{"id":650870,"date":"2026-06-21T17:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T17:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/650870\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T17:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T17:12:12","slug":"the-1971-flop-that-rod-stewart-is-still-immensely-proud-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/650870\/","title":{"rendered":"The 1971 flop that Rod Stewart is still immensely proud of"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rod<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ Allan Warren<\/p>\n

Sun 21 June 2026 15:47, UK <\/p>\n

The rip-rousing Rod Stewart<\/a> has been touring for more than half a century now, and he shows no signs of slowing down. He simply loves entertaining and giving fans what they want. That outlook has created a rather unique legacy in classic rock.<\/p>\n

Artists don\u2019t really have time to look at their legacies when they\u2019re in their golden age. They\u2019re more concerned with writing the next great song, but by the time they come up for air at the tail end of their career, they tend to realise that there\u2019s a treasure trove of hits left in their wake without even realising it. <\/a><\/p>\n

Stewart may have had more than a few fantastic tunes in his arsenal, but he still considered the long forgotten B-side \u2018Mandolin Wind\u2019, which failed to get much airtime upon release, to be one of the best examples of him playing to his strengths.<\/p>\n

For Stewart, the definition of the word \u201cstrengths\u201d has meant many different things over the years. While he started working with Jeff Beck as a traditional blues singer, that throaty rasp wouldn\u2019t be singing the same conventional bluesy covers for the rest of his life. More than a few costume changes lay ahead \u2013 an apt metaphor given his glitzy present-day shows.<\/p>\n

But there was an earnest side to Stewart at the start of his career. When working on Every Picture Tells a Story, many of the best songs on the record have a more folksy twist. Stewart still makes sure to put that same level of grit into every track, but it\u2019s hard to listen to a song like \u2018Maggie May\u2019 and not hear it being played by what could have been bluegrass instruments if they were in any other tune.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Rod<\/a>Credit: Far Out \/ W. Punt \/ Dutch National Archives<\/p>\n

While \u2018Maggie May\u2019 would eventually become the big hit for the record, \u2018Mandolin Wind\u2019 is a far more introspective tale than anything Stewart had worked on. It\u2019s not exactly Bob Dylan material, but equating someone\u2019s love to the changing of the weather is something that the best folk singers like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie could have at least appreciated. <\/p>\n

Despite not having the most intense guitar lick or anything, Stewart still ranked the ballad among the best songs he had ever made, telling Storyteller<\/a>, \u201cI love this song to death. I believe it to be one of my finest efforts, written in Muswell Hill, North London, in 1969 \u2013 a long, long way away from the buffalo and Great Plains of America that the song depicts. It just shows you what a little imagination can do when writing songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n

That kind of American style of acoustic guitar playing calls to mind a few other folk artists from around that time. As much as Peter, Paul, and Mary were turning in amazing folk tunes in the late 1960s, this feels closer to the kind of openhearted tracks that James Taylor would have made in his prime as well if he had decided to put a little more grit to his voice. <\/p>\n

In fact, part of what makes \u2018Mandolin Wind\u2019 so effective is that Stewart doesn\u2019t try to oversing it. He holds back just enough to let the words land, resisting the temptation to belt where a whisper works better. It\u2019s restrained without being fragile, like he knows that the story is more important than the sound of his own voice for once.<\/p>\n

That kind of storytelling wouldn\u2019t stick around forever, but it\u2019s what makes this era of Stewart\u2019s catalogue so compelling. Before the leopard print and blow-dried excess took over, he had moments like this when he was modest, quiet, human, and his humble homespun anthems were stripped to the bone. <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t trying to sell anything. It was just a guy with a mandolin, a melody, and something honest to say. Because of that, Stewart still loves it. He\u2019s even reintroduced it to his setlist for his 2025 and 2026 tour, playing it for the first time since its days as a recurring number were put on ice following his 1991 run of shows.<\/p>\n

Now, it is a fixture that takes him back to his rasping roots. Stewart could have sculpted an entirely separate career out of his folksy sound, but hearing him going into the realm of disco in the late 1970s ended up breaking a lot of fans\u2019 hearts the minute \u2018Do Ya Think I\u2019m Sexy<\/a>\u2019 came out. <\/p>\n

While he did get back to writing ballads like \u2018Young Turks\u2019, the electronic warble of synthesisers did sound strange coming from a voice normally known for being rough around the edges and belted out over the earthy twang of acoustic instruments. In fact, the Faces also had a hefty dose of English folk music in their boozy mix, which pushes the song close to being one of the most defining of his entire career. The rug that ties the room together.<\/p>\n

No matter how many times Stewart changed up his style, \u2018Mandolin Wind\u2019 might be the closest fans will ever come to seeing the true version of who he is. It wasn\u2019t always flattering, but what it lacks in technical flash, it makes up for in a heavy amount of heart.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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