Rod Stewart's career has been subject to so many twists that a single-disc overview is somehow both appealingly broad and inadequate to the task of tracing all those zigzags. From beloved rocker of the first order to disco dilettante to pop crooner, Stewart's career has presented challenges to fans who may have been charmed by the rollickingly randy "Maggie May" and bemused by the alarmingly narcissistic "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" This 16-song retrospective touches all the bases without delving deeply into any era. The selections aren't arranged sequentially and the booklet is much more generous with vintage photos than album credits. This best-of collection is clearly aimed at the casual fan, but no album that presents Rod the Mod gems "Downtown Train," "You Wear It Well," and "Reason to Believe" one after another is a throwaway. --Steven Stolder

Someone, please someone......get this record label and ROD to add the song "STAY WITH ME ",.....on this great album. NOW !!! Re-release this with the SONG. Maybe remaster as well. MAN, OH-MAN....what a serious left off-of mess-up. THIS SONG IS WHAT ROD IS KNOWN FOR. Fix it now !!!!

WHY WOULD ANYBODY GIVE THIS CD ONE STAR? IF YOU ALREADY HAVE THE SONGS, THEN DON'T ORDER IT. I'LL JUDGE THE CONTENTS AND LET ME TELL YOU ROD CAN SING. I HAVE HIS BOX SET, BUT SOMETIMES IT NICE TO HAVE A CD OF HITS THAT I DON'T HAVE TO SKIP ANY SO-SO SONGS. IF YOU WANT A GOOD REPRESENTATIVE COLLECTION OF ROD STEWART'S HITS, THIS IS PROBABLY THE BEST ONE ON THE MARKET. IF IT HAD "PEOPLE GET READY" I'D CALL IT PERFECT. A GREAT CD WORTH EVERY PENNY.

Rod Stewart goes back to "Every Picture Tells a Story" with "Maggie Mae"

and just 'sky-rockets' from there ! His music carries *meaning & tells a

story ! this is a TOP 10 !

Want some of those old goodies...then this is the CD for you...if you don't have a collection of Rod-this will suffice...

This compilation contains many Stewart "hits", but mostly weaker material, with his Mercury albums (especially the first 4) and his albums with the Faces being where you find the true classic Rod Stewart. If you just want a smattering of hits including the horrible "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy", et al, then buy this. But if you want really quality Stewart in a compilation get "The Mercury Anthology" or even better: "Reason To Believe: The Complete Mercury Years", these have all his truly best work, not necessarily his big hits, which went significantly down hill after 1973 or so. On this compilation, Rod's version of "Ooh La La", a song he originally scorned when released by the Faces with Ron Wood singing, is just awful and smacks of pandering, as the song had just made a comeback due to a t.v. ad featuring the Faces version.
As I said before, if you want a compilation, get Reason to Believe or Mercury Anthology or if you want more get "the Rod Stewart Album", "Gasoline Alley", "Every Picture Tells A Story" & "Never A Dull Moment", plus "Long Player", "A Nod IS As Good As A Wink", & "Ooh La La" by the Faces and if you still want more classic Stewart get "Truth" & "Beck-ola" by the Jeff Beck Group featuring young Rod on vocals and Ron Wood on bass and has some of his rawest, most bluesy vocals. The above listed albums constitute the TRUE "Very Best of Rod Stewart", if quality, not chart success is you goal.