Customer Reviews

Storyteller: The Complete Anthology 1964-1990

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An offhand comment from a pal ("you know who's never recorded a song I don't like? Rod Stewart!") and a five-disc carousel CD player with four empty slots inspired me to purchase this anthology eleven years ago. (Jeez, has it really been that long?) I slowly drove my college roommate insane (believe me, it was a short trip for her!) with the music as I fell hopelessly in love all at once with the crisp sound of CD technology, Rod's unbearably sexy, raspy voice and the lively, intelligent and pretty damned catchy lyrics of his songs. I already knew many of the songs on Disc 4 from the MTV years as well as some of his bigger hits from earlier years, but I easily came to enjoy the music that filled in the gaps of my familiarity with Rod's musical history.

A totally unexpected bonus completes the package - a fantastic booklet replete with Rod's reminiscences and opinions of each of the compilation's tracks provides some insight into both the man and his music. In it, Rod recounts the story behind the discovery of 'Maggie May' (it was the B-side of another song, a DJ in Cleveland flipped the single over and its popularity - and Rod's career - took off like a rocket) and reveals that 'Maggie' almost didn't make the album in the first place because "nobody liked it"; describes a song as one he "love(s)...to death, even though [he] wrote it"; attempts to clear up a common and persistent misconception about one of his biggest hits; and explains why you probably won't ever hear him perform 'The Killing of Georgie' in concert again (I wouldn't hold my breath to ever hear 'Love Touch' live, either). (If you want more details, you'll just have to lay hands on a copy of the booklet!) He does this all in such engaging, colorful and colloquial language that one feels as though s/he is discussing his oeuvre with him over a few pints at a pub instead of just reading a box set's liner notes. Maybe these recollections simply demonstrate a typically British charm of speech, but I've never read anything quite like them, and certainly never expected anything so articulate (I mean, clever song lyrics are one thing, but...) and intelligent from a popular recording artist like Rod.

All in all, this remains the best musical investment I've ever made. Well, maybe I should say it ties for first with my CD player.

I looked around in record stores to find a greatest hits album by Rod Stewart and could never find a one or two disc set that had all the songs I really wanted on it. Finally I jumped on Amazon and found this outstanding four disc set that has everything any casual fan of Rod Stewart fan would want and then some. And unlike many greatest hits CDs I've purchased, the sound quality is outstanding.

This is definitely a product well worth the price.

Box sets always bring up arguments as to what's missing but there is very little missing from this set. Having every one of Rod''s CDs, the only three missing tracks that I would have put on here are "I Feel The Whole World Go Round" from the 60s band Shotgun Express, "Farewell" from Smiler and "The Wild Horse" from Out of Order. (OK and maybe two or three others!) but overall, the selection was excellent. It puts Rod Stewar in context, and much of the 80s stuff holds up every well to the sacred early 70s stuff. (Rod was always a great singles artist, though some of his albums are really terrible.)

The box set was thrown together very quickly though, and the packaging is weak. The book is thin and flimsy and features just one essay by writer Robert Palmer, who does a good job of praising without going overboard. But Warners always treated Rod Stewart like [...] and this box set deserved a better package.

This set covers the period from 1964 (Good morning little school girl) to 1989 (Downtown Train). Even though the set is titled 1964-1990, the last song was recorded in 1989. The large format book is packed with photographs, an essay by Robert Palmer, and notes on each song, by Rod himself. This is a 4 cd set that no fan of Rod's should be without. You get not only his big hits, but some lesser known songs and album tracks as well.

Rod Stewart is one of the most successful artists in rock history. He is also one of its most diverse. Over the years, Rod has experimented with everything from folk to hard rock to disco to even modern R&B/hip-hop. In 1990, the four disc boxed set "Storyteller" was released to commemorate his first 25 years as a musician. Well, as we know, Rod has released quite a bit of work since then, most of it worth owning. So, how does "Storyteller" hold for a 15 year old compilation? Here are the positives and negatives.

Positives:
-If you want all the best from Rod's first 25 years, than this collection covers the entire spectrum. All of the hits from that period, inlcuding "Maggie May", "Tonight's The Night", "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy", "Young Turks", "Some Guys Have All The Luck" and "Forever Young", to name a few, are all on here.
-As with all boxed sets, there's a wealth of underrated gems and rarities on here. The entire first disc is filled with nothing but them!
-All the songs sound great.
-The liner notes, with an introduction by Robert Palmer and commentaries on each song by Rod himself, plus some nice photos, is excellent.
-Is fairly easy to locate.
-There's a great (then) new version of "I Don't Wanna Talk About It" only available here.
-It's available for about $ 50.00. That may seem expensive, but considering most boxed set can exceed $ 80.00, you get a pretty darn good deal.

Negatives:
-It doesn't contain all the wonderful stuff he did after 1990. So you won't find hit singles like "Rhythm Of My Heart", "The Motown Song" and "Have I Told You Lately" as well as other great stuff on here. However, since this collection was released before all that, it can't really be considered a negative as it was out of the compilers' jurisdiction.
-"I Was Only Joking" is edited. You should never put edited versions on a boxed set.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this boxed set. It is an excellent representation of Rod's best years. For the other excellent pso - 1990 material, download them.

What I would give to spend an evening in the pub with Rod Stewart....
The music speaks for itself, and always has, so I will not comment on that.
What I love about this box is Rod's commentary on each song. Great, revealing, and often hilarious....("wot's this doing 'ere" in response to seeing a version of the Beatles "Get Back" included in the collection, or for "Pinball Wizard" : " I have no comment on my version of this song made famous by the Who" ....HAHAHAHA
The stories behind the recording of tracks for "Every picture..", or the comment about the lack of "lubrication" available when he went into the studio one morning to record "Sailing"...his pokes at Elton John, Britt Eklund....too entertaining for words.
Here's to Rod, the ultimate lad...hoping that one day we "accidentally" cross paths.

Rod is my favorite of all time.I have every album of his either as cd or on vinyl.His early work with the Faces is great,but I enjoy his later cheesy(even disco) songs just as much.All his styles are included in this box set.He's never afraid to try something new or unexpected.

Rock on Rod!!

Storyteller does not contain all of Stewart's best material. In fact, if you want all of Stewart's best songs, then just get his first 4 solo CDs, 4 CDs with The Faces, his CD with Jeff Beck (Truth) and skip Storyteller. I think these 9 CDs - released over just a 4-year period! - rival anything the Stones or Zeppelin ever did.

But if you want to hear a representative overview of his career - the good, the bad, and the ugly - then Storyteller is a good buy. Clearly, Stewart is an excellent singer and very talented, and some of his recent CDs (Vagabond Heart) are respectable, but today is generally hack.

Rod Stewart is a true blues singer that always seems to come alive. This collection consists of that proof, extremely positive. Storyteller marks the 25th anniversary since Rod began as a singer in the 1960's. Every fan will want this collection. It consists of every single track that was a hit. Some songs like Every Beat Of My Heart, and Drive My Car are very hard to find.

It also contains traditional favorites like Forever Young, and Young Turks. As a fan of Rod Stewart, I highly recommend this box set over any other box set ever released. It truly is a reason to believe.

This is a great collection of songs, gassoline alley, cut across shorty, maggie may, tonight's the night, the first cut is the deepest, (the country remake, what's made milwaukee famous,) etc,etc,etc. It really only has one fault. It could have had a couple of more songs from atlantic crossing.

Otherwise, this is the best of the early work.
Highly recomended! 5 stars!