Rod Stewart

Mercury/Chronicles' 2005 double-disc set Gold expands and rejiggers the previous best Rod Stewart double-disc set, 1992's Mercury Anthology. This 35-track compilation contains all but five of the songs from that 32-track comp -- the live cuts with the Faces have been cut out -- in nearly the same sequencing. So, anybody who already has that set, or already has the great 2002 triple-disc set Reason to Believe: The Complete Mercury Recordings, doesn't need to get this, since there's nothing new here. However, anybody who wants an enormously entertaining, comprehensive overview of Stewart at his solo peak should get this, since it has all of the very greatest moments from his first four albums -- in fact, all of Every Picture Tells a Story is here, although the second side of the LP concludes the first disc here, with the first side of the LP opening the second disc -- at a very reasonable price. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide