Smiler suffered a poor critical reception mostly because Stewart’s first four solo albums — The Rod Stewart Album, Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells A Story and Never a Dull Moment — were of such high quality. Stewart had nowhere to go but down. Measured on its own merits, Smiler is a fine Rod Stewart album. He’s in strong voice. The band rocks. And even if the material is as obvious as its detractors claim, Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Rock ‘N’ Roller” has never been in better hands. Sam Cooke’s “Bring it On Home to Me/ You Send Me” medley is a solid, caring interpretation and Bob Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country” retains its wintry chill. If anything, the album is short on Stewart originals, as only “Farewell,” “Sailor,” and “Dixie Toot” feature Stewart’s writing input. They’re solid if not spectacular songs — with “Farewell” being the strongest of the lot — but Elton John’s “Let Me Be Your Car” and Paul McCartney’s “Mine for Me” prove that Stewart doesn’t need to write his own material as long as his ear for interpretation is open. And, for the record, his band still sounds both spectacularly loose and tight.