This album is a mixture of rock, country, blues, soul, and folk, and includes Stewart's breakthrough hit, "Maggie May", as well as "Reason to Believe", a song from Tim Hardin's debut album of 1966. "Reason to Believe", with Pete Sears on piano, was released as the first single from the album with "Maggie May" as the B-side; however, "Maggie May" became more popular and was a No. 1 hit in both the UK and US.
All five members of the Faces (with whom Stewart at that time was lead vocalist) appear on the album, with guitarist/bassist Ronnie Wood and keyboardist Ian McLagan on Hammond B3 organ being employed most. Due to contractual restrictions, the personnel listings were somewhat vague, and it was unclear that the full Faces line-up recorded the version of the Motown hit "(I Know) I'm Losing You".[7] Other contributors included Ray Jackson on mandolin (though Stewart allegedly forgot his name and merely mentioned "the mandolin player in Lindisfarne" on the sleeve) and Micky Waller on drums. Maggie Bell performed backing vocals (mentioned on the sleeve as "vocal abrasives") on the title track, and Madeline Bell sang backup on the next track, "Seems Like A Long Time". Pete Sears played all the piano on the album except for one track, "I'm Losing You", which had Ian McLagan on piano, along with the Faces as a band.[citation needed]
The album reached the number-one position in both the UK (for six weeks) and the US (four weeks) at the same time that "Maggie May" was topping the singles charts in both territories.[citation needed]
In his original Rolling Stone review, John Mendelsohn wrote: "Boring as half of it may be, there's enough that is unqualifiedly magnificent on the other half."[11] However, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau gave the album a glowing review, writing: "Rod the Wordslinger is a lot more literate than the typical English bloozeman, Rod the Singer can make words flesh, and though Rod the Bandleader's music is literally electric it's the mandolin and pedal steel that come through sharpest."[8]
A retrospective review by Pitchfork's Tal Rosenberg called it "a rollicking and surprisingly grounded document of early '70s folk-rock".[9]
Legacy
The album has been an enduring critical success, including a number 172 ranking on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[6] maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list,[12] dropping slightly in a 2020 revised list to number 177.[13] In 1992, the album was awarded the number-one spot in Jimmy Guterman's book The Best Rock 'N' Roll Records of All Time: A Fan's Guide to the Stuff You Love.[citation needed] It was ranked 99th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time.[citation needed]
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Without greatly altering his approach, Rod Stewart perfected his blend of hard rock, folk, and blues on his masterpiece, Every Picture Tells a Story."[4]
"Henry" was only printed on the label of the original British and international releases, not on the sleeve. It was omitted in the track listing of some CD versions, as in some pressings of the album and most Stewart compilations, the "Henry" intro is incorporated into the full "Maggie May" track.
"Amazing Grace" is not listed on the label on most editions, and on some CDs is part of "That's All Right". The words were written by John Newton.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
References
^"Rod Stewart: Every Picture Tells a Story Album Review". Pitchfork. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024. Today we revisit the album that made Rod Stewart a star, a rollicking and surprisingly grounded document of early '70s folk-rock.Today we revisit the album that made Rod Stewart a star, a rollicking and surprisingly grounded document of early '70s folk-rock.
