A Nod Is as Good as a Wink… to a Blind Horse

Weird. I should’ve loved this, but I just didn’t

I liked the title of the album. The name of the band Faces seemed familiar to me. At first I found the presented blues rock passable, but not remarkable. Then I recognized Rod Stuart's voice and I remembered how I knew the name of the band. After that, the album rather annoyed me. Overall, I would say passable blues rock if Rod Stuart didn't sing. Moreover, uninteresting. 3/5

They were better when they were the Small Faces and didn’t have Rod Stewart. This is ok but kind of generic sounding classic rock

What they lose in album cover, they make up for in album title. A Nod IS As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse. Unfortunately the album content is boring... flat... uninteresting. Sounds like the time that it is from. Zzzz.

Relative highlight: 'Debris'

Linguistic profiling lyric: "Too bad my regional tongue / Gave us away again"

The Faces at their peak — Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Ian McLagan, Ronnie Lane, and Kenney Jones operating with a loose, boozy swagger that no amount of studio polish could have manufactured and no amount of money could have bought. This is what a great bar band sounds like when the bar band happens to be one of the finest rock and roll ensembles of its era, and the distinction matters.

"Stay with Me" opens the record with complete confidence — the riff arriving and the whole band falling in behind it with the kind of collective momentum that sounds effortless and has clearly been earned through years of playing together in rooms where nobody cared who they were. That quality of a band playing for each other rather than for an audience runs through everything here, which is the hardest thing to fake and the most valuable thing a rock record can have.

Ian McLagan's Hammond and piano are the secret weapon throughout — ensemble-first, serving the groove rather than showcasing, the keyboard work doing exactly what keyboards should do in this context. "Debris" is the Ronnie Lane ballad counterweight, gentle and nostalgic, showing the range the band had when they stepped back from the swagger without losing what made the swagger worth anything.

Fun😌

Well at least I now know where “the Dogs” (D’amour) got their jangly guitar/raspy singer sound from.

But at least they where interesting/great for 2 and a half albums

For every “Stay with me” there is a “Debris”

Oh good. Another 70s rock album. It’s been three whole days, so I was worried — I thought maybe the server had broken.

This is just dull bog standard pub rocked with one exception. ‘Stay with me’ is a classic track and stands out a mile amongst the rest of this album. You would be better off just listening to that one track and not bothering with the rest.

I tried listening to this yesterday but I was travelling and actually just wanted to listen to the bands I'd seen live the night before. So it's a day after, stray thoughts, review.

- I do like Rod Stewart's voice, despite thinking he's an arse.
- I also enjoy songs that gradually increase (or decrease) speed (Miss Judy's Farm).
- The beginning of You're So Rude reminded me of Sweet Transvestite from Rocky Horror Picture Show for reasons I can't describe.
- I don't like Ronnie's vocals as much but am unsure if he was an arse (it does sound like he, and the rest of the band, were majorly screwed over by their management/label though).
- Love Lives Here was dull. As was Last Orders Please.
- I do like Stay With Me, although it was the only song from this album I already knew, and it has seriously questionable lyrics.
- This is another album my Mother loves. There's been a lot of them recently.
- Debris also dull.
- Wow, a lot of people have covered Memphis.
- Too Bad and That's All You Need were alright.

Just not for me.

2/5

Liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Nothing that I've heard before, although obviously familiar with Rockin' Rod's later stuff in the late 70s and 80s.
This has a fair bit of swagger, and some mighty good tunes, but ultimately doesn't add a lot to the overall conversation of early 70s rock. Overall, liked it, but unlikely to go back any time soon

I knew Rod Stewart mainly as a solo artists but had heard Faces before. Other than many of the other reviews, I do actually like his voice but prefer the blues rock stuff he did with a real band over his charting soft pop. Hence, I do kinda like "A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse" (although dislike the album title for several reasons). Not exactly a must-have but still recommended.

Pre Listen:
What the fuck does this title mean. This is something your high friend would say to you, and you'd both think it's groundbreaking, until you sober up the next morning. No experience with them, and no expectations!

Notable Tracks:
Love Lives Here - A real highlight of the album. The keyboard plugging along with the softer guitar and bass feels great.
Memphis - Least favorite track. It's odd I've had 2 albums now with nearly 2 months inbetween, where they yap about Memphis, and it's my least favorite track. This one sounds so tacky.
That's All You Need - Favorite track. Man that guitar solo in the midpoint is awesome. The introduction of whatever instrument that is towards the end is silly, but like, in an endearing sort of way.

Post Listen:
I feel like this is the sort of music I'd hear in a bar whilst drunk one night, perceive it as the best music I've heard in my life, but completely forget about it by morning.

I liked it, but it's just one of those albums where nothing really jumped at me as a whole, just small segments on the odd song or two. Everything was well done for the most part, even the vocalist with his scratchier voice grew on me. Most songs have this honky-tonkish bar sound to them, for better or for worse. I can smell the scent of beer on the mic through the sound alone.

Gonna give this one a 3/5 for now. If I'm wrong about this album being forgetable, and I still recall and enjoy the highlights on here a week from now, I'll bump this to a 4. Until then, 3/5.

Rod Stewart had a couple very good solo albums early in his career, but I'm pretty neutral towards his work in Faces and with The Jeff Beck Group. As for this record, there was no need to still be making stuff like this in 1972. It sounds totally behind the times. It's not bad, per se, just unremarkable.

Faces are a great rock and roll band and A Nod Is as Good as a Wink... to a Blind Horse is a hugely enjoyable record.

