The Best of Rod Stewart, Vol. 2

The Best of Rod Stewart doesn’t include all of the red-topped rocker’s most familiar songs; in fact, this package only draws upon his 1969-75 output as a Mercury Records artist. Fundamentally, though, what’s contained here is the most exciting and adventurous music of Stewart’s career. These recordings are shot through with randy spirit, boozy humor, and warm-hearted sentiment, with Rod wailing with hoarse-throated abandon as his backup group careens behind him. Roadhouse R&B is blended with pub-seasoned British folk in ways that still dazzle and inspire. Tunes like “Maggie May,” “You Wear it Well,” and “Gasoline Alley” are at once lyrically witty, melodically graceful, and rhythmically irresistible. Rod comes across as one of pop’s great character actors, romping through “Every Picture Tells a Story” like a mischievous schoolboy, then speaking with the rueful voice of age on “Handbags and Gladrags.” And for flat-out primal rock, “It’s All Over Now” matches anything from its era. Acoustic guitars, mandolins and fiddles add mightily to the scrappy, freewheeling atmosphere of the tracks. Stewart went on to release other records of merit, but nothing has ever quite touched the joyous heights he reached during his Mercury years.