Back in 1969, Rod Stewart's résumé included a stint as Jeff Beck's singer. He'd also just joined the Faces, who dropped the "Small" from their name when Stewart and Ron Wood signed on as members. But his husky, graveled rasp shone best that year as he took on covers of the Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man" and Ewan McColl's "Dirty Old Town" on his solo debut. As this three-CD set thoroughly demonstrates, Stewart was like Joe Cocker in that he crossed boundaries effortlessly, integrating a boozy, acoustic-backed sway with an R&B churn and creating a new rock sound that captured the fancy of fans on both sides of the Atlantic. He peaked with Every Picture Tells a Story's title track; the folkie, soulful "Maggie May"; and the jaw-dropping "(I Know) I'm Losing You." With those 1971 hits, he arrived full-blown as a sequin-ready superstar. His Mercury period ended in 1974 with Smiler, and this set trails off with that album and five tracks previously unreleased in the U.S. --Andrew Bartlett