''Every Picture Tells a Story'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by British singer-songwriter

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

, released on 28 May 1971, by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. It incorporates

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

styles. It went to number one on both the UK and US charts and finished third in the Jazz & Pop critics' poll for best album of 1971. It has been an enduring critical success, including being ranked number 172 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s 2003 list of the "

500 Greatest Albums of All Time 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

", repositioned to number 177 in the 2020 revision.

History

This album is a mixture of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

, and

, and includes Stewart's breakthrough hit, "

Maggie May "Maggie May" is a song cowritten by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, performed by Stewart for his album '' Every Picture Tells a Story'', released in 1971. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 130 in The 500 Greatest Songs of ...

", as well as "

Reason to Believe "Reason to Believe" is a song written, composed, and first recorded by American Folk music, folk singer Tim Hardin in 1965. It has since been recorded by many artists, most notably by the Carpenters on their album ''Close to You (The Carpenters al ...

", a song from

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk music and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his own success, his songs " If I Were a Carpenter", " Reason to Believe", " Misty Roses" and " ...

's debut album of 1966. "Reason to Believe", with

Pete Sears Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock ...

on piano, was released as the first single from the album with "Maggie May" as the B-side; however, "Maggie May" became more popular and was a No. 1 hit in both the UK and US. The album includes a version of

Arthur Crudup Arthur William "Big Boy" Crudup (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974) was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known, outside blues circles, for his songs " That's All Right" (1946), " My Baby Left Me" and "So ...

's "That's All Right (Mama)" (the first single for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

) and a cover of the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

song "

Tomorrow Is a Long Time "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan. Dylan's version first appeared on the album '' Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II'' compilation, released in 1971. It was subsequently included in the triple LP compilation ...

", which was first released on 1971's '' Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II''). All five members of the

Faces The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect the ...

(with whom Stewart at that time was lead vocalist) appear on the album, with guitarist/bassist

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, and a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several Brit ...

and keyboardist

Ian McLagan Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

being employed most. Due to contractual restrictions, the personnel listings were somewhat vague, and it was unclear that the full Faces line-up recorded the version of the

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

hit "

(I Know) I'm Losing You "(I Know) I'm Losing You" is a 1966 hit single recorded by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label, written by Cornelius Grant, Eddie Holland and Norman Whitfield, and produced by Norman Whitfield. The group performed the song live o ...

". Other contributors included Ray Jackson on

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

(though Stewart allegedly forgot his name and merely mentioned "the mandolin player in

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...

" on the sleeve) and

Micky Waller Michael Waller (6 September 1941 – 29 April 2008) was an English drummer, who played with many of the biggest names on the UK rock and blues scene, after he became a professional musician in 1960. In addition to being a member, albeit sometim ...

on drums.

Maggie Bell Margaret Bell (born 12 January 1945) is a Scottish vocalist. She came to fame as co-lead vocalist of the blues rock group Stone the Crows, and was described as the UK's closest counterpart to American singer Janis Joplin. Bell was also promine ...

performed backing vocals (mentioned on the sleeve as "vocal abrasives") on the title track, and

Madeline Bell Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from the United States in the gospel show '' Black Nativity'' in 1962 ...

sang backup on the next track, "Seems Like A Long Time".

played all the piano on the album except for one track, "I'm Losing You", which had Ian McLagan on piano, along with the Faces as a band. The album reached the number-one position in both the UK (for six weeks) and the US (four weeks) at the same time that "Maggie May" was topping the singles charts in both territories.

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

cover, " I Know I'm Losing You" reached the top 40 at No. 24 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

in the US.

Critical reception and legacy

In his original ''

'' review, John Mendelsohn wrote: "Boring as half of it may be, there's enough that is unqualifiedly magnificent on the other half." However, ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'' critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

gave the album a glowing review, writing: "Rod the Wordslinger is a lot more literate than the typical English bloozeman, Rod the Singer can make words flesh, and though Rod the Bandleader's music is literally electric it's the mandolin and pedal steel that come through sharpest." A retrospective review by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''s Tal Rosenberg called it "a rollicking and surprisingly grounded document of early '70s folk-rock". The album has been an enduring critical success, including a number 172 ranking on ''

''s 2003 list of

the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...

, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, dropping slightly in a 2020 revised list to number 177. In 1992, the album was awarded the number-one spot in Jimmy Guterman's book ''The Best Rock 'N' Roll Records of All Time: A Fan's Guide to the Stuff You Love''. It was ranked 99th in a 2005 survey held by British television's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. In a retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

wrote: "Without greatly altering his approach, Rod Stewart perfected his blend of hard rock, folk, and blues on his masterpiece, ''Every Picture Tells a Story''." Writing in '' The Rough Guide to Rock'' (1999), Nicholas Oliver wrote that Stewart broke through commercially on "an artistic high", adding that it features well-chosen covers and strong original material.

Martin C. Strong Martin Charles Strong (born 1960 in Musselburgh) is a Scottish music historian known for compiling discographies of popular music including ''The Great Rock Discography''. Strong has been described in broadsheet newspaper profiles as a "compile ...

of ''The Great Rock Discography'' (2006) described the album as the creative pinnacle of Stewart's career, naming it "a masterclass in

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in contemporary folk music, folk, blues, and country music. First emerging in the late 1960s, it is seen as a response to the perceived excesses of the then dominant psychedel ...

." " Mandolin Wind" was highlighted as the best original song by both Oliver and Strong, with Oliver calling it "peerless" and Strong naming it one of Stewart's "most perfectly conceived originals". Tony Parsons of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' named it his favourite British album, writing that Stewart "made the best records that Seventies teenagers had ever heard. Great voice, great songs, great haircuts and acoustic guitars that were played like electric guitars."

Track listing

Notes *"Henry" was only printed on the label of the original British and international releases, not on the sleeve. It was omitted in the track listing of some CD versions, as in some pressings of the album and most Stewart compilations, the "Henry" intro is incorporated into the full "Maggie May" track. *"Amazing Grace" is not listed on the label on most editions, and on some CDs is part of "That's All Right". The words were written by

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery Abolitionism, abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Nav ...

Personnel

– lead vocals, acoustic guitar *

– guitar,

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

, bass guitar *

Martin Quittenton Martin Quittenton (22 April 1945 – 16 April 2015) was a British guitarist and composer. He played in the blues rock band Steamhammer, formed in 1968. Their debut album '' Steamhammer'' was released in 1969. Quittenton also worked with Rod Stew ...

– acoustic guitar * Ray Jackson ("the mandolin player in

") –

* Sam Mitchell –

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

Andy Pyle Andy Pyle (born 15 July 1946) is a British bassist who is best known for playing with The Kinks from 1976 to 1978. Prior to that, he was in Blodwyn Pig (1968–1972) and Savoy Brown (1972–1974). Later, he played with Wishbone Ash (1986–19 ...

– bass guitar *

Ronnie Lane Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who was the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Small Faces (1965–69) and Faces (band), Faces (1969–73). Lane formed Small Faces in 1965 afte ...

– bass guitar and backing vocals on "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (uncredited) *

Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Ma ...

– upright bass * Dick Powell – violin *

–

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, piano on "(I Know) I'm Losing You" *

– piano, celeste *

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

– vocals on "Every Picture Tells a Story" *

– "vocal abrasives" on "Every Picture Tells a Story" *

and friends – "vocal abrasives" on "Seems Like a Long Time" *

– drums *

Kenney Jones Kenneth Thomas Jones (born 16 September 1948) is an English drummer best known for his work in the groups Small Faces, Faces and the Who. Jones was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Small Faces/Faces. Biograp ...

– drums on "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (uncredited) *

Spike Heatley Brian John Heatley (17 February 1933 – 10 November 2021), better known as Spike Heatley, was a British jazz double bassist. Early life Heatley was born in Muswell Hill, North London in February 1933. Career He appeared with Vic Ash's sextet ...

– double bass on “Reason to Believe” On the album's liner notes, the names of two alcoholic beverages ( Martell Cognac and Mateus Rosé) are interspersed amongst the personnel credits. Technical * Desmond Strobel – art direction * John Craig – design, illustration * Lisa Margolis – front cover photo * Aaron Sixx – back cover photo

Charts

Weekly Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

A.V. Club Permanent Records review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Every Picture Tells A Story 1971 albums Rod Stewart albums Mercury Records albums Albums produced by Rod Stewart Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios Roots rock albums