Every Picture Tells a Story

For the Rod Stewart song, see Every Picture Tells a Story (song).
Every Picture Tells a Story
Studio album by Rod Stewart
Released May 1971
Recorded January 1971
Genre Roots rock[1]
Length 40:31
Label Mercury
Producer Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart chronology
Gasoline Alley
(1970)		 Every Picture Tells a Story
(1971)		 Never a Dull Moment
(1972)
Singles from Every Picture Tells a Story
  1. "Reason to Believe" / "Maggie May"
    Released: 1971
  2. "Every Picture Tells a Story"
    Released: 1971 (Spain)
  3. "I Know I'm Losing You"
    Released: 1971

Every Picture Tells a Story is the third album by Rod Stewart, released in the middle of 1971. It incorporates hard rock, folk, and blues styles.[2] It went to number one on both the UK and U.S. charts and finished third in the Jazz & Pop critics' poll for best album of 1971.[3] It has been an enduring critical success, including a number 172 ranking on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time[4] and inclusion in both 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005) and 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008).

History

The album is a mixture of rock, country, blues, soul, and folk, and includes his breakthrough hit, "Maggie May", co-written by classical guitarist Martin Quittenton, as well as "Reason to Believe", a song from Tim Hardin's debut album of 1966. "Reason" had initially been the A-side of the single and "Maggie May" the B-side, until general reaction resulted in their reversal.

The album also included a version of Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right (Mama)" (the first single for Elvis Presley) and a cover of the Bob Dylan song "Tomorrow Is a Long Time," an outtake from Dylan's 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (it would see release on 1971's, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II).

All five members of the Faces (with whom Stewart at that time was lead vocalist) appeared on the album, with guitarist/bassist Ronnie Wood and keyboardist Ian McLagan on Hammond B3 organ being most prominent. Due to contractual restrictions, the personnel listings were somewhat vague, and it was unclear that the full Faces line-up recorded the version of the Motown hit "(I Know) I'm Losing You".[5] Other contributors included Ray Jackson on mandolin (though Stewart forgot his name and merely mentioned "the mandolin player in Lindisfarne" on the sleeve). Micky Waller on drums. Maggie Bell performed backing vocals (mentioned on the sleeve as "vocal abrasives") on the title track, and Madeline Bell sang backup on the next track, "Seems Like A Long Time". Pete Sears played all the piano on the album except for one track, "I'm Losing You" which featured Ian McLagan on piano, along with the Faces as a band.

It reached the number-one position in both the UK (for six weeks) and the US (four weeks) at the same time that "Maggie May" was topping the singles charts in both territories, making Stewart the first artist to achieve such a feat. It has often been voted among the best British albums of all time.

In 1992, the album was awarded the number-one spot in Jimmy Guterman's book The Best Rock 'N' Roll Records of All Time: A Fan's Guide to the Stuff You Love.

Every Picture Tells a Story was ranked 99th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time.

In 2009 the song "Every Picture Tells a Story" was used for the soundtrack of Rockstar Games' "Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned". This album sold 4 million copies worldwide.

The Temptations cover, I Know I'm Losing You reached the top 40, at No. 24 on the US Pop Singles Chart.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauA+[6]
Rolling Stone(average)[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]

In his original Rolling Stone review, John Mendelsohn wrote: "Boring as half of it may be, there's enough that is unqualifiedly magnificent on the other half."[7] However, Robert Christgau gave the album a glowing review for The Village Voice, writing: "Rod the Wordslinger is a lot more literate than the typical English bloozeman, Rod the Singer can make words flesh, and though Rod the Bandleader's music is literally electric it's the mandolin and pedal steel that come through sharpest."[9] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Without greatly altering his approach, Rod Stewart perfected his blend of hard rock, folk, and blues on his masterpiece, Every Picture Tells a Story."[2]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Every Picture Tells a Story" (Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood) – 6:01
  2. "Seems Like a Long Time" (Theodore Anderson) – 4:02
  3. "That's All Right" (Arthur Crudup) – 3:59
  4. "Amazing Grace" (Traditional, arranged by Stewart) – 2:03
  5. "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" (Bob Dylan) – 3:43

Side two

  1. "Henry" (Martin Quittenton) – 0:32
  2. "Maggie May" (Stewart, Quittenton) – 5:16
  3. "Mandolin Wind" (Stewart) – 5:33
  4. "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (Norman Whitfield, Eddie Holland, Cornelius Grant) – 5:23
  5. "Reason to Believe" (Tim Hardin) – 4:06

Notes "Henry" was only printed on the center label of the original vinyl LP release, not on the sleeve. It is also omitted in the track listing of some CD versions, as in some pressings of the album and most Stewart compilations, the "Henry" intro is incorporated into the full "Maggie May" track.

