[SYN-068]
With The Day Will Come, you hear Stewart, who just a few years hence would have the world at his feet, figuring out what kind of singer he wanted to be. On some tunes here, his signature rasp is a work in progress as he salutes his idols Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye with faithful takes of their respective barn burners "Shake" (here with Auger and Trinity in 1966) and "Can I Get A Witness" (with Steampacket in 1965). He tries nearly every trick available to mid-'60s British pop singers: protest music on the title track (1965), an ebullient duet with expatriate American singer P.P. Arnold on "Baby Come On" (1966), and several up-tempo-sounding blues and gospel jams.

Of any track here, 1967's "Little Miss Understood" is the key to the folk/soul hybrid he would pursue on his 1969 The Rod Stewart Album (titled An Old Raincoat Won't Let You Down in the UK) – it sounds like an early draft of that record's "Handbags and Glad Rags," also by the song's composer Mike D'Abo. — Rob Kemp