NOD IS AS GOOD AS A WINK TO A BLIND HORSE

Personnel: Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane (vocals); Ron Wood (guitar); Ian McLagan (keyboards); Kenney Jones (drums). Recording information: Olympic Sound Studios, Barnes London, England (03/1971). When this was released in 1971, the Faces also released LONG PLAYER (following the dropping of "Small" from the band's name) and frontman Rod Stewart released the seminal EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY. The three-album output was especially remarkable for the Faces, as the band was more known for skirt-chasing and carousing than recording music. NOD found the Faces fusing together a grittier blues and soul sound than on past efforts, which were marked by a rather modish sound and Stewart's then-folkier leanings. The group includes enough heartfelt ruminations to add a sentimental edge to the otherwise rip-roaring mix of material. Among the latter class of songs are a shambling cover of Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee" and "Stay With Me," the Faces' only hit and the quintessential groupie kiss-off. Stewart's talents as a balladeer are no less effective, with songs like the poignant "Love Lives Here" and the Ronnie Lane-penned duet "Debris," an unheralded classic every bit as emotionally devastating as "Wild Horses." Lane's singing and songwriting also shine on the barroom anthem "Last Orders Please" and the whimsically swaggering "You're So Rude," a song about getting caught in a compromising position with a sassy girlfriend during a family visit.