Rod Stewart – An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (C)1969 Mercury 830 572-2 Germany 1995
Artist...............: Rod Stewart Album................: An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down Genre................: Rock Source...............: CD Year.................: 1969 Ripper...............: EAC (Secure mode) / LAME 3.92 & Codec................: Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) Version..............: CUETools 2.1.5 Quality..............: Lossless, (avg. compression: 55 %) Channels.............: Stereo / 44100 HZ / 16 Bit Tags.................: VorbisComment Included.............: NFO, PLS, M3U Covers...............: Front Back CD
Tracklist:
01. Street Fighting Man (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) 05:08 02. Man of Constant Sorrow (Traditional, arranged by Rod Stewart) 02:33 03. Blind Prayer (Stewart) 04:39 04. Handbags & Gladrags (Mike D'Abo) 04:25 05. An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (Stewart) 03:06 06. I Wouldn't Ever Change a Thing (Stewart) 04:46 07. Cindy's Lament (Stewart) 04:28 08. Dirty Old Town (Ewan MacColl) 03:37
00:32:47
Rod Stewart - vocals, guitar on "Man of Constant Sorrow" Ronnie Wood - guitar, bottleneck guitar, bass guitar, harmonica on "Dirty Old Town" Martin Pugh - guitar Mick Waller - drums Ian "Mac" McLagan - piano, organ Mike D'Abo - piano on "Handbags and Gladrags" Keith Emerson - organ on "I Wouldn't Ever Change a Thing" Lou Reizner - vocals on "I Wouldn't Ever Change a Thing"
On his debut album (titled An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down in Britain, and The Rod Stewart Album in America, presumably because its original title was "too English" or cryptic for U.S. audiences), Rod Stewart essays a startlingly original blend of folk, blues, and rock & roll. The opening cover of the Stones' "Street Fighting Man" encapsulates his approach. Turning the driving acoustic guitars of the original inside out, the song works a laid-back, acoustic groove, bringing a whole new meaning to it before escalating into a full-on rock & roll attack -- without any distorted guitars, just bashing acoustics and thundering drums. Through this approach, Stewart establishes that rock can sound as rich and timeless as folk, and that folk can be as vigorous as rock. And he does this not only as an interpreter, breathing new life into Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" and defining Mike d'Abo's "Handbags & Gladrags," but also as a songwriter, writing songs as remarkable as "Blind Prayer," "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down," and "Cindy's Lament." The music and the songs are so vivid and rich with detail that they reflect a whole way of life, and while Stewart would later flesh out this blueprint, it remains a stunningly original vision.