Many people under the age of 45 are unaware that until the mid-70's, Rod Stewart was taken quite seriously. He rather lost his way after that (as did most everyone else), but his first four albums were remarkably original and enduring syntheses of folk, rock, soul and R&B. "Every Picture" and "Never A Dull Moment" stand as his peak achievements. Because "Every Picture" was such a watershed, "Never" tends to get overlooked, but it offers similar rewards and is my personal favorite. Stewart's sublime cover of "I'd Rather Go Blind" alone is worth the price of admission. If you're a Rod Stewart fan, you shouldn't miss it. Enjoy.

On NEVER A DULL MOMENT, Rod Stewart did not stray from the formula of the hugely successful EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY. This is another stunning collection of Faces-style rockers, British folk and soul.

The album kicks off with the raucous "True Blue," which is the only track to feature all of his his Faces' mates. The other two Stewart/Ron Wood-penned songs are the folk rock of "Lost Paraguayos" and the rocker "Italian Girls." The final original is "You Wear It Well," co-written with guitarist Martin Quittenton, his collaborator on "Maggie May." While "You Wear It Well" topped the U.K. charts, it only reached No. 13 in the U.S. The other single (No. 40) was a touching rendition of Jimi Hendrix's "Angel." Other covers include Dylan's "Mama, You Been on My Mind," "I'd Rather Go Blind" and Sam Cooke's "Twistin' the Night Away."

While Stewart would go on to bigger commercial success and superstar status in the late-Seventies, EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY and NEVER A DULL MOMENT are the twin pillars of his career. If you ever wondered why the critics were so unmerciful when he recorded songs like "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" it's because they remembered what an amazing singer/songwriter/interpreter he could be. ESSENTIAL

Before entering the realm of spiky, bottle-blonde hair and pink jumpsuits, Rod Stewart turned out a handful of magnificent folk-rock records, beginning with "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down" (titled "The Rod Stewart Album" in the US), and ending with 1972's "Never A Dull Moment".

"Never A Dull Moment" is essentially a reprise of "Every Picture Tells A Story" with its eclectic mix of rock, folk, blues and country. It may contain fewer recognized classics, but song for song it is almost as sublime as its predecessor.
It is Stewart's hardest-rocking album up to that point, opening with the tough electric "True Blue", and featuring the Stonesy "Italian Girls", a swaggering, bluesy take on Hendrix's "Angel", and the "Maggie May"-follow-up "You Wear It Well". But Rod Stewart is equally magnificent on the driving, acoustic folk-rock of "Lost Paraguayos" and a superb, soulful cover of Dylan's "Mama You Been On My Mind".
"I'd Rather Go Blind" is a masterful interpretation of the Etta James-tune, and the album finally winds down with a great, swinging cover of one of Sam Cooke's best songs, "Twisting The Night Away".

The originals and the covers are equally effective, making "Never A Dull Moment" a masterful record with plenty of highlights and precious few let-downs.
4 1/2 stars. Rod Stewart never got quite this good ever again.

It's not his last great album (that was Smiler). It's his greatest. Rod can be the best rock singer of them all with his ability to be the "guy in the song" (like Sinatra did with pop). That changed with his sex symbol identity in the 70's (sorry, Rod). Give a listen to these songs. He was at the top of his form singing from his soul and not his image. "Mama, you've been on my mind" is the pinacle of his sensitivity (his greatest gift) and with the more fun songs like "Twistin' the night away" he made the song a party (his other gift). This collection of performances showed the best that Rod could be and that's pretty darn good.

How do you make a solo album? Call your band mates. How do you follow up a serious classic album? Make a fun classic album! Step 1: call the Faces, Step 2: Add some awesome studio musicians, Step 3: Rock'n'Roll. One of the most underrated,unabated albums ever recorded, it never disappoints from song 1 to song end. True Blue kicks off the album in a raw and rythmic jam followed by one of the greatest exiles of FM radio the loose rockin' "Lost Paraguayos" where all guitars,vocals,horns,bass & sloppy drums SHINE! Next The Faces make Dylan their own with "Mama You Been on My Mind" and then roar through the infectious riff rock of Italian Girls". A simplified soulful garage rock version of Hendrix's "Angel" keeps the good times rolling. The classic " You Wear it Well" starts the second half of the album which concludes with 2 smokin' remakes: Etta James would be proud of the boy's take on her classic "I'd Rather Go Blind" and next is a get up and party version of Sam Cooke's "Twistin' the Night Away". WARNING this album makes you want to play it over and over again!!!