upstairs before the night's too old...

Rod Stewart - Tonight's The Night video

You know the weirdest thing about this strange STRANGE video? The fact you don't see the face of the "lucky lady" at all. Maybe it's being brought up on a diet of The Kenny Everett Television Show, but I keep expecting "her" to turn 'round to reveal a bearded engineer with a cheesy grin, giving a thumbs-up to the camera.

So many wrong things, not least the fact that Rod can't play the guitar. There's a look in Rod's eyes that says his target is one of many (as he/she undoubtedly was!), to be used up like so much cheap hotel toilet paper as our hero rampages around the world ruining women and the Tom Waits songbook alike. Chilling.

None of which helps to explain why this tartan-wearing be-mulletted sex-pest sings on at least 4 of my absolute favourite songs of all time...

Faces - Pool Hall Richard
 

This track is my choice for the latest edition of the mighty Contrast Podcast on the theme of "Every Tom, Dick or Harry". In my intro I make reference to my problem with Rod but none of that can take away from how great a band Faces were. Just listen to this track; after the guitar intro, there's a really sloppy Kenny Jones drum fill - "ba-doom, ba-doom, bap!" - and there's a pause - all of a nanosecond! - before the band fall-in behind like an almighty rock workhorse and crack on with a relentless piece of barroom boogie. It's a tiny little pause but it makes me catch my breath every time!

I can only imagine how powerful they would have sounded live at the time, with Rod as the leader of the gang with THE ULTIMATE Rock voice, like he's been gargling paint thinner.

Visit - Faces
Buy - Good Boys...When They're Asleep: the Best of the Faces