When Rod Stewart released a compilation of his 14 favourite songs
Rod Stewart seems to wear a permanent smile that says, “Life comes easy to me”. Ever since he emerged from the swinging 1960s as a scruffy-haired, gravelly-voiced heartthrob through to the following decade when he fully embraced that moniker, he’s seemed to effortlessly glide through the chapters of his career with relative ease.
While the general direction of his output has followed a relatively popular and mainstream curve, you can’t deny that he has operated with the sort of freedom of someone completely at ease with their own art. It was the sort of self-assurance that lent itself to the boyish charm of ‘Maggie May’ and the bonafide sexuality of ‘Hot Legs’ and allowed Stewart to be the sort of singer who could comfortably occupy those spaces. The latter tune undoubtedly veers on the cringeworthy and serves no real purpose besides getting the blood flowing, but Stewart still backs it.
Explaining, “This is what rock and roll is all about for me: raw, with plenty of fighting guitars, and a steady back beat courtesy of Carmine Appice—known for his short arms and long pockets.”
But while ‘Hot Legs’ represents all things rock and roll for Stewart, it didn’t make the cut when he released a 14-song compilation of his favourite tracks. Released in 1995, Stewart compiled a list of his own standout hits to release to fans, simply titled My Favourite Songs. Opening with ‘Maggie May’ and ending with ‘What’s Made Milwaukee Famous’, the compilation ebbs and flows through the different eras of the Scottish singer.
‘Hot Legs’ wasn’t the only surprising omission from Stewart’s self-made compilation. While he isn’t shy about sharing his love for the bonafide rock and roll tune, he had some strikingly tender musical moments in the 1970s. On his 1976 album A Night on the Town, Stewart carried on proceedings in a suitably sultry fashion with ‘Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright)’ before changing to a more profound tact on the record’s fourth track.
‘The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II)’ is arguably Stewart’s finest lyrical take of all time and tracks him telling the story of homophobia against the backdrop of 1970s New York. In what is a semi-autobiographical tale of one of Stewart’s fellow troubadours, he wrestles between liberalism and conservatism to an almost Dylan-esque effect. “I was certainly influenced by Dylan,” Stewart admitted. “The verse reminds me a bit of ‘Hurricane’, only slower.”
Despite the surprising omission of both aforementioned tracks from A Night on the Town, his 14-song compilation proves what we all thought to be true. Stewart is a lover of music that will put a smile on your face and a boot firmly on the ground, reminiscing the heady days of rock and roll.
