A Nod Is As Good As A Wink is the first signal that the Faces have matured as a band. Their infatuation with variations on similar themes has finally borne fruit, they have come to terms with their roots, their sound is self-defined.

Most important, the Faces have finally been able to deal with Rod Stewart as a member of the group. In the past, Stewart either laid out, or, came in and dominated totally: the Faces had two separate identities, with Rod and without him, and the effect was to leave us with no real idea of who they were at all.

Even though Stewart lays out on three songs here, he is not so conspicuously absent as in the past. In large part, this is a reflection of the improvement in Ron Lane’s songwriting, but it is also an indication of how well Rod is integrated into the sound of the rest of the record.

Bob Dylan and the Hawks, had they made a series of albums together, would have had to face the same problem; if Chuck Berry had ever had a band with a distinct identity, so would he.