About this Artist

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Editorial Reviews

There are a number of excellent Rod Stewart compilations available covering his Mercury period. There are a couple of multi-disc packages such as The Mercury Anthology released in the 1990s, and 2002's excellent three-disc box of the Reason to Believe: The Complete Mercury Studio Recordings, and a couple of single-disc packages as well, namely the Millennium Edition issued at the beginning of the century. That said, while the Definitive Collection 1969-1978 won't add anything to the discussion and contains fewer cuts than its predecessors, it is a more tightly focused set than any other single-disc comp, including the Millennium Edition, because it only contains hit singles, B-sides, and well-known album tracks -- no filler for more casual or budget-minded fans. And yes, there are some who would argue that Stewart never cut a weak track for Mercury, but frankly, they'd be wrong -- "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" being a case in point. In any case, for the money, this is an excellent sounding, beautifully chosen set of tracks that provide an introduction to an artist who arrived at the label at the top of his game, and eventually, just as he left it for Warner Brothers, became a caricature of himself -- despite the fact that he's as talented as ever. Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

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