Remember them basement parties, your brother's karate

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts

14/01/73 : Never A Dull Moment - Rod Stewart


So this year I've already rejected one of his (many) best-ofs and had to suffer a dreadful Faces album, but it seems we've still got time to squeeze yet more Rod into the year - let's just say my expectations aren't sky-high for this.

Well, it's not terrible but it was really rather dull - one track just blended into the next for me.  The only tracks that stood out for me were "You Wear It Well", which I have to admit isn't too bad and "I'd Rather Go Blind" (originally by Etta James) and "Twisting The Night Away" (originally by Sam Cooke), both of which add absolutely nothing to the original.  

We're at #8 in his 25th week of a 36 week run, with it having peaked at #1 for a couple of weeks in 1972 - I don't mind Rod's best tracks, but there are a lot of people out there prepared to forgive him all sorts of nonsense over many years, aren't there?  The top five this week were Gilbert, Slade, Simon & Garfunkel, 20 Fantastic Hits Volume 2 (10 Not Completely Awful Hits and 10 Tracks You've Never Even Heard Of would be a more accurate title) and Donny Osmond and the highest new entry was Carly at #17, so she's the highest lady (and you're never going to guess who takes the honours next week).  There are two more new entries in the chart - Status Quo (#23) and The Temptations (#37) but a simply incredible TWENTY THREE re-entries.   23 out of 50?!?  I assume some kind of post-Xmas thang was going on...

Wikipedia doesn't have an awful lot on the album and most of that tells us that four of the tracks are covers - it does inform us though that the piano on the album was played by Brian.  Good old Brian - I wonder what he's up to these days?  It has no comment on the critical reception, but the commercial reception was incredible.  #2 in the US?  Really?!?  How very odd people were back then (as opposed to now, when everyone is completely normal).

"Customers also listened to" Jeff Beck and Faces and that's your lot.  I guess there's not an awful lot like Rod - and those that love him obviously really love him.  And I don't include myself in their number - I like some of his tracks, but that's all he's getting from me.  And on this album, there was one track that I liked and the rest of it was completely inessential.

07/01/73 - Not the best end to the year
21/01/73 - What?!?  But, wait - this isn't terrible!

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