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From the Vault...
01/23/2011
#1239 |
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info
Faces
"A Nod Is As Good As A Wink... To A Blind Horse"
© Warner Bros. Records
Rating:
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track listing
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Miss Judy's Farm
You're So Rude
Love Lives Here
Last Orders Please
Stay With Me
Debris
Memphis Tennessee
Too Bad
That's All I Need
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Faces
"A Nod Is As Good As A Wink... To A Blind Horse"
There once was a band called The Small Faces, lead by lead singer Steve Marriott. From 1966 to 1968, their
music was part of the British Mod sound. When Marriott left the band to form Humble Pie in 1969, Ronnie Wood (who would
later join the Rolling Stones), and a young singer by the name of Rod Stewart joined the band. Renaming the band Faces,
(due to the fact the members of the band were tall in height), their sound was distinctive, taking on a much bluesy
sound. Rod Stewart would be the prominent voice for Faces, as he and Wood would remain with the band until
1974. By 1969, Rod Stewart was releasing his own solo albums, and of course, the rest is history.
A Nod Is As Good As A Wink... To A Blind Horse was Faces' third album, released in 1971. From it would be
the band's most popular hit, "Stay With Me." Obviously, most believed that this was a Rod Stewart solo song, as
his vocals surely stood out, and what would become the musical style of Stewart's earliest recordings.
The first two tracks are great rockers. "Miss Judy's Farm" kicks off the album in great style, as
"You're So Rude" is almost like "Stay With Me." Both tunes -- great. "Love Lives Here" (and
later on) "Debris" are the only slower tunes, yet they both prove that not only can Rod Stewart cranks it out
with the rocking songs, he can easily perform the ballads equally well. (The ballads from his 1971 Every Picture
Tells A Story and the song "Scarred And Scared" from Blondes Have More Fun come to mind.)
"Last Orders Blues" has a bluesy ragtime (in a way) style. The Faces gives Chuck Berry's "Memphis,
Tennessee" their own unique bluesy touch. The last two songs are great rockin' Rod Stewart songs: "Too Bad,"
and That's All You Need."
This is truly great Rod Stewart material. Yet it's the music of Faces, the sound would surely pave the way for
Rod Stewart's early solo recordings throughout the early 1970s. Influenced by many, The Black Crowes being one of them,
this is great British Rock. More bluesy than Led Zeppelin, this album is truly a classic. I'm curious of the previous
and later albums by Rod Stewart and The Faces. Of course, we all knew what Rod Stewart would become in the next decades.
And he still continues to shine with his rocking songs and ballads. "Stay With Me" is the standout from A Nod
Is As Good As A Wink... To A Blind Horse, yet the rest of the album is as equally great as the song that made this
album famous.
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Warner Bros. Records
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