted performances.
‘Three Time Loser‘ shuffles along nicely enough, this ode to resisting temptation of the female variety fattened up with a saxophone solo and harmony vocalists, Rod eager for the day when he can control his urges:
‘There’ll be no doctor’s bills, there’ll be no more swallowing pills/When I find a woman who can whip this stallion blood out of me.’
‘Alright for an Hour‘ is infused with overtones of funk but without the sharp edges to make it sound convincing, while ‘All in the Name of Rock ‘N’ Roll‘ and ‘Stone Cold Sober‘ are closer to Stones-affected rock, both songs top heavy on brute force arrangements when less is more would have sufficed.
On the former Rod gives a nod to the Faces (‘Play’n for recognition of the New York town/See, me and the boys got a rock ‘n’ roll band‘) whose stripped back spontaneity would have improved things no end, but at the end extends his mickey-taking to superstar pal Paul, (‘Listen, McCartney, we’re the band on the run’).
As evidence of his self-deprecating humour, the opening lines of ‘Stone Cold Sober‘ are hard to beat, (‘Never get to bed before sun up, always get caught in the rain/Sometimes I might get in trouble, never was one to complain‘), but the battery of guitars and blaring horn section wring every ounce of excitement out of the piece.
The best arrangement of the ‘fast’ side is a glorious cover of the Dobie Gray hit ‘Drift Away‘ – Rod’s emotion packed vocal being one of the few examples where he and the super-sessioneers, led by guitarist extraordinaire Steve Cropper, actually get the gist of what the other is about.
Some years later Stewart would state, ‘the Muscle Shoals are great, but they can’t play rock and roll,’ although you sense what he actually meant was they couldn’t play his type of rock and roll – nevertheless they also do him proud on ‘Still Love You‘ the standout song not just of the ‘slow side’ but entire album.
The only self-written ‘slow’ track, Rod comes up with a superb lyric that runs through the beginning, middle and end of a love affair conducted by people living in a neighbourhood far removed from the L.A. locale where he now resides – the scene set by a writer well-versed in conjuring humorous, yet touching episodes:
‘I was told by a good friend, you were untouchable, out of my reach/But the first time ever I saw you, I spilled my cherry wine over your dress/You said, “Don’t you worry, it’s not my best one.”/First encounter, hardly the best.’
To an accompaniment of electric piano, mandolin and violin, instruments elemental in giving many of his previous great works their resonance, Stewart serves to remind us that no matter who is providing the backing, when it comes to a superb turn of phrase and delivering a masterful vocal he remains in a class of his own.
Such is the range and distinctive quality of his voice, he is always capable of making the most leaden material sound engaging, the most obvious example being the number one hit ‘Sailing,’ a Gavin Sutherland song written earlier in the decade. No great shakes as a lyric, its hook lies in the sing-a-long chorus that left fellow Face McLagan distinctly underwhelmed, describing the song as ‘pandering to the football crowd element of the audience.’
Six years before, Stewart, Wood and Lane had written a similar, but superior song entitled ‘Flying‘ for the Faces debut album, a song where Rod is challenged to produce a fine vocal rather than do a good performance and let the production boffins do the rest.
His reading of The Isley Brothers ‘This Old Heart of Mine‘ is respectful and succinct as you would expect from a self-confessed Motown devotee, Rod doing a more impressive job on the Barry ‘Goldberg-Gerry Goffin collaboration ‘It’s Not The Spotlight‘ – a somewhat ironic song for him to record at this time, Stewart singing his heart out on a piece which laments the fleeting nature of celebrity (as we have come to know it be called), this at a time when his own was entering a whole new stratosphere.
Still, it is an affecting piece, of which the same can be said for ‘I Don’t Want to Talk About It‘ Rod turning this poignant Danny Whitten song (the composer/guitarist best known as a Neil Young sideman, had died from a drug overdose in 1972), into a latter-day rock standard, although all this time later his remains the definitive version.
As impressive as the vocal performances were it was not enough to save ‘Atlantic Crossing‘ from a critical pasting, the most savage review appearing in UK rock tome New Musical Express who described it as ‘the nadir of his solo work so far,’ going on to add, ‘what shall it profit Rod Stewart if he gains the whole world of studio sophistication and lose his own soul?’
In terms of encouragement there was little to be found close to home either, McLagan openly disparaging about the record and angrier still when the Faces reconvened for a run of North American shows after its release.
An additional guitarist and keyboard player were added to the Faces cast in order to replicate on stage the layered sound Stewart had wanted for his new work – thus increasing tour costs to promote an album only he would benefit from.
With Wood having spent the summer of 1975 ‘guesting’ for the Rolling Stones on US tour dates (taking the place of Mick Taylor who had departed the previous year) and Stewart with another big-selling solo album on his hands, the Faces made it through the tour, but not to the end of the year – Rod putting an end to months of speculation about their future by formally leaving the band in mid-December, the Faces seemingly falling apart due to nobody having the necessary will-power to pull them together.
Stewart blamed Wood alleging the guitarist was hankering after a permanent role within the Stones, while the rest blamed Rod citing his tax-exile status, but the recriminations did not appear to last very long as those involved all moved on with their careers.
Besides, it was hard to stay mad at Rod for long – when you heard him sing ‘give me the beat boys and soothe my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away,’ with such heartfelt feeling you could forgive him anything.
Even ‘Atlantic Crossing.’
ROD STEWART – ATLANTIC CROSSING (released August 15 1975):
(Fast side): Three Time Loser/Alright for an Hour/All in the Name of Rock ‘N’ Roll/Drift Away/Stone Cold Sober; (Slow Side): I Don’t Want to Talk About It/It’s Not The Spotlight/This Old Heart of Mine/Still Love You/Sailing;
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.
Lovely article; I do think Rod Stewart has been under-rated – his name fairly come’s up in the “all-time vocalists” lists. But he could imbue a song with a unique voice and definite charm… Still, doubt it’s ruined his life too much!
And just picturing him and the rest of the Faces strutting around on stage in their pomp brings a smile to this “Face”!
Hello David – hope you are well;
Delighted to hear you enjoyed the article and thanks for saying so – much appreciated.
No doubting the fact Rod is one of the great rock vocalists, but I am always irritated by the fact he is constantly overlooked in ‘great lyricist’ discussions.
If you look at the lyrics he wrote between 1969-74 (granted there are fewer examples afterwards) it is obvious this is a master wordsmith at work – if, for example, Ray Davies had written say ‘Gasoline Alley’, ‘Lady Day’, Mandolin Wind’ ‘True Blue’, ‘Lost Paraguayos’ or ‘Farewell’ they would all be in the ‘hallowed by their name’ category.
Not early-70s fourth-form mysticism or full of trite couplets, these songs are witty, charming and deserve far more acclaim than they receive – although the fact Rod made it sound all so easy has not helped his cause. Unlike Pete Townshend he was never going to go deep into his soul in order to create (not when there was a game of football to be played or an attractive – blonde-headed – woman to pursue).
He also wrote so memorable stuff for those rumbustious rascals he knocked about with between 1969 and 1975 – and although he said some disparaging things about the record at the time ‘Ooh La La’ contains some great moments. Rod is heard in tremendous form on ‘If I’m on the Late Side’ – engaging lyric, brilliant vocal performance, every time I play it comes the urge to fill a glass with something suitably refreshing and ‘Face’ the music and dance.
Who wouldn’t have wanted to walk into a bar with those guys!
Stay safe.
Regards
Neil