"Gasoline Alley" was the second album released by Rod Stewart, before his breakthrough "Every Picture Tells A Story". I think I acquired this after the "Smiler" album was released in 1974.
At the time I liked only the title track, "Only A Hobo" and "Country Comfort", and didn't particularly like the up-tempo numbers.
The title track "Gasoline Alley" opens side one. It is an acoustic rock song with the acoustic guitar being the most prominent instrument but there is also a slide guitar throughout and a mandolin solo in middle break.
"It's All Over Now" is cover of The Rolling Stones' first Number One, but rather than being an R&B version it has a typical The Faces sound and a ragtime piano. Interestingly, there's a few seconds of the Gasoline Alley riff at around 4 minutes 20 and a football referee's whistle is blown to signal it is all over, but the song continues for around another minute. Injury time maybe........
"Only A Hobo" is a sad, touching acoustic cover of a Bob Dylan song with a superb vocal.
"My Way Of Giving" is a Small Faces song which was the B-side of Itchycoo Park, and was also a minor hit for Chris Farlowe. All of the Faces play on this version, with Ian McLagan's Hammond Organ to the fore, and Ronnie Lane sings the backing vocals.
"Country Comfort" is a cover of an Elton John song from his Tumbleweed Connection album. It's a nice, melancholic piano ballad and has a tender guitar solo, whilst the piano intro is reminiscent of "Handbags And Gladrags". There are also some great lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, "Down at the well, they've got a new machine. The foreman says it cuts man-power by fifteen. Yeah, but that ain't natural, old man Grayson says. Cos he's a horse-drawn man until his dying day".
The 6 minute 36 long folk-rock "Cut Across Shorty" was originally the B-side to Eddie Cochran's "Three Steps To Heaven". It has a long intro with a violin, which returns with a menacing solo in the "Devil Went To Georgia" style. However, the instrumental outro goes on far too long.
"Lady Day" is the first of two confessional acoustic songs written by Rod with an almost whimsical steel guitar, with the second being "Jo's Lament" which sounds like a traditional Scottish folk song.
The funky "You're My Girl ( I Don't Want To Discuss It )" is apparently a cover of a song recorded by The Rhinoceros, and is by some distance the weakest track on the album.
Listening again for probably the first time in 45 years the album sounded so much better than I expected. In particular, "Lady Day" and "Jo's Lament" were really nice whilst "Only A Hobo" and "Country Comfort" still sound very good. The title track remains the stand out song.
Of the faster paced offerings, "It's All Over Now", "My Way Of Giving" and "Cut Across Shorty" all nowsounded pretty reasonable, with only "You're My Girl" letting the side down.
Track Listing :
Side One :
1. Gasoline Alley
2. It's All Over Now
3. Only A Hobo
4. My Way Of Giving
1. Country Comfort
2. Cut Across Shorty
3. Lady Day
4. Jo's Lament
5. You're My Girl ( I Don't Want To Discuss It )
Released : 1970
UK Chart Position : 62
Singles :
It's All Over Now ( - 1980 )
