Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. III--Rod Stewart: "Handbags and Gladrags"

It may be hard for some to believe in light of Rod Stewart's eighties pop crap and his crooner persona since the early 2000s, that up until the late seventies Stewart was on a plane with the Rolling Stones, the Who, Bob Dylan, and any number of other rock icons from the sixities and seventies.  You would be hard pressed to find a top 100 rock albums of all time that didn't include (and rightfully so) his seminal work, Every Picture Tells a Story, or a top 500 singles of all time that doesn't include "Maggie May."

And yet, this week's single is one of Stewart's lesser known songs (though it found popularity later as the theme for the BBC's The Office and a semi-hit for The Stereophonics), "Handbags and Gladrags."

While the song strongly showcases Stewart's signature blue-eyed soul vocals (see also Van Morrison or Darryl Hall), the most amazing thing about the song is how it turns convention on its ear--rock 'n' roll is proudly rebellious, but this song is ostensibly about a father telling his school skipping daughter about the fleeting whims of youth--and it works.  Just a beautiful song....

Enjoy:

Peace,

emaycee