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«With his inimitable gravely voice, his one-of-the-lads demeanor, and
longtime reputation as a master showman, Rod Stewart became one of the true superstars of the '70s. A onetime soccer
player, gravedigger, and street singer, Stewart began his career with U.K.
singer Long John Baldry's group the Hoochie Coochie Men in 1964, moved on to
later groups such as Steampacket and Shotgun Express, and established
himself internationally in 1968 as lead vocalist of the Jeff Beck Group.
Before leaving, he signed a solo deal with Mercury Records that would lead
to 1971's international No. 1 smash «Maggie May»; at the same time, he and
Beck Group bassist Ronnie Wood became key members of reconstituted '60s pop
group the Small Faces. By the time the Faces disbanded in 1975, Stewart was
an enormously successful solo act and has continued making top 10,
platinum-selling albums well into the '90s. While Stewart's brilliance as an
interpretive singer has often been the major focus of his acclaim - indeed,
many think his readings of Cat Stevens's «The First Cut Is The Deepest» and
Danny Whitten's «I Don't Want To Talk About It» are definitive - his
songwriting skills are in many ways critically undervalued.»
(Source:
Launch)
«Rod Stewart may have began his career as a respected singer, yet that
respect eroded as he got older, as he became more concerned with stardom
than music. While he has recorded some terrible albums - and he would admit
that freely - Stewart was once rock & roll's best interpretive singer, as
well as an accomplished songwriter, creating a raw combination of folk,
rock, blues and country that sounded like no other folk-rock or
country-rock. Instead of finding the folk in rock, he found how folk rocked
like hell on its own. After he became successful, he began to lose the
rootsier elements of his music, yet he remained a superb singer, even as
Stewart abandoned his own artistic path in favor of following pop trends...»
(Source:
All Music Guide)
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Concert photography: © Helge Øverås. Must not be used without permission. |
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