730 Faces - A Nod Is As Good As A Wink… To A Blind Horse(1971)

 730 Faces - A Nod Is As Good As A Wink… To A Blind Horse(1971)

Studio Album - Rock


About the Act:

The Faces are a confusing band in some ways. So they were formed in 1969 from the remnants of The Small Faces (Who did Itchycoo Park), losing Steve Marriott (who then founded Humble Pie) and gaining Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart, both coming from the Jeff Beck band. Unusually, they existed in parallel with Rod Stewart starting his solo career, and there was some decided overlap and grey area between the band as a band, and Rod Stewart as a solo artist. They lasted 6 years and released 4 studio albums, before imploding. There have been reunions. They were British.

About the Album:

This was their third album, and its sales were severely bolstered by Rod Stewart's solo success with Maggie May.

My History with this Album:

None, although I know the smash hit Stay With Me.

Review:

The first time I listened to this album, I listened in the car. I thought to myself "I like this album". The second time was on the headphones while washing up, and I thought "I REALLY like this album." It's a cracker.

1965 to 1975 were some kind of golden era for music that I like. Maybe they were early formative years for me, but I don't think I am alone in thinking that there was an explosion of development in rock especially. This was the fertile ground that produced Prog Rock, and Heavy Metal, and Singer-Songwriters. Studio technology was improving at a record pace, we were about to see the first synths, the album was definitely becoming the focus of serious musical artists, and some really fabulous music was made. I'm going to have to count this album as one of them. A few years ago I got a boxed set of early Rod Stewart albums, and I really liked them, the solid musicianship and infectious rock. It turns out, quite a bit of that was The Faces playing.

This album is musically, well rock with hints of blues, and one almost country song. I don't often go nuts over the rhythm guitar, but it is exceptional, and it's Ronnie Wood (who later joined the Stones), so no surprise. All of the players are excellent, and the album really captures the tightness, the joy, the playing together feel and the mastery of their art - not a celebration of studio trickery, just of excellent musicians on their best days, in the groove. The moods and feels are varied, but they are at their best when rocking it out.

The songs are a right old mixture, but rich storytelling is a theme here, all of which I found interesting. Most are pretty gutsy, and there are some strong hints of misogyny here, but it's not clear (for example on the classic Stay With Me) if this is actually meant, or meant to be ironic as we would say now - the story of somebody's attitude, but really not ours, officer. Miss Judy's Farm is curious and the lyrics can be taken at least two ways. You're So Rude is even more curious, sung from the point of view of a guy semi-tricking a girlfriend. Last Orders Please is kind of about being a working class yobbo. Love Lives Here is more tender and has pathos. The one that surprised me was the country-sounding Memphis, which starts instrumental, long enough to make you think it is, but then launches into a great version of Chuck Berry's Memphis Tennessee (The one that starts "Long distance information..."

Not all of the songs are sung by Rod Stewart. He, of course, at this stage in his career, was in his early 20s, and one of the most distinctive gravelly voices, with some of the best delivery in rock. It's a shame really that as the 70s progressed into the 80s, that he became more commercial, because he really was exceptional at this time. The songs sung by other people were also good.

All in all, it's like a rich box of chocolates, and listening to the full album is a bit like pigging out on a whole layer of those chocolates. Over the last few years I have listened to quite a lot of different albums from this period, but this has really impressed me.

8.8/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3mvdHEE56sgj1NtTnTF8qK

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLALZtwXPtUFLk-99zUYjRTN52uAqZJZZh

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nod_Is_As_Good_As_a_Wink..._to_a_Blind_Horse



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

785 Jackson Browne - The Pretender (1976)

Image
 785 Jackson Browne - The Pretender (1976) Studio Album - Rock About the Act: Jackson Browne is an American Singer/Songwriter. He wrote some songs, and did some singing, and played guitar and piano, and seemingly still does all of those things, but maybe not right now. He started in the late 60s in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, then writing songs for other people, and finally recording them himself. He has won awards, sold lots of records, been an activist and done charity stuff. In 2015 Rolling Stone ranked him as 37th in the list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.  About the Album: This was his fourth studio album. There are 32 different musicians credited over the 8 tracks. My History with this Album: None Review: In 1976, if you were doing singer/songwriter rock then it was popular, but that also meant there was a lot of competition. I don't know this album, and Jackson Browne has not been particularly on my radar. On this album I cannot help but be reminded o...
Read more

724 Queen - A Day at the Races (1976)

Image
 724 Queen - A Day at the Races (1976) Studio Album - Art Rock About the Act: Queen were and kind of still are, a mega-rock band from England. Their classic line-up was Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. They were formed in 1970 and took the world by storm, but especially the UK and Japan. Freddie famously died from HIV-related issues in 1991, but before he died they had been working on a last album with him, and their 15th studio album. After that, they continued after a fashion, with first Paul Rodgers, then Adam Lambert taking over vocals, I think officially as guests. John Deacon left in 1998, so Queen are now effectively Brian and Roger. About the Album: This was their fifth studio album, the first without long-term production partner Roy Thomas Baker, and the first after they had smashed the world with Bohemian Rhapsody. My History with this Album: I first heard this album aged about 13 or 14, with my schoolfriend Tim. We started a pact, savin...
Read more

661 LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening (2010)

Image
 661 LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening (2010) Studio Album - Electronica About the Act: LCD Soundsystem are an American Dance-Punk band from Brooklyn, who have existed from 2002, with a gap between 2011-2015. They are led by James Murphy, who is also the co-founder of the DFA Records label. About the Album: This was their third studio album My History with this Album: None Review: I'm not going to be able to describe them without referencing other bands, sorry. They are kind of a mix of electronic dancy stuff with 80s retro dance electronic, and a bit of indie and more modern sounds. When he sings, Mr Murphy can sound like a turn-of-the-80s robotic kind of person, like David Bowie, Gary Numan or The Human League. A lot of the backing sounds are kind of 80s too, with some drum machines and analog-style synths. When he talks, it sounds more like Talking Heads. One song really reminds me of Eurythmics.  Musically, it's pretty simple, using a lot of repetition. Why use 50 notes ...
Read more