WIWS Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

Wake Up, Maggie: Mercury Compiles Rod Stewart's Early "Rarities" On 2 CDs

August 1, 2013 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Rod Stewart - RaritiesEarlier this year, Rod Stewart released Time, marking the return of Stewart the songwriter. Time found the one-time Mod in reflective mode. Rolling Stone praised its “lighthearted warmth” while The Guardian noted its “wistful, nostalgic love songs [and] thoughtful divorce laments.” Clearly, Stewart had found some inspiration following a decade-long sojourn into the Great American Songbook, classic rock and soul tracks, and even holiday music. These “covers” collections left many critics cold but were unquestionably successful, and among the most commercially rewarding music of Stewart’s long career. Still, it was a breath of fresh air in 2009 when Warner Bros. and Rhino celebrated his early sound with The Rod Stewart Sessions. The 4-CD box set produced by Cheryl Pawelski and Andy Zax premiered 63 unreleased recordings spanning a 25-year period of creativity. Mercury is revisiting that set with the September 3 release of Rarities, a new 2-CD, 24-track anthology. Rarities reprises 12 tracks from Sessions and adds other singles and one-offs, plus two previously unreleased live radio recordings.

The 12 tracks originally issued on Sessions represent alternates and early versions of songs from Stewart’s third, fourth and fifth solo LPs Every Picture Tells a Story (1971), Never a Dull Moment (1972) and Smiler (1974). An early version of Stewart’s signature hit “Maggie May” and an alternate of the Brewer and Shipley-penned “Seems Like a Long Time” represent Every Picture, produced by the singer and featuring the Faces save Ronnie Lane and Kenney Jones. Ron Wood, Andy Pyle and Danny Thompson took over bass from Lane, and Mick Waller stepped in for Jones on drums. Guitarist Martin Quittenton was another major player, co-writing “Maggie May” and helping to shape Stewart’s sound with his acoustic tone.

Never a Dull Moment (an accurate title if there ever was one) picked up where its predecessor left off, and featured much of the same crew plus Jones and Lane. From this album, Rarities includes embryonic versions of its biggest hit “You Wear It Well” (like “Maggie,” written by Stewart and Quittenton) and “Italian Girls,” plus a stripped-down alternate of “Los Paraguayos” and unique takes of two covers: the Etta James scorcher “I’d Rather Go Blind” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Angel.”

1974’s Smiler didn’t repeat the acclaim of Stewart’s past work, but the songs from its sessions heard on Rarities make a strong case for the LP. Stewart and Quittenton’s strong “Farewell” is a bit longer than the final album version. A Rod Stewart/Ron Wood composition, “Think I’ll Pack My Bags,” was never completed for Smiler, but turned up with new lyrics as “Mystifies Me” on Wood’s 1974 solo album I’ve Got My Own Album to Do… with Rod on backing vocals. “So Tired,” written by the solo Stewart, was originally recorded for Smiler but remained unreleased until 1995’s Handbags and Gladrags compilation. It’s heard twice on Rarities: once in the rough Sessions version and once in the Handbags version. The song’s evolution can also be charted with the alternate lyric of “Missed You.” That track, too, premiered in 1995 and is included here. Also from Handbags: outtakes “You Put Something Better Inside Me” and “Crying Loving Laughing Lying,” and a summer 1973 take of Cole Porter’s 1944 standard “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” that anticipates Stewart’s Great American Songbook recordings by nearly 30 years. Rounding out the Smiler tracks are alternates of Carole King and Gerry Goffin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Man” and Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country.”

What else will you find on Rarities? Hit the jump for more, plus the full track listing and pre-order links!

Rarities also includes both sides of the 1973 single “Oh No, Not My Baby” and “Jodie” (the A-side another Goffin and King tune!), the B-side “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me),” Stewart’s performance of The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” from the all-star symphonic album of Tommy, and two unreleased tracks. Both “Maggie May” and Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Country Comfort” were recorded by Stewart with the Faces for BBC Radio One, and make their commercial debuts on this new set.

Stewart diehards will likely own everything on this set except for the two unreleased radio tracks, but for those collectors who don’t already own The Rod Stewart Sessions and Reason to Believe: The Complete Mercury Studio Recordings (which includes all of the Handbags tracks and singles but not the Sessions material), Rarities is a reasonable introduction to Stewart’s alternate history. It arrives from Mercury Records on September 3 and can be pre-ordered below!

