Search - Rod Stewart :: The Rod Stewart Sessions 1971-1998

Essential Rod Stewart

pig_inspace | Montana | 10/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I hesitate to give anything on Amazon five stars since it instantly appears as though the review was written by another blind fan just praising his or her idol, but this Sessions box set is fantastic and deserves nothing less than five stars. As you will see from my other reviews, I am not afraid to slam Rod Stewart "products" so trust me when I tell you this box set is simply amazing.



The set contains several different types of cuts--from finished, studio polished never-before-released tracks to first run-throughs of songs that either were completed or scrapped. There's also a plethora of alternative versions of classic Rod tracks that offer hard core fans a chance to fall in love again with songs they've known for decades. There's even three hilarious "hidden" tracks including a classic, sly swipe at Rod's record label Warner Bros. called "It's Coming out Your Royalties."



Some of the standout tracks include Elvis Costello's "Long Journey Home," Dylan's "Wheels on Fire," "May You Never," "When I'm Away from You" "Dylan's Day Off" the alternative "First Cut is the Deepenst" the alternative "Girl from the North Country" (much more haunting and moving that the original that appeared on Smiler) the early take of "Scarred and Scared," the accoustic "Windy Town," Oasis' "Rocking Chair" and about two dozen others. (really).



For $45, you won't be disappointed with this box set.

"

A Must Have For All Rock n Roll Fans

David Dipietro | 10/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"From the opening alternative version of "Maggie May" to the last song, this set is full of Rod Stewart gems. Not only does this set highlight what a brilliant interpreter of other people's songs Stewart is, it also clearly brings to light his underrated song writing abilities.



On many of the slower tunes, the passion in Stewart's voice makes you feel the emotion in your gut, your heart and your soul. Alternative versions of "Girl from the North Country" and "First Cut Is The Deepest" are standouts. "Time Of My Life" and "Hard Lesson To Learn" make you feel the emotions and confusion surrounding a heart-wrenching break-up.



But this set does not just a collection of heartbreaking songs. There are some hard rocking "new" songs and alternative versions of Stewart classics. His remake of "In A Broken Dream" with help from Pink Floyd's David Gilmour on guitar, Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones on organ and Nick Lowe is an instant rock classic.



Music critics almost always take the easy route when reviewing Stewart's music and career by talking about what "might have been" and say the only great music he made was in the early 70's. While it's true, he has had some clunkers and made some missteps, Stewart obviously could not be getting by on smoke and mirrors for this many years.



"Sessions" gives Rod Stewart fans and non-fans a behind the scenes view of a rock legend. A must have."

What were they thinking???

Paul F. Kopilak | Yorktown Hts., N.Y. | 10/27/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a life long fan of Rod's work going back to the Jeff Beck band and while there are without a doubt substantial, essential gems in this collection - there are some duds and downright embarassments as well. That's really too bad since there are a number of really great b-sides and outtakes I'm sure spanning the same periods which were left off. Additionally, Rod's as much at home on stage as he is in the studio so by limiting this historical collection to "sessions", still unreleased classic live raritie such as fantastic covers of "Dock Of The Bay" or "Sweet Soul Music" are left out. I've seen photos of Rod sharing the stage with one of his idols, David Ruffin. Surely that's been recorded and molding a way in a vault somewhere.

This was an opportunity to put together a portrait of the artist's past that really could have been a jaw dropping listening experience from the first track of disc one to the last track of disc four. Did we really need a demo of "You Wear It Well" where the bulk of the lyric content is "La-la-la" as Rod hadn't had it half written then or a drunken fueled ode to his dad's trousers?

There are some incredible things in this set which are worth the price of admission alone! "Girl From The North Country" is done so well as to be hauntingly addictive and leaves one wondering how it was omitted for the prior release as in so many ways, it's a superior take. "In A Broken Dream" leaves the former Python Lee Jackson version which Rod lent vocals to in the dust! David Gilmour's guitarwork and John Paul Jones helping out with Rod's vocal upgrade bring this right into the present and totally recreate this lamenting ballad into a peice of sheer musical genius. Rod's covers of "Maybe Baby" and "King Bee" are also missed opportunities in my opinion. To have works like this sitting in the vaults seem criminal. "Show Me", "Heaven" and "I Go To Jail For You" will leaving you shaking your head in bewilderment as to how these could have been dropped from any tracklist! "Heaven" has hit single written all over it as does the re-working of the gorgeous ballad, "Sweet Surrender".

To be sure this set has it's share of winners but some of the demo's are lame. Add the comical, though sometimes embarrasing, alcahol-inspired, hidden tracks and you have a lot of disc space which could have been far better utilized had some more imagination gone into this project. According to the liner notes, Arnold Stiefel made the vaults wide open to the producers. I can't imagine that there weren't a vast number of really great moments omitted in favor of the unfinished or mediochre material taking up otherwise precious space. This also makes for an uneven listening experience, when an inferior demo is spaced in between two good tracks or followed by a sloppy inferior performance.

Overall this box set is loaded with tracks that fall into one of three categories...either stunning genius representative of the quality we've come to expect from Rod, material he's only just started working on which is sometimes painful to listen to or drunken silliness that's simply detracting from everything else.

All in all it's a good job that could have been fantastic. What is great earns it three stars and what's not has cost it two."