The Story So Far: The Very Best of Rod Stewart (CD - 2002)

Producers include: Trevor Horn, Rod Stewart, Patrick Leonard, Bernard Edwards, Tom Dowd.

Compilation producer: Gregg Geller.

Recorded between 1971 and 1998.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

The irony of calling this two-disc Rod Stewart collection The Story So Far is that it only tells part of the story, and leaves off the one song, 1971's magnificent "Every Picture Tells a Story" from the album of the same name, that would have given this anthology's title some real credence. Oh, "Maggie Mae" is here, as it should be, but the version of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe" that comes at the end of disc two is an inferior late period re-recording. Most of what you get is the disco and post-disco Stewart when he was well past his sell-by date, and while his Sam Cooke phrasing and rough as sandpaper voice were still well intact during this middle period, one gets the nagging feeling that he was mostly going through the motions, no matter how many of his recordings hit the pop charts. It's the artistic difference between "Maggie Mae" and "Hot Legs." The former feels like a real portrait based on real emotions while the latter feels like a cheap Madison Avenue jingle for women's stockings. One wonders if Stewart can really tell the difference anymore. He knows how to pick a good song to cover, like his version here of Tom Waits' "Downtown Train," and he had a hit with the song, but it doesn't even come close to carrying the emotional power of Waits' original. It could have, and should have, given Stewart's undeniably effective voice, but he coasted on "Downtown Train," and anyone who has heard Waits' version knew it in an instant. This anthology will probably suffice for the casual listener who came to know Stewart during the MTV era, and that's fine, it delivers the hits and touches on Stewart's recent guise as a cultural balladeer, but it doesn't really tell anything close to the whole story. This is a gifted singer who did wonderful work with the Faces and Jeff Beck, and began his solo career in brilliant fashion, and little of that is here. You do get "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?," though, and the distance between that song and "Maggie Mae" is where the real story falls. ~ Steve Leggett

Ever since making the leap from Jeff Beck Group vocalist to a solo sex symbol who split his time fronting the Faces, Rod Stewart has used his trademark rasp as a passport to the halls of blue-eyed soul stardom. Throughout the 16 cuts released between 1971 and 1998 that make up this compilation, Stewart's distinctive singing style allows him to move from sturdy album-rock anthems ("Maggie May") to raunchy disco ("Da Ya Think I'm Sexy"), and New Wave-flavored pop ("Some Guys Have All The Luck"). Along the way, Rod The Mod also matches up with idol Ronald Isley on The Isley Brothers' 1966 hit "This Old Heart Of Mine" as well as masterfully delivering "unplugged" renditions of nuggets by Tim Hardin ("Reason To Believe") and Van Morrison ("Have I Told You Lately").

This collection also points to how Stewart's impressive interpretive skills found him crafting hits out of material by legends like Tom Waits ("Downtown Train") and Bob Dylan ("Forever Young"). Stewart's sentimental side is represented with the classic trifecta of "You're In My Heart (The Final Acclaim)," "You Wear It Well" and "Tonight' The Night (Gonna Be Alright)." minimize