This is a very good compilation, even if incomplete. No one disc can contain all of Rod Stewart's hits, so you may want to get another of his greatest hit CDs, to supplement some songs that aren't on this CD. Strictly speaking, though, this CD has many great songs and I highly recommend it.

I WOULDN'T SAY THAT THIS IS THE PERFECT INTRODUCTION TO A ARTIST OF SUCH CALIBRE(EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY OR NEVER A DULL MOMENT WOULD TAKE THAT SLOT)BUT IT IS STILL A DETAILED PICTURE OF WHO ROD STEWART IS. ROD STEWART IS AN ARTIST WHO CAN TAKE AN ESTABLISHED SONG AND RECREATE IT TO THE POINT THAT IT FEELS AS IF YOU ARE HEARING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME THEN HE CAN TURN AROUND AND CREATE A MASTER COMPOSITION FROM HIS OWN PEN. PERFECT EXAMPLES OF HIS INTERPRETIVE POWERS ARE THE CURTIS MAYFIELD GOSPEL PLEA OF "PEOPLE GET READY" WHICH SOARS WITH A NEW SOULFUL ROCK EDGE COMPLEMENTED BY THE INSPIRED RIFF MASTERY OF ROD'S OLD MATE JEFF BECK. ROD THEN TAKES TOM WAITS "DOWNTOWN TRAIN" AND BOOSTS THE MELODIC POTENTIAL RESULTING IN A CONTAGIOUS POP GEM BRIMMING WITH AN ECSTATIC ENTHUSIASM. "TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT"(A ROD ORIGINAL)IS A LAID BACK SLICE OF LYRICAL AND MUSICAL SEDUCTION("THE SECRET IS ABOUT TO UNFOLD...UPSTAIRS BEFORE THE NIGHTS TOO OLD CAUSE' TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT!)THAT WILL HAVE YOU SINGING ALONG TO ITS INFECTIOUS CHARM. ROD THEN TACKLES A KALEIDOSCOPE OF EMOTIONS FROM THE BALLAD HEARTBREAK DENIAL OF "I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT" TO THE DON'T GIVE UP COURAGEOUS VISION OF "YOUNG TURKS"("DON'T LET THEM PUT YOU DOWN DON'T LET THEM PUSH YOU AROUND"). DOWNTOWN TRAIN ALSO FEATURES THE SUNNY AND UPLIFTING "THIS OL' HEART OF MINE" WITH RON ISLEY AND THE DISCO POP FLAVORED YEARNINGS OF "PASSION". SO KICK OFF THOSE SHOES AND DISCONNECT THE TELEPHONE LINE... JUST RELAX BABY (TO QUOTE THE ROD MEISTER) AND ENJOY A TRIP ON THAT DOWNTOWN TRAIN. YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!

O.F.

If you've been contemplating Rod Stewart lately...it's sad: he's doing slimy faux-"Rat pack" crap. But if you want to go back to when his testosterone was quite obvious, get either the "Story Teller" Anthology thing, and if you can't afford THAT, get his "Greatest Hits" and then this "Selections." The only thing you'll miss out on is a version of "To Love Somebody" that Rod did with the greatest rock and roll band of all time (excepting the Stones), Booker T & The MG's. Your choice, your money...

Rod Stewart has now had TONS of hits compilations. Around 1990, he released the Storyteller box set, an extremely comprehensive (up till then) career-spanning hits collection which had pretty much all you could want and more, (except a few album tracks) unless you were a die hard. To go along with that, they also released this much smaller (1 CD/Tape) version.

Even though the box set covered his mid 60's to 1990 material, this set pretty much focuses on the late 70's to '90. Nowaday's I'd recommend it as a sampler of the era. Alot is missing, but it pretty much covers his most popular radio hits.

1. Stay With Me -- The only 'old' track included. In fact, he did it with the Faces, I think. Barroom sounding hard/classic rock & roll which paved the way for later hits.

2. Tonight's The Night -- Mid 70's softer rock ballad which is still famous today. The lyrics were slightly controversial at the time too. Sounds a bit like what James Taylor might do for a love song if he were a rocker.

3. Killing of Georgie -- A mid tempo disco influenced, longer track. Somewhat catchy in sound, but a bit sad in style about a gay friend of Rod's who was beaten to death.

4. Passion -- One of his earliest MTV videos was made for this dance/pop tune which came at the tail end of the disco era. Catchy but not overly memorable.

5. Young Turks -- This is one of my favorites. Rod narrates the story of two teenage lovers on the run, which almost sounds like a country song, but it's an extremely catchy synth/new wave rocker.

6. Infatuation -- The lesser known 1984 hit from the Camouflage album. Retains a slightly hard rock sound (like the guitar solo), just synthesized and poppy. Very underrated.

7. People Get Ready -- The balladish rock cover with Jeff Beck on guitar is presented in regular studio version here. It also was never previously available on a RS album, making it a highlight.

8. Forever Young -- Rod makes his first move into the Adult Contemporary status with this relaxed 1988 rock tune about telling someone to do as they want in life, and they'll always be...yep. Still good, but hearing "lite rock" stations play it to death has kinda ruined it's effect for me.

9. My Heart Can't Tell You No -- Another similar softer rocker, but now he wants a girl to go away, but he can't quite tell her so. It's not nearly as overplayed as "FY" and more unique sounding, so it's the better of the two.

10. I Don't Want to Talk About it -- The first of the 3 "new" songs. This updated (1989) version of an older song is just set to a (then) current soft rock synthesized sound. This is a bit pointless, since I don't really care for either version of the song.

11. This Old Heart of Mine -- Another dance pop/rocker with Ron Isley. Still has a bit of that new soft rock sound, but a bit more lively. Good but not great.

12. Downtown Train -- The song this collection was named after starts out as a moody ballad and turns into a mid tempo pop tune much in the "Out of Order" style.

Well, basically, I can't argue that obviously there are many hits missing, even in the shorter period covered. If this was only intended to be a sampler, I think it would've been a better idea to cram it with bigger hits.

Possibly take off "Killing of Georgie" and the new "I Don't Wanna Talk About it," and from the late 70s, include the hard rocking "Hot Legs," and the disco themed "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy." From the 80's, bigger rock hits like "Love Touch" "Tonight I'm Yours," the cover of "All Right Now," and especially the super catchy dance pop of "Some Guys Have All the Luck" is missed.

I also think it relied a little too heavily on the soft side of Rod, with only three songs being rockers to any extent (tracks 1, 5, 6). Adding some of the afforementioned songs would've helped round that out. Still, fot what is here, it's pretty good.

Rod Stewart recorded most of his best music in the late 60s and early 70s. By the middle of the Me Decade, his work was already beginning to show the signs of fatigue that would eventually lead to his artistic irrelevance. That said, "Downtown Train," makes a nice companion piece to "The Mercury Anthology," the double disc collection that contains all of his best early stuff. The two together are easily a better value than the "Storyteller" anthology itself.

The best inclusion is "Stay With Me," the nasty little pop gem Stewart recorded with The Faces that is left off of most of his anthology albums. Also strong are his mid-70s ballad "Tonight's the Night," the disco era hit "Passion," the new wavish "Young Turks" and his fine Jeff Beck 80s collaboration "People Get Ready." On the downside is an inferior updated version of "I Don't Want to Talk About it" and the exclusion of the hits "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and "Hot Legs." Also on the downside is a flimsy CD booklet that contains no lyrics.

Overall, a passable collection of Rod Stewart tunes that was originally put together to highlight the title track.