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"You're not really screwed until you have a good story to tell, and someone to tell it to" (Danny Boodman T.D. Lemon "Novecento")
Luckily Rod Stewart has a good story to tell, and so do I.
At Feltrinelli, I rummage through the basket of CDs at bargain prices, and my heart stops at the sight of a familiar cover. The cover of my vinyl is now worn out, it folds open with a double page and inside there's the entire band of Roddie lined up inside a soccer goal: Ron Wood, Dick (Tricky Dicky) Powell, Quittenton, Ronnie Lane, Micky Waller... thirteen members just like a team with two substitutes. Shrunk to the compact dimensions of 12 by 12 centimeters, it seems like a little toy, and I stare at it like an idiot while two guys listening to the latest Coldplay album on headphones look pitifully at this poor soul handling cheap records destined to the oblivion of new generations. Moreover, it’s the record of someone who sucked when he crossed the Atlantic with the commercial kiddie pop of "Sailing” and "Tonight's the night"... can Coldplay produced by the immeasurable genius of Eno even compare?
I hope someone remembers the boundless ambition of this Anglo/Scottish guaglione whose rusty voice shredded the paper that tweeters were made of back then. A good midfielder in Brentford's team and singer in a dozen bands until the leap in quality when Jeff Beck recruited him in '68/'69 for"Truth" and "Beck-Ola" and then with the Faces together with Ron Wood and Ronnie Lane.
But Roddy remains in my heart for his three great solo albums from 1970 (Gasoline Alley), 1971 (Every Picture Tells a Story), and 1972 (Never a Dull Moment). All five-star records and, quoting another debaserian (imasoulman), "must-haves without ifs and buts".
Perhaps (just perhaps) my favorite is the last of the three, a mix of covers and original tracks where this man mocks us. He titles the album never a dull moment and then the cover shows him sprawled in an armchair looking at nothing. It starts with the rock onslaught in the Faces style of "True Blue" with the lyrics "... never been a millionaire/ and I tell you mama I don't care" ... and indeed, a few years later he would become immensely rich with a villa, pool, and stunning blondes. What a son of a bitch Rod is! He even forces me (for the first time in my lame career as a reviewer) to the hateful track by track analysis. Yeah, because I’ve memorized these eight tracks (excluding the short interlude of Ron Wood's acoustic guitar) and none of them deserves just a quick mention.
Rummaging through the pile, the mandolins of the robust folk rock "Lost Paraguayos" accompany another great vocal performance: Rod narrates, yells, laughs, sneers, speeds up, slows down always abetted by acoustic guitars culminating in a big band finale, and Woody's electric guitar punctuating everything is exceptional!
The Dylan cover "Mama You Been On My Mind", compared to the original, gains richness in texture and a touch of nostalgia that could only benefit it with the steel guitar in the background and the accordion interlude steering it towards the British mists rather than the sunlit American prairies... moving.
"Italian girls" involves us not only metaphorically, with that sumptuous parade of acoustic guitars that stun and the boogie piano coming and going as it pleases. When things swell at the thought of Italian girls, the electric guitars get excited for the final orgasm which is followed by a moment of peace: mandolins and violins just like at a table in a Sorrento restaurant and Rod, ingratiatingly, purrs like a big cat: "...she's broke my heart... she's broke my heart... she's broke my heart...”
Another highlight of the album: the cover of the tender "Angel" by Jimi Hendrix. The guitars bite again, and as usual, they bend to the will of Rod's wonderful voice, the percussion with congas accompanies the track before losing itself in a dreamy finale with little bells.
The great acoustic guitar work of Martin Quittenton opens "You wear it well" dedicated by Rod to his ex, the rhythm building and the fiddle running through the whole song make it a tear-jerker ballad for those who’ve ever had a heart.
Sensational is also the cover of "I’d Rather Go Blind", a slow soul that could play on repeat endlessly with those few words whispering (as much as Rod's raspy voice can whisper) "...I’d rather go blind than see you walk away...". The organ and brass section in the background create the ideal atmosphere for Roddie's voice.
The final bang is an extraordinary version of "Twistin' The Night Away" by Sam Cooke and the band goes off marvelously. The insistent rhythm by Lane/Waller and Ron Wood's guitar are a punch in the gut... This damn guy always makes me put the vinyl back on from the start, and by now, it must be the millionth time!
It was his last great album because ambition led him to conquer America, and today he lights his cigar with a Benjamin Franklin, unconcerned that masterpieces like this end up in the bargain bin next to the albums of pan flute virtuosos and the Casadei Orchestra.
