Review Summary: Rod's weakest work from his Mercury era.
Three time's not a charm. Abandoning his roots, Rod uses the same formula trying to recreate the magic that made
Every Picture Tells a Story and
Never a Dull Moment stone cold classics. The result, a mash of uninspired selected songs that fail to deliver.
Chuck Barry's
Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller kick-starts the album quite well. Pete Sears passionate ambient "
Lochinvar fair use of the 19th century instrument called the celesta for introducing the
Maggie May/
You Wear it Well-styled folk rocker
Farewell makes an impression. This lyrics of the latter reflect Rod's condition at that time (The Faces had just split-up, his contract with Warner prohibited Mercury from releasing this as the final album under their label, the British Tax situation seemed to become a nuisance).
The pub rocker
Sailor sees him and Ronnie making room for the unnecessary horn section. The Cooke medley
Bring It On Home To Me/You Send Me shines until the orchestra kicks in. Elton's contribution to the album
Let Me Be Your Car, a overwrought
Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting), picks up the pace a little.
With
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Man he boldly transformed the Goffin/King/Wexler composition using a suave interpretation and fair use of The Memphis Horns breathing life into the album. The average
Dixie Toot and
Hard Road follow.
Another interlude, this time from veteran Martin Quittenton
I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face introduces Dylan's
Girl From North Country, another highlight of the album. Though heavily orchestrated, it's full of emotion lyrics render another admirable rendition by Rod.
This albums closer, Paul and Linda McCartney's heartfelt
Mine Of Me presents us a nice ballad sung with the sincerity that Rod has accustomed us with, cluttered with a Carribean touch lend by The Tropic Isles Steel Band.
More material had been recorded during the period of contractual disagreements between Warner Bros. and Mercury. Tracks like
You Put Something Better Inside Of Me,
Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying,
So Tired,
Every Time We Say Goodbye and
Missed You, now available on the
Handbags & Gladrags compilation would have probably turned the tides around.
Having sold over a million copies worldwide,
Smiler fails to impress as a whole, it's sporadic glimmers emphasizing the essential conclusion: It's time for something new Rod!
