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Rating: Once upon a time, there was a Scottish-born guy with a voice ravaged by too many cigarettes and whiskey, his name was Rod Stewart. He had played in Jeff Beck's group, a guy who knew his way around a guitar so well that he relegated to the role of bassist someone who would become a legend in a group called the Rolling Stones; his name was Ronnie Wood. There was also a singer and guitarist named Steve Marriott who had left one of the great bands of the '60s, the Small Faces, and had formed a group called Humble Pie. The remaining Small Faces, Ronnie Lane on bass and vocals, Ian McLagan on keyboards, and future Who member Kenney Jones, joined Rod and Ronnie and dropped the "Small," calling themselves simply Faces.
In my opinion, the Faces represent one of the most underrated groups in English rock, perhaps due to the dazzling careers of Stewart and Wood after their breakup or because there were truly amazing groups at the time that overshadowed their great capabilities. However, their sound influenced a great band from the more or less recent past like the Black Crowes and remains personal and recognizable.
Their album I prefer is the third one, “A Nod Is As Good As A Wink…” which sums up all the characteristics of the group: Stewart’s rough and powerful voice, Wood’s rustic and bluesy guitar, a precise and tight rhythm section, and the keyboards that soften the rough edges with grand injections of piano, electric piano, and a hint of Hammond here and there, and not to forget the alternation of vocals between the leader and bassist Ronnie Lane, whose much lighter and more linear voice equally fits well with the music. The album sits between the second “Long Player” and the stratospheric success of Stewart’s solo acoustic ballad “Maggie May,” which helped draw attention to the group driven by this explosion of the singer’s success.
The undisputed gems of the album are the opening “Miss Judy’s Farm” with its rock’n’roll gait, without a real chorus but with an irresistible groove, like the rhythmic hit-single “Stay With Me,” possibly the best on the record, the ballad “Love Lives Here” that foreshadows Stewart’s future solo career. There is room, as I mentioned, for Lane’s voice in the excellent ballad “Debris”, in the cheerful “Debris”, with keyboards split between honky tonk piano and Hammond and the almost country “Last Orders Please.” To close the album in grand style is a rock blues/rock’n’roll triptych, featuring the Chuck Berry cover “Memphis,” the sharp and hard rock “Too Bad” with cutting riffs and Stewart’s voice in great shape, and the concluding “That’s All You Need” with Ron Wood doing great things on the slide, especially in the central solo interlude.
After this album, however, Rod Stewart’s pop career increasingly took over at the expense of the group’s, so much so that after only 4 records they split, leading Ron Wood to replace the departing Mick Taylor in the Stones, cementing his place in legend and turning the singer with a passion for beautiful women and whiskey into the world-renowned vocalist we all know today—perhaps debatable for stylistic choices but an absolutely crucial voice in the '70s rock scene, who found his best ground in the blues/hard rompings of the Faces.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Miss Judy's Farm (03:40)
Miss Judy she was moody
owned a sweaty farm in old Alabam
I was just 18, crude and mean
all I needed was to get my own way
get out of my way
Miss Judy she could have me
any hour of the working day
she'd send me in the corn field mid afternoon
said son it's all part of your job
Miss Judy had a cross eyed poodle
that I would kick if I was given the chance
never was amused by the kindness I used
I was whipped in the barn until dawn
it hurt me
last summer we was restless
were gonna make a stand and burn down your farm
but it was all in the head
'cause out in the yard
Miss Judy had the National Guard
we was beaten, before we started
Miss Judy she was moody
and she always didn't get her own way
just state the facts, get it right
kick her when she's down
02 You're So Rude (03:43)
My mum she likes you, she thinks your swell ,
Got the makin's of a dance hall girl.
Your low-cut frock and your bird's nest hair,
Stiletto heels and the way that you swear.
She says to take you back to see my folks again on Sunday
Why, it looks as though theres nobody in,
They've all gone out to see my Auntie Renee.
Don't you worry, you just come right in,
I'm sure we'll pass the time til they come home.
Well, let me take your coat, kick off your shoes,
Warm your toes, try the sofa.
Its getting dark, we'll miss the late night bus
It's only eight?
Well, I'm not takin' any chances.
Whats that noise? Why'd they come back so soon?
Straighten your dress you're really looking a mess.
I'll wet my socks, pretend we just got caught in the rain.
Oh, your so rude.
04 Last Orders Please (02:35)
Well, well, hello and how are you?
Fancy seeing you here.
Don't let it show.
No look, no one must know
Why! They're playing Tracks Of My Tears
Just pretend its all over,
Like you have for so long.
I thought time was a healer,
But i guess I was wrong.
I am to blame
But we were so young.
Oh, how was I to know?
But you said you still want me,
You opened up an old wound
Then you left me here bleeding.
And my minds black and blue.
Now you got yours, and I got mine.
And theres no debts or dues
Oh, what can we do?
05 Stay With Me (04:39)
In the mornin' don't say you love me,
'Cause I'll only kick you out of the door
I know your name is Rita 'cause your perfumes smellin' sweeter
Since when I saw you down on the floor.
Won't need to much pursuadin'
I don't mean to sound degradin',
But with a face like that you got nothin' to laugh about.
Red lips, hair and fingernails,
I hear you're a mean old Jezebel
Lets go up stairs and read my tarot cards
Stay with me, stay with me
For tonight you'd better stay with me
Stay with me, stay with me
For tonight you'd better stay with me
So, in the mornin', please don't say you love me
'Cause you know Ill only kick you out the door
Yeah, I'll pay your cab fare home, you can even use my best cologne,
Just don't be here in the mornin' when I wake up
Stay with me, stay with me
For tonight you're gonna stay with me
Sit down, get up, get out.
06 Debris (04:36)
two, three, four
I left you on the debris
at the Sunday morning market
you were sorting through the odds and ends
you was looking for a bargin
I heard your footsteps at the front door
and that old familiar love song
'cause you knew you'd find me waiting there
at the top of the stairs
I wouldn't of went back
just to see how far it was
and you looked shocked to tell me
but I had to love her myself
there's more trouble at the depot
with the general workers union
and they said they'll never change a thing
well, they won't fight and their not working
oh you was my hero
hell you are my good friend
I've been there and back
and I know how far it is
but I left you on the Debris
now we both know you got no money
and I wonder what you would have done
without me hanging around
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