Rod Stewart, Rarities (Mercury, 2013) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1

  1. It’s All Over Now (Single Version)
  2. Country Comfort (BBC Radio One Performance)
  3. Maggie May (Early Version)
  4. Seems Like a Long Time (Alternate Version)
  5. Los Paraguayos (Alternate Version)
  6. Italian Girls (Early Version)
  7. You Wear It Well (Early Version)
  8. I’d Rather Go Blind (Alternate Version)
  9. Angel (Alternate Version)
  10. What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)
  11. Pinball Wizard
  12. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (Summer 1973 Sessions)

CD 2

  1. Oh No, Not My Baby
  2. Jodie
  3. So Tired
  4. Missed You
  5. Think I’ll Pack My Bags (Early Version of “Mystifies Me”)
  6. Girl from the North Country (Alternate Version)
  7. (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Man (Alternate Version)
  8. Farewell (Early Version)
  9. So Tired (Early Version)
  10. You Put Something Better Inside of Me
  11. Crying Laughing Loving Lying
  12. Maggie May (BBC Radio One Performance)

CD 1, Track 1 from Mercury single 73095, 1970
CD 1, Track 2 & CD 2, Track 12 previously unreleased
CD 1, Tracks 3-9 and CD 2, Tracks 5-9 originally released on The Rod Stewart Sessions 1971-1998, Warner Bros. R2 519758, 2009
CD 1, Track 10 from Mercury single 6052.198, 1972
CD 1, Track 11 from Tommy, Ode Records SP 99001, 1972,/Sing It Again, Rod, Mercury SRM-1-680, 1973
CD 1, Track 12 & CD 2, Tracks 3-4, 10-11 originally released on Handbags and Gladrags, Mercury 528 823-2, 1995
CD 2, Tracks 1-2 from Mercury single 73426, 1973

Categories: News Tags: Rod Stewart

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

Connect With Joe: FacebookTwitter

You Might Also Like

  • Joni Mitchell Archives Vol 2Release Round-Up: Week of November 12
  • Rod Stewart Tears of HerculesShort Takes: More David Bowie Albums Come to Warner Music, Rod Stewart Announces New Album
  • Rod Stewart 1975 1978Release Round-Up: Week of June 4
  • almost famous ostHold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer: Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous" Soundtrack Gets Mega-Expansion

Comments

  1. Brian from Canada says

    August 1, 2013 at 1:27 pm

    A decent set, but I am wondering where the original post-Sessions titles vanished to. At the time, Rod's camp was saying there's be two disc editions of Footloose & Fancy Free and Blondes Have More Fun, a digital-only two disc Out Of Order… and, most important: a four disc box set of live recordings from various tours!

    Reply
  2. Christopher says

    August 9, 2013 at 1:57 pm

    Isn't this: Maggie May (BBC Radio One Performance) already available on the Faces box set: Five Guys Walk Into A Bar...?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Liza Live in New York 1979
    Live in New York 1979: The Ultimate Edition
    Liza Minnelli
    July 01, 2022
  • Rusty The Resurrection of Rust
    The Resurrection of Rust
    Rusty
    July 01, 2022
  • Watermelon Man OST
    Watermelon Man: Music from the Original Soundtrack
    Melvin Van Peebles
    July 01, 2022
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,463 other subscribers

Popular

  • record store day logo5
    The Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day Drop 2: Our Essential Picks posted on June 17, 2022 | under News
  • Christine McVie Songbird
    Release Round-Up: Week of June 24 posted on June 24, 2022 | under Release Round-Up
  • Stream
    The Weekend Stream: June 25, 2022 posted on June 25, 2022 | under Features, The Weekend Stream

Comments

  • small faces here come the nice2
    Return To Itchycoo Park: Small Faces' "Here Come The Nice" Deluxe Box Set Arrives In January [UPDATED 12/3] 84 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 3, 2013 | under News
  • the beatles u s albums box2
    British Invasion! The Beatles Unveil "The U.S. Albums" Box Set in January 69 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 12, 2013 | under News
  • Rolling Stones in Mono
    Out of Their Heads: Stones Plan Mono Box Set 47 comments | by Mike Duquette | posted on August 10, 2016 | under News

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popblerd
  • Popdose
  • Record Racks
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Viva La Mainstream
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Resonance Records
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2022 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy