The Faces
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1970-73) - Kenny Jones --
drums, percussion
backing musicians (1971) - Harry Beckett - horns - Bobby Keyes - sax
line up 2 (1973-75) - Kenny Jones --
drums, percussion
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- The
Jeff Beck Group
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Genre: rock Rating: **** (4 stars) Title: Long Player Company: Warner Brothers Catalog: WS 1892 Country/State:
UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: gimmick cover Available: 1 Catalog ID: 370 Price: $18.00
Genre: rock Rating: **** (4 stars) Title: Long Player Company: Warner Brothers Catalog: WS 1892 Country/State:
UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: alternate cover Available: 1 Catalog ID: 3326 Price: $15.00
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The Faces second album gets rave reviews from
most critics and fans, but once again I'm apparently in the minority.
Self-produced, 1971's "Long Player"
deserved credit for the fact the band had found a unique sound (albeit it
was boozy and frequently sloppy) and a unique image (boozy and frequently
sloppy). That said, there were few early-'70s bands that seemed to
have as much fun with their stardom as Rod Stewart and the Faces. They
were clearly superstars, but the arrogance you'd normally associate with
such a band was largely absent. At least to me, The Faces came off as
a bunch of sub-performers who would have been fun to pal around with for a
weekend. So what are my complaints about this one ? I
guess the main one would be the album frequently sounded haphazard and
slapped together; legitimate new studio material placed next to throwaways
with the addition of a couple of live tracks recorded at New York's
Fillmore East. The bottom line was there was simply way too much
padding on the album. That was particularly true on side two where the
track listing included almost nine minutes dedicated to a pedestrian blues
number ('I Feel Good') and a throwaway country-blues instrumental
('Jerusalem'). Giving credit where due, the album did have some
classic performances. The opener 'Bad In Ruin' was simply one of the
best rockers they ever recorded (and should have been released as a
single). 'Sweet Lady Mary' was one of the prettiest tunes in their
catalog and became a staple on FM radio, and they basically appropriated
Paul McCartney's 'Maybe I'm Amazed' for their own.
1.) Bad In Ruin (Ian McLagan - Rod Stewart) - 3:24 rating: ***** stars Propelled by a nifty little guitar from Wood and a catchy chorus, 'Bad In Ruin' was one of their better, if overlooked rockers. Slinky; almost funky, Stewart seldom sounded as good as on the lead-off track. Complete with Wood playing his infamous 'toilet seat' guitar, YouTube has a fantastic liove 1971 BBC performance of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG4VvlznDI0 2.) Tell Everyone (Ronnie Lane) - 4:19 rating: *** stars A somewhat plodding, blues number, 'Tell Everybody' had some nice lyrics (Lane was always a sucker for the joys of domestic bliss), though the song simply never gathered much energy - Ian McLagan's Hammond solo probably provided song's the highlight. Interesting Lane re-recorded the song as part of Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance. I'd tell you Lane's country-tinged version is far superior. 3.) Sweet Lady Mary (Ronnie Wood - Rod Stewart - Ronnie Lane) - 5:49 rating: **** stars One of the prettiest ballads they ever wrote, 'Sweet 'Lady Mary' was clearly a Faces classic performance. It's also one of the few songs that underscored what good harmony singers the could be. 4.) Richmond (Ronnie Lane) - 3:04 rating: **** stars Folks look at Stewart as the Faces front man and that's certainly true, but to me Lane was always the band's heartbeat and that was seldom as obvious as on the folk-blues number 'Richmond'. Lane's laconic vocal has always reminded me of George Harrison and that comparison was on full display here. Won't appeal to the Faces rock fans, but Lane fans will love it. YouTube has a great 1971 Top of the Pops performance of the song with Lane giving Wood a run for his money on acoustic slide guitar. Interesting to see Stewart playing upright bass. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLLKPuuNu5M 5.) Maybe I'm Amazed (Paul McCartney) - 5:53 rating: **** stars As much as I love the McCartney original, I think I'd have to agree The Faces version is just as good, if not even better. One of the funny things about their cover is everyone gives Stewart credit for tearing the crap out of the tune, but if you pay attention, Stewart and Lane share lead vocals. Lane takes the first chorus and then Rod kind of takes over. Interestingly, the song was released as a 45 before the album came out. The 45 version featured a studio take, while the album captured a live performance at New York's Fillmore East. YouTube has a couple of live versions of the song. Here's the best of the lot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLhoLkTyNkM
