These are the five essential Rod Stewart solo albums every rock fan needs in their life

When it comes to the deployment of the ultimate rock vocal—a cocktail of sand, glue, honey, whisky, grit, and gravel that speaks of a life well-lived and more than a few hearts broken—there’s no one quite like Rod Stewart.

After a formative apprenticeship on London’s R’n’B scene and fronting The Jeff Beck Group, Stewart’s solo career exploded in 1971 with his pivotal third album, “Every Picture Tells A Story,” and its hit single “Maggie May,” which simultaneously topped charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Stewart has since dabbled in everything from disco to the Great American Songbook, bagging a knighthood in the process. Here are five essential Rod Stewart solo albums that every rock fan needs in their collection.

1. An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down (Vertigo/Mercury/Fontana, 1969)

Rod’s solo debut opens with a powerful version of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ “Street Fighting Man.” How good was it? Well, guitarist Ronnie Wood and keyboard player Ian McLagan both ended up playing with the Rolling Stones, which speaks volumes. The album (originally released in the US as The Rod Stewart Album) also features a definitive take on Mike D’Abo’s “Handbags And Gladrags,” showcasing Stewart’s ability to make any lyric his own. The chaotic title track is a full-tilt Faces carouse in all but name.

2. Every Picture Tells A Story (Mercury, 1971)

This is where it all came together—Lad’s rock’s ground zero. This all-conquering album proved you didn’t have to be a Laurel Canyon nepo posho to be a singer-songwriter; you could be a geezer, a swordsman, an itinerant, footie-literate, hedge-backwards boozer of no fixed hairstyle. From a wildly un-PC, Maggie Bell-soaked title dust-up to a sublime reading of Tim Hardin’s “Reason To Believe,” via a full-throated assault on The Temptations’ “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” a blissful “Mandolin Wind,” and an utterly unassailable “Maggie May,” this end-to-end seventies essential represents Rod The Mod in excelsis.

3. Never A Dull Moment (Mercury, 1972)

Not exactly a clone of Every Picture…, this chart-topping follow-up owes much to its esteemed predecessor in terms of pacing and mood. From the glorious Stewart/Wood opener “True Blue” to a seemingly off-the-cuff clatter through Sam Cooke’s “Twistin’ The Night Away,” the joy-filled finale captures a fame-glazed Rod operating at the peak of his powers. “Lost Paraguayos” is as irresistible as it is incorrigible, and “Italian Girls” is almost more Stones than even the Stones. And then there’s “You Wear It Well”—a stone-cold classic.

4. Smiler (Mercury, 1974)

Following the introductory arfs of a barking dog, Ronnie Wood riffs out a feral, off-the-leash version of Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Rock ’N’ Roller” that—with hindsight—only seems to scream, “Please may I be in The Rolling Stones now?” Smiler marks the end of an era. Without the grounding presence and influence of the Faces, Rod Stewart would never make records that sounded quite so much like an impromptu after-hours lock-in had broken out in the studio again. Smiler is a customarily overlooked album, but the Stewart/Wood swansong “Sailor” is magnificent, and Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” is a complete joy.

5. A Night On The Town (Riva/Warner Bros, 1976)

Following his first post-Faces collaboration with Tom Dowd (Atlantic Crossing), where Stewart enjoyed his own Mull Of Kintyre moment with the inescapable “Sailing,” A Night On The Town features the questionable charms of the Britt Eklund-encumbered defloration ditty “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright)” and the brave-for-its-time “The Killing Of Georgie (Parts I And II).” An accomplished six-minute plus track, “Georgie” recounts the true story of a gay Faces associate killed for no other reason than his sexuality. Meanwhile, the Rod original “The Balltrap” rocks like a dry-run for “Hot Legs.”

Rod Stewart’s career is a testament to his versatility and enduring appeal. These six albums showcase the best of his solo work, each one a vital piece of rock history that no fan should be without.