Rod Stewart: The Classic years

On October 1^st a new book Rod Stewart: The Classic Years by Sean Egan is released, Obviously you can tell from the title the book will concentrate on the seventies and early eighties, Sean  has interviewed at length many of Rod’s colleagues, collaborators, and cohabitees from the period, including musicians Micky Waller, Pete Sears, Ray Jackson, Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones, and Jim Cregan, recording engineer Mike Bobak, manager Billy Gaff, and Stewart’s then-girlfriend and muse Dee Harrington.

The book really is a great read and SMILER caught up with Sean to find out what inspired his book and his personal thoughts on one of popular music’s most important artists 

When you first thought of writing the book did you approach it as a fan, a journalist or a critic?

All three really. I’m a fan in as much as Every Picture Tells a Story is one of my favorite albums. I genuinely believe it’s one of the ten greatest albums ever made. However, when you become a journo, you have to put that kind of thing aside to an extent and you have to be professional and refrain from gushing. So I praise Rod where he deserves it and slag him or his music off where he deserves it.

What made you choose Rod as a subject ?

I guess because I’ve pretty much written books about all my other favorite artists. Also, one acquires a certain amount of knowledge from knowing an artist’s catalogue so well, so research is not so onerous. I also had a handy archive of Rod-related interviews because I’d already written a magazine feature about Every Pictures Tells a Story.

For a short while in the 70’s the Faces were at least as good as the Stones if not better. Do you agree?

On stage maybe, and they were very similar bands in that respect. On record, no. It’s one of the biggest mysteries in music why such a talented band could never get it together to make a classic album. Or maybe it isn’t. The Faces had no real work ethic. You’re not going to make a classic album if you’re nipping down the pub all the time.

Did they split up too early?

Insofar as they split before they could make a great album, yes. But there again, how long do you need? How many goes do you get? Also, Tetsu was no Ronnie Lane, so that moment had probably passed. Mind you, ‘You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything’ was fabulous and that was their last record.

Rod’s Mercury albums were pretty unique, nobody was really doing what Rod was doing. Do you think this is why they were and still are held with such high regard?

Definitely. Even Ronnie Lane – who obviously wasn’t his best friend – had to admit that Rod had managed to do what he wanted to do, and so many others: a perfect synthesis of folk and rock, taking the best qualities from each. Of course, on top of that are great songs, great performances. And on top of that, a great voice. Just a confluence of ingredients and circumstances all occurring at the right time.

What do you think of Rod the songwriter?

It’s really odd, because he’s never been prolific and we always assume that great songwriting is a numbers game: i.e., you have to crank them out to come up with great ones. He had the ability to write classic songs even though he didn’t compose a vast number of songs. Not many can do that. His writing is also underrated. His early fans – I mean people who gave up on him after Smiler or Atlantic Crossing – don’t want to admit it, but stuff like ‘The Killing of Georgie’, ‘You’re in My Heart’, ‘I Was Only Joking’ are just as good as, say, ‘Maggie May’.

Critics gave Rod stick for moving on and having a slight change of direction on Atlantic Crossing and A Night On The Town but you don’t agree?

That Mercury formula that had worked so well had kind of collapsed by the time of Smiler. I don’t know why. Maybe it was getting too self-conscious. Maybe it was time to move on to something slicker. Having said that, I can’t stand Atlantic Crossing, a few tracks excepted. He got it right on A Night on the Town, though, which is a great album. Forever tainted of course by the cover photograph, but he didn’t know punk was round the corner.

What about the ‘Sexy’ Blondes Have More Fun period? It brought him more fans than ever but also a lot of the original Faces fans gave up on him.

It seemed to be a switch of demographic. Male rock fans to female pop fans. He changed as an artist and as a person, so it’s logical that his fanbase changed. Although of course many fans stayed with him as well.

So does it surprise you that so many fans have stuck with Rod for all these years, some for over 50 years?

I have to say, yes. Personally, I can’t understand the lack of discernment whereby the long-term fans can’t see the difference in quality between, say, Every Picture Tells a Story and – I don’t know – Foolish Behaviour. It feels like they just love the voice and the charisma and as long as those things are there, that’s enough for them. From my point of view, his days of greatness or any semblance of greatness ended round about Tonight I’m Yours-time. Although that’s partly to do with the fact that I hate modern, synthy instrumentation and modern plasticky production techniques and Rod of course has embraced those things. It’s admirable in a way that he’s kept up with the times, but it’s not for me, and for old rockers who like organic tones.

While you were researching your book did you learn anything about Rod’s personality that you didn’t previously know or change opinions on anything about him?

Jim Cregan surprised me by telling me how lovingly he works on his train modelling. I sort of knew it already, but not the incredibly intricate detail he puts into the buildings and backgrounds the trains go through. He feels Rod is so talented at that that he could have been a film-set designer. Also, Dee Harrington basically told me Rod is one of the most intelligent people she’s ever met. Generous as well, despite cultivating that tightwad image.

In my opinion Rod has become one of the most famous names in music history, one of the greatest voices, one of the best front men, he is still one of the best live acts around even if it has now become a nostalgia show and  when he wants to be, a great songwriter. Speaking as Sean Egan author of Rod Stewart: The Classic Years,  are you happy the way Rod has ended up or do you think he should be more like say..Robert Plant?

I’m never happy with the way classic rockers end up. They all go into a long, slow decline. Maybe you could say that Bob Dylan and Neil Young are exceptions in that they at least try to do something different and challenging even in their dotage. But Rod is like the Stones and the ex-Beatles and Bowie, etc. etc: they all do their best work in their twenties. There’s just something about the medium of rock or pop that engenders that. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, though. He’s made some of the greatest music of all time and not many artists can claim to have done that.

Sean Egan was interviewed by Mike Walton in August 2023

To order a copy of Rod Stewart: The Classic years go to

https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/rod-stewart-the-classic-years/sean-egan/hardback/9781493068227.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlr-K_uKHgQMVY4CDBx2LnwziEAQYAiABEgI8RvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds Or https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rod-Stewart-Classic-Sean-Egan/dp/1493068229/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PRA8ZC84L46D&keywords=rod+stewart+the+classic+years&qid=1693515139&sprefix=rod+stewart+the+classic+years%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-1