(side 2) 1.) Had Me a Real Good Time (Ron Wood - Rod Stewart - Ronnie Lane) - 5:00 I'm guessing the lyrics to this rollicking blues-rocker were autobiographical ... Co-written by Lane, Stewart, and Wood. 'Had Me a Real Good Time' was a typical boozy Faces rocker - loose and not particularly melodic, but fun in a shambling kind of way. Can't say the Bobby Keyes sax solo did all that much for me. rating: *** stars 2.) On the Beach (Ron Wood - Ronnie Lane) - 4:15 rating: **** stars Opening up with some acoustic slide guitar from Wood, it took awhile for 'On the Beach' to show it's true colors, but by the time Lane's whiny voice kicked in it was clear this was a nifty alt-folk number that Lane would begin to pursue in earnest when he went solo. Be warned that it has a rather raw, underproduced sound. 3.) I Feel So Good (Willie Broonzy) - 8:50 rating: *** stars An extended live cover of Wilie Broonzy's ' I Feel So Good' caught the band at their blues-iest. Stewart sounded pretty good on this one getting the audience involved in the song, as did the recent of the band (who were all given solo spots), but stretching it our\t to just short of nine minutes didn't do anyone any favors. Seriously, this one just seemed to go on and on and on ... YouTube has an abbreviated live version of the song at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBpvd-0qA2Y 4.) Jerusalem (instrumental) (traditional) - 1:55 rating: ** stars The closing instrumental, a cover of Sir Henry Wood's traditional 'Jerusalem' was basically an abbreviated solo spot for Wood on dobro ... Technically it was pretty enough, but I can't say it was something I'd want to hear all that often.
As mentioned, the album spun off a couple of singles in the form of:
credited to The Small Faces - 1971's 'Had Me a Real Good Time' b/w 'Had Me a Real Good Time' (Warner Brothers catalog number 7442)
credited to The Faces - 1971's 'Had Me a Real Good Time' b/w 'Had Me a Real Good Time' (Warner Brothers catalog number 7442) - 1971's 'Maybe I'm Amazed' b/w 'Oh Lord I'm Browned Off' (Warner Brothers catalog number 7483)
Propelled
by the hit single and strong reviews, the album hit # 29 in the States. |
Genre: rock Rating: **** (4 stars) Title: A Nod Is As Good As a Wink ... To a Blind Horse Company: Warner Brothers Catalog: BS 2574 Country/State:
UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: cut corner; minor ring wear; with poster Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1279 Price: $40.00
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Produced by Glyn Johns and the band, "A Nod's As Good
As A Wink To a Blind Horse" stood as The Faces' second
studio set in the last year. Musically it was instantly recognizable
as a Faces product, though it reflected considerably more
studio polish than prior releases. Interestingly, in the hands of producer
Johns the band was shown at it's best when playing straight-ahead
rock; notably Ronnie Wood's 'Miss Judy's Farm', Ian McLagan and Ronnie
Lane's 'You're So
Rude' and a carefree cover of Chuck Berry's 'Memphis'. The album was
also noteworthy for showcasing the band's secret weapon. Yeah Rod
Stewart was clearly the front man and a tabloid favorite, but bassist Ronnie
Lane was the creative glue that kept the band together. Anyone
who had him pegged as little more than a country music fan only needed to
check out the hysterical 'You're So Rude', or the
beautiful ballad 'Debris'. In fact, with the exception of Lane's
country-tinged ballad 'Last Orders Please', the whole album was
worthwhile, standout performances including the single 'Stay with
Me', the group written 'Love Lives Here', and Lane's heart breaking 'Debris'.
Propelled by the previously mentioned single (their only top-40 American
hit) and Stewart's continued solo successes (an ongoing source of irritation
to the other band members), the album hit # 6, becoming their top selling
American release. ( Always loved the back cover puppets. ) 1.) Miss Judy's Farm (Ron Wood - Rod Stewart) - 3:38 rating: **** stars Okay,
it bore more than a passing resemblance to 'Maggie's Farm' but powered by
Wood's growling lead guitar The Faces
seldom sounded as impressive as on this rocker. YouTube has a
stunning performance of the tune taken from an appearance on BBC's Sounds of
Saturday television series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umxx2Qjxfww I
may be in the minority, but as mentioned above, I always thought the late
Ronnie Lane was The Faces secret weapon. Urbane, funny (this is one of
rock and roll's great seduction songs), and extremely talented, 'You're So
Rude' was the perfect answer to folks who didn't think Lane could rock
out. For some reason Lane's vocal on this one has always
reminded me of George Harrison. Shame
Stewart's largely known for his late-'70s solo musical atrocities.
