The Story So Far - Rod Stewart - The Very Best Of (2 cd set)

After reading the ludicrous review of Rod's career, I had to write this review of his latest and greatest. In a similar vain as Atlantic Crossing, with it's Fast and Slow sides these two cd's are labelled 'A Night Out' and 'A Night In'. They cover material from all stages of Rod's illustrious career - a career which has spanned four decades and has seen all of the 'fads' come and go. Rod has stayed current, through the 'early years' of Maggie May, You Wear It Well and Reason to Beleive; through the 'growing years' with Da Ya Think I'm Sexy (the Number One Song of 1979!!!) Hot Legs, Sailing ( a virtual national anthem across the waters and one of only two songs to ever chart twice in the the top 10 in Britain with two seperate releases [the other, for those interested, was David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust]) and Tonight I'm Yours (Don't Hurt Me). They continue with the Rod that most people now know, through hits like Have I told You Lately, All For Love, Every Beat of My Heart,and Downtown Train, to name a few. These dics include other lesser, but equally important and powerful songs, such as Tom Traubert's Blues, Ooh La La and new songs like Don't Come Around Here and I Can't Deny It - what can't be denied is that the wealth of success evidenced in these two cd's (which only scratch the surface of the treasures this singer has given us)cannot be understated. As a live performer he ranks at the top of all singers of all time in Rock 'n Roll - after all of these years he still insures the paying public gets their money's worth and more. As a singer he has both the talent to ferret out songs appropriate to his style and is willing to take chances on lesser known writers. 'Human', his album from last year, captures all of the fire and warmth of early albums like Atlantic Crossing and Never a Dull Moment.
On top of all of that, he is a humanitarian who recognized the plight in Africa long before Live Aid and donated proceeds to the effort there. On Tonight I'm Yours, he dedicates a song to Terry Fox, a young Canadian who lost his leg to cancer and attempted to raise money for Cancer research by running from one coast of Canada to the other, on one good leg and one artificial one. He didn't make it, succumbing to cancer half-way through his trek, but his determination prompted Mr. Stewart to write the absolutely beautiful and touching "Never Give Up On A Dream" and to donate the proceeds to Terry Fox's cause - cancer research.
Don't take my word for it - get out and grab a copy of this 2 cd set - you will not be sorry. It's the type of set that you can listen to over and over again without tiring of it - and best of all, you KNOW all of the songs (okay, maybe 90% the first run through) because, Rod is one of the most played artists on FM in the world. 120,000,000 people can't be wrong (that's the official number of albums he has sold)
ENJOY -