I meet the two guys at the checkout again and notice their giggle of pity for the prehistoric five-euro-and-ninety-cent record I place on the counter; they flaunt the full-priced Coldplay album. I should be embarrassed but, believe me, I’ve never been so proud in front of a cashier because I have kept a good story aside and you to tell it to.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 True Blue (03:35)
Never been a millionaire
and I tell you mama I don't care
Never gonna own a race-horse
or a fast back mid-engine Porsche
Don't think I'll own a private jet
on the Stock Exchange I'm no threat
So won't you help me make up my mind
Don't you think I'd better get myself back home
Sitting in the moonlight glow
excuse me if my feelings show
Watching all the trucks roll by
dreaming up an alibi
You see, back home I'm considered the fool
but maybe they're right I don't know
So can't you help make up my mind
Don't you think I'd better get myself back home
Who cares
Daddy says he'll buy me car
to drive just as far as I need
He wants me back at any expense
He's got a lot more money than sense
Funny but now that I'm gone
they all wanna be concerned
Oh please can you make up my mind
Don't you think I'd better get myself back home
Just don't know what to do
Maybe I'll walk, maybe I'll ride, maybe I'll never ever decide
Get out da way
I gotta get on home
I gotta get home as soon as I can
03 Mama You Been on My Mind (04:29)
(Bob Dylan)
Perhaps it抯 the color of the sun cut flat
and coverin' the crossroads I抦 standing at
or maybe it抯 the weather or something like that
but mama you been on my mind
I do not mean you trouble, don抰 put me down, don抰 get upset
I am not pleadin?or sayin?I can抰 forget you
I do not pace the floor, bowed down and bent, but yet
mama you been on my mind
Even tho?my eyes are hazy
and my thoughts they might be narrow
where you been don抰 bother me, or bring me down with sorrow
I don抰 even mind where you be wakin?up tomorrow
but mama you been on my mind
I抦 not asking you to say words like yes or no
Please understand me, I抳e no place I抦 calling you to go
I抦 just whisperin?to myself so I can pretend that I don抰 know
Mama you been on my mind
When you wake up in the mornin?baby, look inside your mirror
you know I won抰 be next to you, you know I won抰 be near
I抎 just be curious to know if you can see yourself as clear
as someone who has had you on his mind
As someone who has had you on his mind
Mama you been on my mind
05 Angel (04:06)
Angel came down from heaven yesterday
stayed with me long enough to rescue me
And she told me a story yesterday
about the sweet love between the moon and the deep blue sea
Then she spread her wings high over me
she said she's goin' now, come back tomorrow
And I said, "Fly on my sweet angel, fly on through the sky
Fly on my sweet angel tomorrow I'm gonna be by your side"
Fly away, high away, fly away
Sure enough this morning came unto me
silver wings silhouetted against a child�s sunrise
And my angel she said unto me
Today�s the day for you to rise
Take my hand, you're gonna be my man, you're gonna rise
Then she took me high over yonder
And I said, "Fly on my sweet angel, fly on through the sky
Fly on my sweet angel forever I will be by your side"
And I said, "Fly on my sweet angel, fly on through the sky
Fly on my sweet angel forever I will be by your side"
Fly away, come back another day
07 You Wear It Well (04:26)
I had nothing to do on this hot afternoon
But to settle down and write you a line
I've been meaning to phone you, but from Minnesota
Hell, it's been a very long time
You wear it well
A little old-fashioned, but that's alright
Well, I suppose you're thinking, I bet he's sinking
Or he wouldn't get in touch with me
Though I ain't begging or losing my head
I sure do want you to know, that
You wear it well
there ain't a lady in the land so fine, oh my
Remember their basement parties, your brothers' karate
The all-day rock-and-roll shows
The homesick blues and the radical views
Haven't left a mark on you
(Chorus)
You wear it well
A little out of time but I don't mind
But, I ain't forgetting that you were once mine
But I blew it without even trying
Now I'm eating my heart out
Trying to get a letter through
Since you've been gone it's hard to carry on
I'm gonna write about the birthday gown that I bought in town
And you sat down and cried on the stairs
You knew it didn't cost the earth but for what it's worth
You made me feel a millionaire
You wear it well
Madame Onassis got nothing on you; no, no
Well now my coffee is cold and I'm getting told
That I gotta get back to work
So when the sun goes low and you're home all alone
Think of me and try not to laugh, and
(Chorus 2)
I'll wear it well
I don't object if you call collect
'Cause I ain't forgetting that you were once mine
But I blew it without even trying
Now I'm eating my heart out
Trying to get back to you
08 I'd Rather Go Blind (03:53)
Something told me it was over
when I saw you and him talking
Something deep down in my soul said "Cry boy"
when I saw you and him out walking
I would rather, I would rather go blind girl
than to see you walk away from me child
So you see I love you so much
I don't want to see you leave me baby
most of all I just don't, I just don't want to be free
I was just, I was just sitting here thinking
of your kiss and your warm embrace child
When the reflection in the glass
that I been held to my lips now baby
revealed the tears I had on my face
I would rather, I would rather be blind child
than to see you walk away from me
Baby, baby, baby I would rather go blind
than to see you walk away from me
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