This beautiful ballad showed how good the man could be when he still cared
about music.
Another
Lane number, though this country-tinged track that didn't do a great deal
for me.
(side 2) 1.) Stay with Me (Ron Wood - Rod Stewart) - 4:37 rating: ***** stars Ah, their moment of domestic commercial bliss ... Tapped as a single, this was a near perfect four and a half minutes of Faces splendor - Rod's blatant sexist rant (nice of him to pay the poor woman's cab fare home); Ronnie's sizzling and instantly recognizable slide guitar riff, McLagen's electric piano, and the unstoppable Ronnie Lane and Kenny Jones rhythm section. Top-40 bliss. YouTube has another clip of the band performing the tune on BBC's Sounds of Saturday show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQISujVdfv8 Released as a single, the track provided the band with their biggest hit:
- 1971's 'Stay
With Me' b/w You're So Rude' (Warner Brothers catalog number WB 7545) The
prettiest and certainly saddest thing the band ever recorded ... Lane
reportedly wrote the song as a remembrance of his late unionist father (Stan
Lane Jr.), the title referring to time spent visiting an East London yard
sale (guess you call it a boot sale in the UK(), Interesting hearing
Lane on lead vocals with Stewart on backing vocals for the bridge
sections. Lane rerecorded a lovely version of the tune with his band
Slim Chance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojKOlgBjwc4 Yes,
they slowed it down to a crawl but didn't mess with the original melody and
surprise, surprise, the results were far better than you would have ever
expected with another great Wood solo. No idea when or where it
was recorded, but YouTube has a live performance of the tune at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpWw-BqC8Uk
One
of the hidden gems on the album, I've always wondered if the lyric was based
on a true experience - Stewart and company seemingly unsuccessfully crashing
a ritzy party. It certainly rocked with the best of their
catalog. Wood's stunning slide guitar makes this another album highlight. Always loved Harry Fowler's unexpected steel drums. The sound quality is a bit muddy, but YouTube has a clip of the band performing the sound at London's Roadhouse club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh_vmRUqtEs
The album originally included a large bonus collage poster, but complaints focusing on the fact the collage included photos of various pills and capsules, as well as a couple of naked young ladies brought scattered complaints and Warner Brothers decided to remove the poster from later pressings.
Good place to start checking out The Faces catalog.
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Genre: rock Rating: **** (4 stars) Title: Ooh La La Company: Warner Brothers Catalog: BS 2668 Country/State: UK Year: 1973 Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: light stain; ring wear; gatefold sleeve w/ poster insert Available: 1 Catalog ID: 2259 Price: $25.00
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Reunited with producer Glyn Johns, 1973's "Ohh
La La" found The Faces turning in another patented mixture of rockers
(credit Rod Stewart and Ron Wood) and folkier efforts (credit Ronnie Lane). Like earlier
albums, the
results were enthusiastic, if frequently sloppy, the band often sounding as
if they were recording in the midst of a prolonged drinking binge.
Judging
by the gag inner sleeve photo, that apparently wasn't too far from the
truth. In fact, with Lane and Stewart increasingly at odds, it was a
minor miracle the group managed to stay together long enough to complete
that album; let alone turn in so many classic performances. The
highlights included 'Cindy Incidentally' which was probably their most
commercial song and proved their biggest American seller, the rocking 'Borstal
Boys', and most of Lane's folk-rock oriented contributions - the
mournful title track was one of his best efforts. Elsewhere, 'Glad and
Sorry' sported one of Wood's prettiest guitar tracks, while Lane acquitted
himself well on the sweet 'Flags and Banners'.
To be perfectly honest, if you were this far into The Faces catalog you
pretty much knew what to expect and along those lines, there probably
weren't any major surprises in these grooves. Backed by
favorable reviews (critics seem to love hard drinking bands), the collection
continued the group's string of commercial successes peaking at #21 on
the US album charts. It went # 1 in England. 1.) Silicon Grown (Rod Stewart - Ron Wood) - 3:06 rating: *** stars Showcasing
that instantly recognizable Faces sound that was just this side of a drunken
brawl-meets-a-train-wreck, 'Silicon Grown' is perhaps the only song in my
collection that seems to have been inspired by a groupie's boob
job.
