We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
1971 was a mighty good year for Rod Stewart. He had a huge solo record in ‘Every Picture Tells A Story” and a monster single with “Maggie May”…and sandwiched on either side were two solid albums from the group he fronted. Faces was as fine a collection of UK rockers this side of the Who or the Stones and their second LP of the year was “A Nod is as Good as Wink…to a Blind Horse”.
With Kenny Jones (who replaced Keith Moon in The Who), Ronnie Wood (who replaced Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones), bassist and vocalist Ronnie Lane and pianist Ian McLagan, Stewart had a kick-ass group surrounding his patented blues-rock rasp with a wall of great sound.
None greater than the hit on the LP “Stay With Me”. Its misogynistic lyrics not withstanding, “Stay With Me” is one of the great flat-out rockers of the 70’s. Wood’s crunchy chords, McLagen’s rollicking organ, Lane’s thumping bass, Jones timely drum fills, and Stewart’s throaty delivery make this an almost perfect rock and roll record. Put it on a crank it up
Here’s a nice live version for ya…
The rest of the LP consists of some patented Stewart ballads like “Love Lives here” and some Ronnie Lane originals that are ok. They also rock out again on Miss Judy’s Farm and “That’s All You Need” and also deliver a work-man like cover of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis”.
With Stewart’s solo fame driving a wedge into the group, Lane left in 1973 and the group finally disbanded in 1975 when Wood began working with the Stones.
This album is solid with one burst of lighting…and Rod Stewart would become one of the biggest stars of the decade…but he rarely rocked harder than here.
