In 1969, Rod Stewart was still best known as the blues-busting vocalist for Jeff Beck"s hard-edged quartet. He apparently felt it was time to create a bracing new brand of folk rock though, and he started doing that here on his solo debut--right from the opening burst of the Stones" "Street Fighting Man" to the farewell strains of Ewan McColl"s "Dirty Old Town." In subsequent releases he would make this unique mix of delicate ballads and four-on-the-floor raveups even better, but he essentially got it right the first time. Stewart"s take on the ballad "Man of Constant Sorrow" is all gut, and his sweeping version of Mike D"Abo"s "Handbags and Gladrags" is acoustic rock at its dramatic best. --Michael Ruby