"Mandolin Wind" | ||||
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Single by Rod Stewart | ||||
from the album Every Picture Tells a Story | ||||
A-side | "(I Know) I'm Losing You" | |||
Released | 1971 | |||
Genre | Soft rock | |||
Length | 5:33 | |||
Label | Mercury | |||
Songwriter(s) | Rod Stewart | |||
Producer(s) | Rod Stewart | |||
Every Picture Tells a Story track listing | ||||
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"Mandolin Wind" is a song written by Rod Stewart. It was first released on Stewart's 1971 album Every Picture Tells a Story and later as the b-side of a single from that album, his cover of "(I Know) I'm Losing You." In 1972, it was covered by The Everly Brothers on their album Stories We Could Tell, and in 1977 it was covered by Earl Scruggs on his album Strike Anywhere. The song has also appeared on numerous Rod Stewart compilation and live albums, including Sing It Again Rod, Storyteller – The Complete Anthology: 1964–1990 and Unplugged...and Seated. It has also appeared on Everly Brothers and Earl Scruggs compilation albums.
"Mandolin Wind" has been heavily praised by music critics. In his review of Every Picture Tells a Story in Rolling Stone, John Mendelsohn refers to the song as being "nearly as good" as the #1 single off the album, "Maggie May."Rock: The Rough Guide went further, calling the song the highlight of the album. Stewart Mason of Allmusic called the song "every bit...equal" to "Maggie May," and Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the song "unbearably poignant." In its review of Every Picture Tells a Story, Billboard called "Mandolin Wind" an "excellent Stewart composition," and in its review of Stories We Could Tell the magazine noted that the song offered "great single potential." Rod Stewart biographers Tim Ewbank & Stafford Hildred refer to the song as "a stunning ballad."