Gasoline Alley follows the same formula of Rod Stewart's first album, intercutting contemporary covers with slightly older rock & roll and folk classics and originals written in the same vein. The difference is in execution. Stewart sounds more confident, claiming Elton John's "Country Comfort," the Small Faces' "My Way of Giving," and the Rolling Stones' version of "It's All Over Now" with a ragged, laddish charm…
None of Rod Stewart's many self re-inventions has been half-hearted, least of all the full-fledged adoption of the full-on electric rock of 1975's ATLANTIC CROSSING. This album saw Stewart moving past the folk and blues of some of his past work, trading it in for some brash saxophones and jumpy R&B-tinged rhythms. AC features a host of well-known Yank studio cats, including guitarist Steve Cropper (whose contribution was also compositional), producer Tom Dowd, and the Memphis Horns, who all lend an able hand in helping Stewart leave his UK roots behind…
How good was Rod Stewart really? The truth is….very good indeed. In his earlier days, he had a grittier and less polished style that suited so many different types of musical genres. He was equally comfortable singing country rock, ballads or out and out rockers…
In some ways, 1973 was a little early for Rod Stewart to release a greatest-hits album, since he had only released four albums to that point. Nevertheless, Sing It Again Rod is a good collection, featuring most of the obvious choices from his first four records…