The B Side: A Nod Is As Good As A Wink ... To A Blind Horse
Don't say you love me, 'cause I'll only kick you out of the door
Hey listeners,
This is going to sound deeply concerning, but it’s entirely true: when I was a teenager I listened to so much Rod Stewart that my sister thought I violently fancied him. Which in the 70s may not have been odd at all, but in a different century when he is older than both of my grandparents, you can understand why she was concerned.
It’s a musical love affair that has lasted across the decades (please note, I never actually did fancy Rod Stewart, no matter how much the critics may claim otherwise). It’s also what lead me to discovering the Faces and my later obsession with The Rollings Stones, eagerly following band members between groups and their performances that are filmed and uploaded online. But for those of you who may not have had the same intoxicating hair spray, bluesy, glam rock interests as a youngster, finding a great rock album can be a hard feat. Especially when there’s so many sub-genres to choose from.
Enter: Faces. They had a contagiously vibrant and exciting energy that taps into some of the best parts of 70s rock music. Outstanding solos, raunchy costumes, lewd behaviour, cheeky stardom, memorable lyrics, distinctive androgynous hair-dos that people copied to try and look cool. This week’s album is a piece of their work that captures that energy in a record.
And on that note, let’s find out what that album actually is:
A Nod Is As Good As A Wink ... To A Blind Horse, Faces
Year: 1971
Genre: Rock, Blues
Best Song: Stay With Me
For Fans Of: Rod Stewart (surprise), The Rolling Stones (surprise again), Status Quo, Fleetwood Mac
A Nod Is As Good As A Wink ... To A Blind Horse is the sophomore album of the band in their four album existence, bursting across a short four year stint in 1970-1973 before they decided to part ways for solo projects. The record is halfway through the madness of the band’s success and sees them taking bigger risks that then debut piece; their performances are bolder and more eccentric with their newfound confidence, their music is more defined in their own bluesy style. The bottom line is that it’s fun to listen to. And that’s not too much of a surprise.
The record was produced by Ronnie Wood on guitar (later joining The Rolling Stones) and Ronnie Lane (of The Small Faces fame). The rest of the band fuses members from The Small Faces, The Jeff Beck Group, The Who, Sex Pistols and even Simply Red (yes this is my first time discovering Mick Hucknall was in Faces, was this common knowledge?). With a heavyweight backing of artists established in their own worlds already, the band truly was a rare creative project that brought together some of the most respected figures in British music history.
And with Glastonbury weekend around the corner, and a Faces reunion set to happen on stage (alongside a new album!), it felt appropriate to keep this as your festival-get-ready playlist so that you’re not forgetting the lyrics as you sing along to the TV.
-Alanya x
P.S. If you need me during the festival, I’ll be in one of two states: air guitaring to Ronnie Wood whilst dancing on my sofa, or crying under a blanket holding a lighter in the air for Neil Young. I can’t wait for both experiences.
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This brings back a few memories