Rod Stewart "The Story So Far: The Very Best of Rod Stewart"

The Story So Far: The Very Best of Rod Stewart is a 2001 Rod Stewart career-retrospective compilation album, which summarizes his solo work beginning with material from his 1971 breakthrough album Every Picture Tells a Story until his 2001 album Human. For contractual reasons, only two songs from his Mercury Records tenure ("Maggie May" and "You Wear It Well") were included (a third song from the Mercury era, "Reason to Believe", was included in a live acoustic version from the Warner Bros. album Unplugged...and Seated). The rest of the material is from different albums released under Warner Bros. Records.

The compilation was particularly notable for dividing the songs between rock and pop tunes on the first disc (A Night Out) and love songs on the second disc (A Night In). Also, even though most of the songs included on the album enjoyed big success (29 out of the 34 songs originally reached the Top 10 in the United Kingdom and/or the United States), many hit singles were missed-out, including US Top 10 hits as "Passion", "Infatuation", "Handbags and Gladrags" and "My Heart Can't Tell You No".

In the United States the album was released separately as The Voice: The Very Best of Rod Stewart and Encore: The Very Best of Rod Stewart Vol. 2, though there are some differences in the content. Warner Bros. Records released The Story So Far on 12 November 2001 and the next day The Voice was released. On 26 August 2003 Encore was released.

Track listing

The Story So Far

Disc one: A Night Out

1. "Maggie May" Rod Stewart Every Picture Tells a Story 5:46
2. "Baby Jane" Stewart, Jay Davis Body Wishes 4:43
3. "Some Guys Have All the Luck" Jeff Fortgang Camouflage 4:33
4. "Young Turks" Stewart/C. Appice/Duane Hitchings/Kevin Savigar Tonight I'm Yours 5:04
5. "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" Stewart, Appice, Hitchings Blondes Have More Fun 5:31
6. "What Am I Gonna Do (I'm So in Love With You)" Stewart, Davis, Tony Brock Body Wishes 4:19
7. "Hot Legs" Stewart Foot Loose & Fancy Free 5:15
8. "You Wear It Well" (includes the instrumental "Interludings" from the original album appearance) Stewart, Martin Quittenton Never a Dull Moment 5:01
9. "Rhythm of My Heart" Marc Jordan, John Capek Vagabond Heart 4:13
10. "Downtown Train" Tom Waits Storyteller 4:39
11. "The Motown Song" (single mix) Larry John McNally Vagabond Heart 3:58
12. "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" (with Ronald Isley) Holland–Dozier–Holland, Sylvia Moy Storyteller 4:11
13. "Tonight I'm Yours (Don't Hurt Me)" Stewart, Jim Cregan, Savigar Tonight I'm Yours 4:12
14. "Ooh La La" (originally a Faces song with lead vocals by Ronnie Wood from Ooh La La) Ronnie Lane, Ronnie Wood When We Were the New Boys 4:15
15. "I Can't Deny It" Gregg Alexander, Rick Nowels Human 3:44
16. "It Takes Two" (with Tina Turner) William "Mickey" Stevenson, Moy Vagabond Heart 4:12
17. "Stay with Me" (with the Faces) Stewart, Wood A Nod Is As Good As a Wink... to a Blind Horse 4:37

Total length: 78:22

Disc two: A Night In

1. "Sailing" Gavin Sutherland Atlantic Crossing 4:38
2. "I Don't Want to Talk About It" Danny Whitten Atlantic Crossing 4:49
3. "Have I Told You Lately" Van Morrison Vagabond Heart 3:59
4. "The First Cut Is the Deepest" Cat Stevens A Night on the Town 4:31
5. "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" Stewart Foot Loose & Fancy Free 4:30
6. "All for Love" (with Bryan Adams and Sting) Bryan Adams, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Michael Kamen The Three Musketeers soundtrack 4:42
7. "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" Stewart A Night on the Town 3:56
8. "Every Beat of My Heart" Stewart, Savigar Every Beat of My Heart 5:21
9. "Tom Traubert's Blues (Waltzing Matilda)" Waits Lead Vocalist 6:12
10. "Don't Come Around Here" (with Helicopter Girl) Jackie Joyce, Paul Berry, Mark Taylor, Kenny Thomas Human 3:50
11. "The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II)" Stewart A Night on the Town 6:29
12. "Love Touch" Holly Knight, Mike Chapman Every Beat of My Heart 4:03
13. "I Was Only Joking" Stewart, Gary Grainger Foot Loose & Fancy Free 6:07
14. "Ruby Tuesday" Mick Jagger, Keith Richards Lead Vocalist 4:05
15. "In a Broken Dream" (with Python Lee Jackson) David Keith Bentley single, collected on Storyteller 3:40
16. "Reason to Believe" (live acoustic version of the song from Every Picture Tells a Story featuring Ronnie Wood) Tim Hardin Unplugged...and Seated 3:53
17. "In My Life" John Lennon, Paul McCartney Every Beat of My Heart 1:58

Total length: 76:50