In addition to Rod Stewart's solo work, this pages compiles bands that Rod Stewart was the lead singer of such as the Jeff Beck Group and Faces. I began listening to these albums in May 2021. In mid-2024, I listened to the Face’s predecessor, the Small Faces.
The Jeff Beck Group: Truth (1968): C
The Jeff Beck Group: Beck-Ola (1969): C+
An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (1969): A-
Faces: First Step (1970): C+
Gasoline Alley (1970): A-
Faces: Long Player (1971): B-
Every Picture Tells a Story (1971): A
Faces: A Nod Is as Good as a Wink... to a Blind Horse (1971): A-
Never a Dull Moment (1972): A-
The Jeff Beck Group: Truth (1968):
Despite the star-studded cast, the only great moments on the album come from Jeff Beck when he is trekking new ground on his guitar, often during solos. The songwriting is awful--the three Beck-Stewart songs are the album's most forgettable cuts--and the blues covers suffer from static arrangements and Stewart's vocals, which are passionate to the point of pretentiousness. Which leaves only two songs: the Yardbirds' song "Shape of Things" and "Beck's Bolero," which are superb examples of 60s hard rock and blues guitar. Truth will, perhaps rightly, remain on vinyl shelves of guitarists who admire Jeff Beck's technique and tout the album's influence for years to come, but the rest of us will get a better kick out of Cream, Beck's former group The Yardbirds, and Led Zeppelin's first two records, none of which I ever revisit. C
The Jeff Beck Group: Beck-Ola (1969):
That many will pin the stylistic shift on the influence of Led Zeppelin's first release--and Rod Stewart does sound more like Robert Plant now--neglects the major source of refinement in the band's work: significant contributions of pro-session pianist Nicky Hopkins. His instrumental song "Girl from Mill Valley" takes the cake for best song on the album and his playing elsewhere spices up and enhances Beck's virtuoso talents. Where Hopkins doesn't play, Beck leads the band in a heavier direction and it's certainly better instrumentally, but dammit these nitwits haven't gotten any better at songwriting--"Just like water down the drain, I'm wasting away/And oh, doctors can't help, a ghost of a man, that's me" is as confusing as covering Elvis in this genre. C+
Although he might have been simply following the lead of the Rolling Stones' return to roots rock with their 1968 album Beggars Banquet--a hypothesis reinforced by the fact he opens the album with "Street Fighting Man"--Rod Stewart's attempt to return to the basics is remarkably unique and original. The acoustic guitar and piano become a vibrant basis of the album and the originals fit nicely next to "A Man of Constant Sorrow." No longer fronting a hard rock band where his voice was used mostly for shrills, Stewart's sandpaper voice is at home in the more lowkey environment and, interestingly, more capable of acing those howls when necessary. A remarkably tasteful beginning to a solo career. A-
Faces: First Step (1970):
I'll cut the band some slack since it's their first record together but so far they've proved to be a pitifully boring R&B band. Most of the soloing is constricted, thin, and unexpressive and, even when the songwriting is decent, Rod Stewart--like he was with the Jeff Beck Group--sounds stylistically at odds with the band behind him. Some of the tracks end up working anyway but the only decent one is the banjo-driven "Stone," which is too long and which Stewart doesn't sing. On top of that, there's a disgraceful duet, two instrumental tracks that go nowhere, and five young men with terrible haircuts on the cover. C+
Gasoline Alley (1970):
Gasoline Alley continues the confusing road of Stewart's career. Where legendary guitarist Jeff Beck couldn't make Stewart's voice fitting for his life, Stewart is able to break free with a mandolin and acoustic guitar that renders his voice so tasteful it's astonishing. The arrangements are no less pleasant or transformative, polishing Dylan's long forgotten "Only a Hobo" into a ready-made classic and turning the Faces into a band of chemistry and real style. While several covers on an album can sometimes be a sign of a lull in creativity, the covers are the backbone of Stewart's records and I can't hide my enthusiasm to hear Stewart's interpretations. A-
Faces: Long Player (1971):
Certainly an improvement to their debut, the album showcases more chemistry and better jamming. But like many other bands around this time, the Faces might be surprised to learn that you can also play it fast and short, not just long. Equally irksome is the lousy songwriting. As proven by Rod Stewart's solo albums, there are strong songwriters in the band but it is becoming more apparent that the subpar quality of the Faces' first two records has a lot to do with the fact that the best songs Stewart writes with the band are kept for his solo albums. I can't name a song I recommend you listen to--maybe their cover of "Maybe I'm Amazed" but I'm starting to dislike Ronnie Lane's singing. B-
Every Picture Tells a Story (1971):
Other than being slightly more hard-rocking than his two previous solo albums (because the Faces finally kick ass), Every Picture Tells a Story is the same blend of country, rock, blues, and folk but the songwriting and selection of covers are better and the recording is magnificent. The eclectic instrumental variety is the real treat of the record--the slide guitar on "That's All Right," the violin on "Tomorrow Is a Long Time," the fluttering organ on "(Find A) Reason to Believe," and the mandolin on "Maggie May" and "Mandolin Wind" all help make this a breezy and timeless classic. But it's also Stewart's impassioned vocals that make "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" one of the best Dylan covers of all time, "(I Know) I'm Losing You" a rocker worth remembering, and that allow him waltz through the lyrics of "Maggie May" perfectly. A
Faces: A Nod Is as Good as a Wink... to a Blind Horse (1971):
Even though I always enjoyed the Faces' contributions to Rod Stewart's solo albums (and still regard their early albums as generally weak), this is their first I've come to appreciate the uniqueness of the band's sound. Now that they shortened the length of their songs and sped up the tempo, their original approach to rock thrives. The only weak point of the album is two lead vocals from Ronnie Lane though his third attempt, "Debris," is just about as good as anything Stewart has ever leant his voice to. A-
Never a Dull Moment (1972):
When I screwed up and listened to this three or four times before A Nod, I was sure this was a mediocre track-list with a terrible Dylan cover. It immediately proved much better after I reviewed A Nod, so much so that it slowly (around a year after I first reviewed it) became my second favorite solo record from Stewart. After exploring roots music for his first three albums, he utilizes that background to produce his first solo rock record, where there are killer riffs and hooks throughout. A-
