Rod Stewart is what Mick Jagger would have been had he not had Keith Richards there to call bullshit on him. One of the worlds greatest interpretive singers, Stewart let a once-respectable career erode in favor of financial success and a swollen head. Where his early albums were gritty, rootsy rockers (Every Picture Tells A Story, Gasoline Alley), everything from 1975 on inched closer to adult contemporary territory. Yet, his ear for a good song has never dulledin addition to countless superb soul covers, Stewart has taken on lesser-known numbers by Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and Tom Petty, and even transformed an obscure, weary ballad by deceased Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten (I Dont Want to Talk About It) into a powerful anthem. Sure, Rod’s a tool and his records mostly suck, but I bet the playlist on his iPod rules! With Stevie Nicks. BRIAN J. BARR
Sat., April 23, 7:30 p.m., 2011