Rod Stewart
Smiler

THE REVIEW

You don't change a winning team, and Roderick David Stewart, known to the world as Rod Stewart, knows that well, having been a footballer who came close to going professional.

On the heels of the stunning hat-trick of albums released between 1970 and 1972 with the titles "Gasoline Alley", "Every Picture Tells A Story" and "Never A Dull Moment", in a strictly chronological order, he experienced success and glory like never before. They say you should strike while the iron is hot. But things don't always go as we'd like: the battle between Warner Bros. (which holds the rights to the vocalist with the "Faces") and Mercury (which boasts the rights to Stewart as a solo artist) to secure an exclusive contract with the singer delayed the release of "Smiler", which would only see the light of day in '74. As usual, a large group of musicians, mostly already with Stewart on previous LPs, accompanied the British-born but Scottish-blooded singer: above all, the inseparable Ron Wood, who would soon join the ranks of the Rolling Stones. The album closely ties into the elements that permeated his previous albums, especially "Never A Dull Moment": folk, rock, blues, soul and even country merge into an inseparable whole. Even if...

Even if this time, good ol' Rod doesn't replicate previous successes: the musicians are the same, his voice is unchanged and the covers are potentially devastating, but something is missing. First and foremost, the originals. Rod has never been a prolific nor brilliant songwriter, and in this case, he fully confirms it: only three out of the twelve tracks are penned by him, two of which are little more than throwaways. Most notably absent is the atmosphere that saturates his previous works, the passion, the desire to throw his heart over the obstacle by embellishing the songs with blood, sweat, love, and anger.

What emerges is a decent Long Playing, but clearly below expectations.

It starts with the frenetic rock'n'roll of the Chuck Berry-like "Sweet Little Rock'n'Roller", the first of four rock tracks on the album, followed by "Lochinvar", a brief piano interlude written and played by Pete Sears, which leads into the ballad "Farewell", composed by Rod (as is the next title), which harks back (without repeating them) to the glory of "Maggie May". The rock of "Sailor" and "Hard Road" is quite unremarkable; thus, a bit of spark is provided by a special guest such as Elton John, who plays the piano and duets with Rod on his "Let Me Be Your Car".

Stewart has always had a notable soul feeling in his singing, and after the stunning "Twisting The Night Away", the finale of "Never A Dull Moment", comes the good medley "Bring It On Home To Me/You Send Me", both penned by Sam Cooke, and the sweet "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Man", a rendition of the famous "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" written by Carole King and brought to fame by Aretha Franklin's explosive interpretation. Near the end of the album, some of the most beautiful songs of the LP emerge, starting with the sweet "Dixie Toot" and continuing with two inspired versions of the classic "Girl From The North Country", yet another tribute to Bob Dylan, one of Rod's major inspirations, and "Mine For Me" written by the McCartney couple.

Despite its commercial success (the album even topped the UK charts), "Smiler" was the first LP by Rod Stewart to be derided by critics of the time, and the first misstep by the rocker who, in 1974, had a 10-year career behind him: it would remain his last album to feature that (no longer) unique blend of genres that had determined his success until that point.

The following work, "Atlantic Crossing", would open a new pop era for Rod, less inspired but equally hugely successful.

You don't change a winning team, but if you don't step onto the field with the right motivations, you risk making a bad impression.