One of the most commercial and mainstream things the band ever recorded. They even sounded halfway sober on this one. That probably explains why Warner Brothers released it as a worldwide single:
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1973's 'Cindy Incidentally' b/w 'Skewiff
(Mend The Fuse)' (Warner Brothers catalog number WB 7681)
Admittedly
Ronnie Lane's voice was an acquired taste, but it seemed heaven made for
this tune ... I seem to remember reading somewhere the song was
inspired by a poem written a Confederate soldier for his brother who had
joined the Union and died during the war. A Faces tune that made
you stop and think ... Shame it was so short.
YouTube has a clip of Lane playing the tune with his band Slim
Chance. The song starts around the 5:00 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsJdtQaIbhY Ron
Wood's thick, sustained guitar sound has instantly been recognizable to my
ears and it provided the highlights on this pedestrian
rocker. C'mon, admit it, you always wondered what a Borstal Boy was ... "an informal name for an establishment in which offenders aged 15 to 21 could be detained for corrective training." I guess in the States you would translate the term to juvenile delinquent. Say what you will about this one, but to get the full impact you had to hear Kenny Jones thunderous drums through a good pair of headphones !!! Extra star just for the split-your-head-open drums. YouTube has a nice clip of the band playing the song at a 1973 show in Amsterdam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fopfBHZvAGs Not sure why, but Warner Brothers tapped it as an American single:
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1973's 'Borstal Boys' b/w 'Ohh-La-La' (Warner Brothers catalog number WB
7711) (side 2) 1.) Fly In the Ointment (instrumental) (Kenny Jones - Ian McLagan - Ron Wood - Ronnie Lane) - 3:48 rating: **** stars Surprise,
surprise. Rather than a being a throwaway number, the group
penned instrumental was actually one of the album's most tuneful
numbers. Nice opportunity for all the members (sans Stewart) to show
off some of their instrumental prowess - McLagen and Wood both came off very
well. Hearing
' If I'm On the Late Side' always makes me smile given it's such an atypical
performance - after all, how many sweet, thoughtful, and subdued Faces
ballads do they have in their catalog ? As
pretty as 'If I'm On the Late Side' was, Lane's 'Glad and Sorry' was even
better. With Lane and Wood sharing vocals (hard to believe folks
thought Stewart was the only one in the band who could sing), the song was
built on McLagan's wonderful little piano riff, with Wood turning in some of
his prettiest work. Certainly one of the crown jewels in The
Faces catalog. Instantly
identifiable as The Faces, though it was nice to hear them taking their
collective feet off the full throttle rock and roll sound for a couple of
minutes. The perfect track to understand how much McLagan
brought to the band. How could you not fall in love with a song that included the line "I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger" ? With Stewart and Lane increasingly unhappy with one another, Stewart didn't like the song and only grudgingly agreed to record it. Unhappy with the results, Lane gave it a shot as well. In the end a version with Wood on vocals was picked for the album. Shame on Rod. The irony is that years later Stewart changed his mind and recorded a solo version for his 1998 "When We Were The New Boys" album. He recorded one of the all-time cheesiest videos for the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEniy4CmSZQ The Coors provided backing on Stewart's studio version and they provided support when he performed the song as part of a 1998 television special. It got kind of strange when you got a brief glimpse of Ron Wood sitting in the audience. You couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking at the time. YouTube has this one as well. Seeing Stewart dancing around like a spastic leprechaun was a bit strange, but having Andrea, Caroline, Sharon, and Jim in the video made up for Stewart's shortcomings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYgdb3Glu3M
The song was clearly too eclectic for American audiences, but was tapped as a single in Germany and Japan:
Germany - 1973 'Ohh-La-La' b/w 'Borstal Boys' (Warner Brothers catalog WB 16 281) Japan - 1973 'Ohh-La-La' b/w 'Borstal Boys' (Warner Brothers catalog P 1231W)
Original copies of the album were released with Jim Ladwig's elaborate gimmick, gatefold sleeve and included an oversized foldout poster/lyric sheet.
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