"Amazing Grace" is not listed on the label on most editions, and on some CDs is part of "That's All Right". Its words were actually written by John Newton.

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1971–72) Position
Australian Kent Music Report[10] 1
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[11] 1
Dutch Albums Chart[12] 2
Italian Albums Chart[13] 20
Japanese Oricon LPs Chart[14] 84
Norwegian Albums Chart[15] 9
Spanish Albums Chart[16] 4
Swedish Kvällstoppen Chart[17] 5
UK Albums Chart[18] 1
US Billboard 200[19] 1
West German Media Control Albums Chart[20] 23

Year-end charts

Chart (1971) Position
Australian Albums Chart[10] 17
Dutch Albums Chart[21] 5
Italian Albums Chart[13] 75
UK Albums Chart[22] 2
U.S. Billboard Pop Albums[23] 34
Chart (1972) Position
Australian Albums Chart[10] 23
Dutch Albums Chart[24] 47
U.S. Billboard Pop Albums[25] 65

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[26] Platinum 1,000,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Personnel

[27] Front cover photo: Lisa Margolis

References

  1. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Canongate. p. 1046. ISBN 1841958271. ...the album was a masterclass in roots rock...
  2. 1 2 3 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Every Picture Tells a Story at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2005.
  3. ↑ "The 1971 Jazz & Pop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. 10 February 1972. Retrieved 16 Jul 2011.
  4. ↑ Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. "172 | Every Picture Tells a Story - Rod Stewart". Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1-932958-61-4. OCLC 70672814. Retrieved 16 Jul 2011.
  5. ↑ Liner notes, Faces' The Definitive Rock Collection, Rhino Records, 2007
  6. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Every Picture Tells a Story". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  7. 1 2 Mendelsohn, John (8 July 1971). "Every Picture Tells A Story". Rolling Stone (86). Retrieved 15 Aug 2011.
  8. ↑ "Rod Stewart: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  9. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Every Picture Tells a Story". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  10. 1 2 3 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 16, No. 12". RPM. 6 November 1971. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Rod Stewart – Every Picture Tell a Story" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  13. 1 2 "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 1971" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  14. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  15. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Rod Stewart – Every Picture Tell a Story" (ASP). Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  16. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  17. ↑ "Swedish Charts 1969–1972/Kvällstoppen – Listresultaten vecka för vecka > Augusti 1971 > 10 Augusti" (PDF) (in Swedish). hitsallertijden.nl. Retrieved 3 May 2012. Note: Kvällstoppen combined sales for albums and singles in the one chart; Every Picture Tells a Story ranked at the number-thirteen on the list on 10 August 1971.
  18. ↑ "Rod Stewart > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  19. ↑ "Allmusic: Every Picture Tell a Story : Charts & Awards : Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  20. ↑ "Album Search: Rod Stewart – Every Picture Tell a Story" (ASP) (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  21. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1971" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  22. ↑ "The Official UK Charts Company : ALBUM CHART HISTORY". Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  23. ↑ articles with dead external links%5d%5d%5b%5bCategory:Articles with dead external links from February 2016%5d%5d "Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1971" Check |archiveurl= value (help). billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  24. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1972" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  25. ↑ articles with dead external links%5d%5d%5b%5bCategory:Articles with dead external links from February 2016%5d%5d "Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1972" Check |archiveurl= value (help). billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  26. ↑ "American album certifications – Rod Stewart – Every Picture Tells a Story". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 16 February 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  27. ↑ Rod Stewart- Every Picture Tells a Story @Discogs.com Retrieved 8-13-2011.


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