11. FacesA Nod Is As Good As A Wink… To A Blind Horse
I remember coming back from a Hibs match in the 70s and BBC’s Sight And Sound was on – think it was at six o’clock on BBC Two – and the Faces were on. And I remember watching Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart and the rest and they were very drunk. They were having the time of their fucking lives and I thought, "I want to do that job!"
I was just amazed. This was before I went to my first gig as well and I just loved the Faces. Again, they’re pure feel… it’s got to feel right. I’m not interested in being clever with music and I’m not interested in, "oh the way you went from 13/4 to the 15/6 blah and the arpeggio". I’m not interested. I feel stuff.
You know the Joni Mitchell jazz stuff and the Hammill stuff – it’s all about emotion. It’s not about being clever. The way that the Faces came across to me anyway it was just feel, though I loved the ‘laddish’ behaviour – which I think you need to put in inverted commas because it is a cliché – you know, the reckless alcohol abuse! I defy anybody as soon as you hear ‘Stay With Me’ to not go, "wow!" It’s just the vibe that goes with that band. Ronnie Lane’s contribution to the Faces was phenomenal and Kenney Jones too. When Jones joined The Who he just fitted in with that whole Moon vibe. Just the way that he approached the drums. Absolute feel. And, of course, that was when Rod Stewart was good! I got very disappointed in him in his later years.
