With a voice as distinctive as it is durable, Rod Stewart has carved out a unique niche in the rock and pop world. The guy is an extremely underrated songwriter (partly because he’s extremely self-deprecating about his skills in this department). Throughout his career, he’s also proven that his one-of-a-kind vocals are up for just about any kind of cover song, whether the tracks are already well-known or somewhat obscure. (Although, once Stewart gets hold of them, they tend to not be obscure for much longer.) Let’s take a look at 10 of his most unforgettable cover choices through the years.
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1. ”Reason to Believe” (1971)
Stewart made his definitive take on this track by critically-lauded folkie Tim Hardin an A-side, only to have the B-side, a little song called “Maggie May,” overtake it in popularity. He eventually turned “Reason to Believe” into a hit when he released his Unplugged version in 1993. And in both versions, you get some goose bump-inducing a cappella from Stewart.
2. “(I Know) I’m Losing You” (1971)
Stewart had the guts to take on a song that had already been a hit twice. Motown legends The Temptations put a stamp on it with their original release, thanks to David Ruffin’s gritty lead vocal, and then Rare Earth scored big with a proggy cover. With his Faces buddies backing him, Stewart went scorched-earth with his raucously soulful take.
3. “Handbags and Gladrags” (1972)
Proving that he could slip into baroque pop territory, Stewart gave this song, written by Mike D’Abo of Manfred Mann fame and first recorded by British pop star Chris Farlowe in 1967, a majestic rendering. He captured the heartfelt concerns the narrator has for the style-conscious girl at the heart of the narrative, while the strings bring the pomp and circumstance.
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4. “I Don’t Want to Talk About It” (1977)
Danny Whitten wrote and performed this song with Crazy Horse in 1971 but died just a year later. (His death was the inspiration for Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done.”) Others took it on, but, as he often did, Stewart managed to give it the definitive spin, as he evoked all the loneliness in the lyrics in effortless fashion.
5. “The First Cut Is the Deepest” (1977)
The earliest versions of this track, written by Cat Stevens, came out a decade before Stewart gave it a go. In this case, he wisely plays it close to the vest and lets the strength of Stevens’ melody do a lot of the work. Sheryl Crow would later do pretty well with her own version of this resilient song. But Stewart had the most success, rising to the top in the UK despite it being released in a prime era for punk.
6. “Some Guys Have All the Luck” (1984)
This track sounded so at home in the ‘80s that many might have missed that it was a minor hit a decade earlier by The Persuaders, an R&B group. Robert Palmer also squeezed out a UK hit with this one in ’82. Stewart was right at home in this pop-soul setting, and even busted out some nifty dance moves in the video.
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7. “Downtown Train” (1989)
The story goes that both Bob Seger and Stewart had the idea to cover this Tom Waits ballad at right around the same time. Stewart was quicker to the draw and reaped the benefits, and Seger’s version wouldn’t see the light of day for another decade or so. In any case, Stewart managed to highlight the urgency of the melody in a way that Waits might not have anticipated, taking the track all the way to the No. 1 spot in the U.S.
8. “Broken Arrow” (1991)
Ever the champion of great songwriters, Stewart gravitated to this Robbie Robertson track. Robertson didn’t often write love songs with The Band, but he did so when he delivered “Broken Arrow” on his first solo album in 1987. As was the case with “Downbound Train,” Stewart wasn’t afraid to go for the broke with the melody in a way that the original writer probably wouldn’t have tried.
9. “Leave Virginia Alone” (1995)
This is an interesting one in that Stewart was covering a song that hadn’t really been released yet. Tom Petty had penned it for Wildflowers, which was released in 1994, but decided to leave it on the cutting-room floor. Thus, Stewart took a shot at it a year later and delivers an outstanding depiction of one of Petty’s finely-judged character sketches.
10. “These Foolish Things” (2002)
Say what you want about Stewart’s decision to dive into the Great American Songbook, but it’s hard to argue against the fact that he chooses the material well and delivers the covers with taste and touch. “These Foolish Things” was the first single from the first of his standards albums, and it expertly set the tone for all that was to come in that department from Stewart.
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