song of the day: april 30/2011

Rod Stewart - Handbags & Gladrags
Album: The Rod Stewart Album [1969]

on his debut album (titled "an old raincoat won't ever let you down" in britain, , 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 the song 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. former manfred mann singer mike d'abo wrote "handbags and gladrags" in the mid-'60s, originally giving the song to chris farlowe, whose 1967 single didn't live up to the rather lovely tune's potential. a few other, even less successful covers appeared over the next two years, until rod stewart recorded the definitive version of the song on this album. this is easily the most sensitive reading of the song available, as well as one of stewart's most nuanced performances, featuring a tightly reined-in lead vocal that keeps the somewhat melodramatic lyrics from descending too far. similarly, the arrangement (courtesy of d'abo, who also plays the prominent piano figure) adds tasteful woodwinds in place of the full orchestral swells of farlowe's version; in its piano-based simplicity, this version of "handbags and gladrags" sounds like a precursor of the simple, largely acoustic pop of elton john's first few albums. the song has remained primarily associated with stewart in the decades since its release, although it did reappear in the early 2000s as the suitably downbeat theme to ricky gervais' cult british sitcom "the office".

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