This album feels loose, scruffy and completely unpretentious in the best possible way. It has that brilliant, lived-in quality that great rock and roll albums often have, where it sounds like a group of incredibly talented musicians simply getting in a room and having a fantastic time making music together.

Rod Stewart is in superb form here. His voice has so much character and personality. Meanwhile, Ronnie Wood's guitar playing is outstanding throughout, full of energy, swagger and great little flourishes that lift every song.

What I really like about the album is that it never feels like it's trying too hard. There are no grand statements or overblown moments; it's just brilliant rock and roll played well.

Favourite tracks: "Stay With Me" is an absolutely brilliant tune and easily the standout track for me.

Least favourite tracks: Everything on the album is worth a listen.

Album artwork: Brilliant album cover, simple, effective and perfectly suited to the music inside.

I recognize a couple tracks by title, but have never listened to this album start-to-finish.

I guess I'm pleased that this system made me sit down and listen to this album. But it's just okay... good not great.

better than I remember

Aujourd'hui, j'ai décidé de replonger mes oreilles dans l'année 1971, une époque où les utopies fleuries de la fin des années soixante venaient de s'effondrer dans le caniveau, le psychédélisme vaporeux laissant la place à la réalité crue des pubs londoniens. Une époque où une bande de garnements a décidé d'ériger le laisser-aller et l'arrogance au rang d'art absolu. Je veux bien sûr parler des Faces et de leur troisième effort, au titre aussi interminable que réjouissant : A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse. Une œuvre bancale, glorieuse, magnifiquement débraillée, à laquelle j'attribue un solide et chaleureux 4 sur 5, et je vais vous expliquer pourquoi ce monument de rock de comptoir reste indispensable.

Pour bien comprendre le miracle des Faces, il faut d'abord se rappeler d'où ils viennent. Prenez les Small Faces, amputez-les de leur leader Steve Marriott parti fonder Humble Pie, et injectez-y la sève brute, sauvage et passablement imbibée de deux transfuges du Jeff Beck Group : le guitariste Ronnie Wood et un chanteur à la tignasse improbable et à la voix de verre pilé, un certain Rod Stewart. À cette période précise de sa vie, Rod n'est pas encore la caricature du crooner de la jet-set internationale qu'il deviendra quelques années plus tard ; c'est un gamin de la classe ouvrière, un styliste vocal exceptionnel capable de faire passer n'importe quel riff de blues pour une question de vie ou de mort. Le mariage entre la basse vrombissante de Ronnie Lane, la batterie métronomique de Kenney Jones, le piano bastringue d'Ian McLagan et les lignes de guitare sinueuses, presque négligentes, de Ronnie Wood crée une alchimie unique que j'appellerais volontiers le "chaos contrôlé".

Sur cet album, j'évite d'emblée le piège du titre par titre fastidieux parce que ce qui compte avant tout, c'est la température et l'ambiance qui s'échappe des haut-parleurs dès les premières secondes. On sent que le légendaire producteur Glyn Johns a simplement posé ses micros au milieu du studio, a appuyé sur "enregistrer" et a prié pour que personne ne vomisse sur le matériel. Le son est lourd, chaud, organique, avec une section rythmique qui refuse de faire de la figuration et qui impose un groove hérité du rhythm and blues noir américain, mais totalement digéré par des voyous de banlieue. C'est un rock lourd, sexuel et arrogant, qui préfigure avec quinze ans d'avance tout le mouvement sleaze rock. La guitare de Wood ne cherche jamais la perfection technique, elle cherche au contraire le riff qui s'incruste dans le crâne pour ne plus jamais en sortir.

Évidemment, impossible de passer sous silence le joyau de cette couronne de débauche, ce morceau d'anthologie devenu l'hymne absolu de la drague lourde et des fins de soirée embrumées. C'est ici que les Faces atteignent leur sommet pop-rock, avec une structure en montagnes russes, des accélérations rythmiques totalement folles où tout semble prêt à s'effondrer mais où le groupe retombe systématiquement sur ses pieds avec une classe insolente. Rod Stewart y livre une performance vocale d'anthologie, hurlant sa frustration et son désir avec une assurance de paon en rut. C'est vicieux et ça balance un coup de pied magistral dans les fesses du rock progressif pompeux qui commençait à pointer le bout de son nez à la même époque. On est là pour transpirer, pas pour faire de la philosophie de comptoir.

Alors, pourquoi pas la note maximale ? Tout simplement parce que l'album porte déjà en lui les germes de la destruction future du groupe. L'ego de Rod Stewart commence sérieusement à déborder du cadre, sa carrière solo parallèle vampirisant peu à peu l'énergie collective des Faces. Par moments, le disque s'éparpille un peu, flirte dangereusement avec le grand n'importe quoi et laisse une impression de travail inachevé, comme si la bande avait préféré écouter le match de football ou filer au pub plutôt que de peaufiner les dernières prises. Mais franchement, on s'en contrefiche car ce manque de rigueur est précisément ce qui rend ce rock désespérément humain. C'est un instantané parfait d'un groupe qui brûlait la chandelle par les deux bouts, conscient que le rêve ne durerait pas éternellement.

Young Rod Stewart with Ronnie Wood is a treat. Good old rock n' roll.

Sounds very much like Ronnie Wood's audition tape for the Rolling Stones, even though he didn't join the Stones until 1975.
Putting a Ronnie Lane sung track in the middle of 2 Rod Stewart tracks was a mistake. I don't know why Rod didn't front the whole album, but I guess he had other things on his mind.
Not bad.