Rod Stewart accompanies five days of fun

My FIVE-DAY WEEKEND is coming to a close.
I enjoyed myself immensely, watching the CRICKET WORLD CUP final on Indian television, listening to loads of BASEBALL on the radio and sitting in 73-degree weather and picking hailstones out of the front yard within the space of a few hours.
For some reason, I also decided to cue up the early ROD STEWART albums on the iPod this weekend, too.
How delightful they are!
Stewart may have sold more records later in his career, but the solo albums he made while still a member of the magnificent FACES easily mark his creative peak.
His collaborations with Ronnie Wood and Martin Quittenton -- songs like "Gasoline Alley" and "Maggie May" -- are the stuff of legend.
Similarly, Stewart had a way with cover versions.
Charles Shaar Murray, writing in the NME in 1972, touched upon Stewart's brilliance with a song:
"Stewart can take songs as differentiated as 'Street Fighting Man,' 'Man of Constant Sorrow' and 'Handbags and Gladrags' and show us what these songs have in common, while simultaneously respecting the individual identity of each song."
Stewart became more formulaic as the 70s progressed into the 80s.
I prefer to think of him in the guise of early 1970s song interpreter.
That's the Rod Stewart who provided the soundtrack to a much-appreciated five-day weekend.