Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)

Every Picture Tells a Story is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Rod Stewart, released on 28 May 1971, by Mercury Records. It incorporates hard rock, folk, and blues styles. It went to number one on both the UK and US charts and finished third in the Jazz & Pop critics' poll for best album of 1971. It has been an enduring critical success, including being ranked number 172 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", repositioned to number 177 in the 2020 revision.

History

This album is a mixture of rock, country, blues, soul, and folk, and includes Stewart's breakthrough hit, "Maggie May", as well as "Reason to Believe", a song from Tim Hardin's debut album of 1966. "Reason to Believe", with Pete Sears on piano, was released as the first single from the album with "Maggie May" as the B-side; however, "Maggie May" became more popular and was a No. 1 hit in both the UK and US.

The album includes a version of Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right (Mama)" (the first single for Elvis Presley) and a cover of the Bob Dylan song "Tomorrow Is a Long Time", which was first released on 1971's Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II).

All five members of the Faces (with whom Stewart at that time was lead vocalist) appear on the album, with guitarist/bassist Ronnie Wood and keyboardist Ian McLagan on Hammond B3 organ being employed most. Due to contractual restrictions, the personnel listings were somewhat vague, and it was unclear that the full Faces line-up recorded the version of the Motown hit "(I Know) I'm Losing You". Stewart expressly acknowledged at the 2015 Hurtwood Park reunion that on the album the song was performed by the Faces. Other contributors included Ray Jackson on mandolin (though Stewart allegedly forgot his name and merely mentioned "the mandolin player in Lindisfarne" on the sleeve), Martin Quittenton on acoustic guitar, and Micky Waller on drums. Maggie Bell performed backing vocals (mentioned on the sleeve as "vocal abrasives") on the title track, and Madeline Bell sang backup on the next track, "Seems Like A Long Time". Pete Sears played all the piano on the album except for one track, "I'm Losing You", which had Ian McLagan on piano, along with the Faces as a band.

The album reached the number-one position in both the UK (for six weeks) and the US (four weeks) at the same time that "Maggie May" was topping the singles charts in both territories.

The Temptations cover, "I Know I'm Losing You" reached the top 40 at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.

Critical reception and legacy

In his original Rolling Stone review, John Mendelsohn wrote: "Boring as half of it may be, there's enough that is unqualifiedly magnificent on the other half." However, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau gave the album a glowing review, writing: "Rod the Wordslinger is a lot more literate than the typical English bloozeman, Rod the Singer can make words flesh, and though Rod the Bandleader's music is literally electric it's the mandolin and pedal steel that come through sharpest."

A retrospective review by Pitchfork's Tal Rosenberg called it "a rollicking and surprisingly grounded document of early '70s folk-rock".

The album has been an enduring critical success, including a number 172 ranking on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, dropping slightly in a 2020 revised list to number 177. In 1992, the album was awarded the number-one spot in Jimmy Guterman's book The Best Rock 'N' Roll Records of All Time: A Fan's Guide to the Stuff You Love. It was ranked 99th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time.

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Without greatly altering his approach, Rod Stewart perfected his blend of hard rock, folk, and blues on his masterpiece, Every Picture Tells a Story." Writing in The Rough Guide to Rock (1999), Nicholas Oliver wrote that Stewart broke through commercially on "an artistic high", adding that it features well-chosen covers and strong original material. Martin C. Strong of The Great Rock Discography (2006) described the album as the creative pinnacle of Stewart's career, naming it "a masterclass in roots rock." "Mandolin Wind" was highlighted as the best original song by both Oliver and Strong, with Oliver calling it "peerless" and Strong naming it one of Stewart's "most perfectly conceived originals". Tony Parsons of The Observer named it his favourite British album, writing that Stewart "made the best records that Seventies teenagers had ever heard. Great voice, great songs, great haircuts and acoustic guitars that were played like electric guitars."

Personnel

• Rod Stewart – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
• Ronnie Wood – guitar, pedal steel guitar, bass guitar
• Martin Quittenton – acoustic guitar
• Ray Jackson ("the mandolin player in Lindisfarne") – mandolin
• Sam Mitchell – slide guitar
• Andy Pyle – bass guitar