Every Picture Tells A Story

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