Smiler
| Rod Stewart
Smiler
Smiler is Rod Stewart's fifth album, fifth solo album and final album for Mercury Records, released in 1974. It became the first album by Rod Stewart as a solo artist to become critically panned. Although it reached number 1 in the UK album chart, it stalled at number 13 in the US. The album was largely considered to be an unadventurous retread of what he had done before, including covers of Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke and Bob Dylan songs, as well as a duet with Elton John of John's song "Let Me Be Your Car". Stewart's one attempt at adventurousness was a cover of Carole King's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" where 'Woman' is switched to 'Man'. This track was selected for special derision by critics. The release of the album itself was held up for five months due to legal problems between Mercury Records and Warner Bros. Records. This album sold 1 million copies worldwide. - Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
Show All-
Rolling Stone
1974 - Smiler is Stewart’s first solo album in more than two years and his weakest to date. It sticks to the same format as Every Picture Tells a Story and Never a Dull Moment but lacks the lyrical cohesion that unified those two and made them work.
-
Ultimate Classic Rock
2015 - Rod Stewart’s solo career arrived at a crucial crossroads with the release of Smiler, which came in for more vociferous criticism than his widely acclaimed previous efforts, but still wound up serving as a springboard for even greater successes in the years to come.
-
All Music
The album failed because everything, from the choice of songs to the production, sounded too pat and predictable.
-
Sputnik Music
2016 - Rod's weakest work from his Mercury era.
-
The Punk Panther's Music Reviews
2018 - In fact, despite a critical leathering at the time, it is all pretty much ok. Rod is on good vocal form. The songs are good. Just not as enigmatically special as the previous two albums.
-
WARR
This was the last full-blown Wood-Stewart collaboration, and it's a let down.
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments