Rod Stewart – Never A Dull Moment (1972/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 33:26 minutes | 791 MB | Genre: Rock, Pop
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Artwork: Front cover | @ Mercury Records
Never a Dull Moment was recorded in March – May of 1972 and was released on July 21, 1972. It features many of the same musicians in Stewart’s band Faces and had several successful singles. One of the songs, “Angel” is a tribute to and was written by Jimi Hendrix, who had recently died. Ronnie Wood, a member of Faces, had shared a flat in the late 1960s and both were at a Soho club the night Hendrix died.
Never a Dull Moment peaked at #1 on the UK Albums Chart, #2 on the US Billboard Top LPs chart, and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
Essentially a harder-rocking reprise of Every Picture Tells a Story, Never a Dull Moment never quite reaches the heights of its predecessor, but it’s a wonderful, multi-faceted record in its own right. Opening with the touching, autobiographical rocker “True Blue,” which finds Rod Stewart trying to come to grips with his newfound stardom but concluding that he’d “rather be back home,” the record is the last of Stewart’s series of epic fusions of hard rock and folk. It’s possible to hear Stewart go for superstardom with the hard-rocking kick and fat electric guitars of the album, but the songs still cut to the core. “You Wear It Well” is a “Maggie May” rewrite on the surface, but it develops into a touching song about being emotionally inarticulate. Similarly, “Lost Paraguayos” is funny, driving folk-rock, and it’s hard not to be swept away when the Stonesy hard rocker “Italian Girls” soars into a mandolin-driven coda. The covers — whether a soulful reading of Jimi Hendrix’s “Angel,” an empathetic version of Dylan’s “Mama, You Been on My Mind,” or a stunning interpretation of Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind” — are equally effective, making Never a Dull Moment a masterful record. He never got quite this good ever again.
Tracklist:
01 – True Blue
02 – Lost Paraguayos
03 – Mama You Been On My Mind
04 – Italian Girls
05 – Angel
06 – Interludings
07 – You Wear It Well
08 – I’d Rather Go Blind
09 – Twistin’ The Night Away
Personnel:
Rod Stewart – vocals, acoustic guitar, producer
Ronnie Wood – electric, acoustic, slide and pedal steel guitars, bass
Ronnie Lane – bass
Micky Waller – drums
Kenney Jones – drums
Ian “Mac” McLagan – organ, piano
Neemoi “Speedy” Aquaye – congas
Pete Sears – piano, bass
Brian – chest piano
Spike Heatley – upright bass
Dick “Tricky Dicky” Powell – violin
Martin Quittenton – acoustic guitar
Gordon Huntley – steel guitar
Lindsay Raymond Jackson – mandolin
Arrangeables on “Twisting the Night Away” by Jimmy Horowitz
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