Hear Me Out: Every Picture Tells a Story
Recently I was given the task on social media of listing my 10 most influential albums. I ended my list with Rod Stewart’s Every Picture Tells a Story. I know that when some people see that name they will giggle.
They will no doubt imagine the 80s leather jackets, the hair, and perhaps even sing “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”. But, all of this proves why people must listen to Every Picture. In short, it is the most overlooked record in the rock music canon. Seriously. Put on headphones. Tell the people in your life to leave you alone for 40 minutes, and seriously listen to it.
I discovered this record in late 1996. I had been playing in a band for 4 years, and anyone who knows me from those times knows I was desperately trying to be Roger Daltrey, Ian Gillian, and Rod Stewart, fronting Teenage Fanclub. Yes, it retrospect, I understand how weird that sounds. I also realize in retrospect I failed miserably to sound like any of them.
However, this album changed all that, eventually.
Over the next few years, I listened to this record a lot. I fell in love with the sound, the storied recording, and every “woot” Rod belted out! Those “woots” embody the joy of the record. Recorded with an open door policy you can almost hear the brandy-fueled party. The Faces, Long John Baldry, Pete Sears, Micky Waller, provide most of the music, but others were thrown into the mix. The liner notes even note musicians whose names Rod doesn’t even remember. If that doesn’t tell you this record was a party, then just listen to the lead-off track, or the “That’s All Right” and just imagine the party. It’s no wonder musicians on the record called it “the funniest time” they ever had in music. And, that fun comes across in the musicianship. Micky Waller’s drums are simple and skate the edge of timing. The piano brings out the house party, and Ronnie Wood’s guitars sound like a stallion allowed to run free! Whether rock, traditional folk, or blues, these musicians sound perfect together. And, that was the problem.
I had enjoyed the five years I played with my band in the mid-90s. We had fun, saw the country, and gained an education that would shape who I am today. When we were good, we were pretty good. We were fun. That was key. But, there were always bands you saw that made you realize you had to up your game. And, this was an album that did that.
I remember driving one night from Thunder Bay to Sault St. Marie. The headphones were in. I listened to this album three times in a row and realized I will never come close to this. My voice would never be this cool. Records will never sound this good. Usually, these moments propel musicians, but as I listened to Every Picture I realized that it is lightning in a bottle.
Rod could never replicate it.
And, I certainly couldn’t.
So, why bother.
Rod Stewart beat me.
Over the next few months, I quit my band. It was not only Rod. I met the woman who would become my wife. I moved to Ottawa. I needed change. But, it would be several years before I played music again. However, as I went to see Alt-country, folk, and rock acts in Ottawa, I sought out the light-hearted party that was promised in Every Picture.
Influential. It’s a weird word. We always think of how it propels us forward. Yet, in many ways Every Picture made me stop chasing the elusive dragon. It stopped me from trying to be Rod, or Rogers, or Tim, or anyone else, and allowed me to just appreciate my role in the audience.
If I could go back in time to the weeks that we started our band I would hand this record to those guys and say “this, this is what you need to strive to be”. Of course, the irony is, that I would have just laughed at that advice and probably said something about leather, hair, or “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”.
