Ronnie Lane
Band members Related acts
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line up 2 (1975) - Brian Belchau -- bass - Jim Frank -- drums, percussion - Charlie Hart -- piano, organ, accordion, violin - Laney -- guitar - Glen LeFleur -- drums, percussion - Ruan O'Lochlainn -- piano, organ, sax - Steve Simpson -- guitar, mandolin, violin, harmonica
supporting musicians: - Steve Bingham -- bass - Benny Gallagher -- bass, guitar, accordion - Graham Lyle -- guitar, mandolin, banjo - Billy Liveskey
-- keyboards - Kevin Slaven -- fiddle - The Tanners -- backing vocals - Kevin Westlake -- guitar
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- The Faces - Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance - The Ronnie Lane Band - The Outcasts - Quiet Melon - The Small Faces - Timmy and the Bijoux Choir - Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane
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Genre: folk rock Rating: *** 3 stars Title: Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance Company: A&M Catalog: SP-3638 Country/State: London, UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: promo sticker on back cover; small punch hole Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $
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Based on my experience, anyone buying a copy of 1975's "Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance" expecting to hear a raucous collection of Faces styled rock was in for a major shock. While I always liked Lane's atypical folk and country tinged contributions to The Faces catalog (think along the lines of "Ooh La La", "Debris" and "Richmond"), I just didn't have a clue what was awaiting me in these grooves. More on that later. Once again there were differences between the original UK release (on Island) and the US releases on A&M. In addition to a gatefold sleeve, the UK track listing featured two tracks that were dropped from the US release. Who knows why, but "I'm Just a Country Boy" and "Single Saddle" were replaced by the earlier UK single "The Poacher" and a cover of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime". You kind of had to wonder why?
I've
actually owned this album a couple of times. As a big Faces fan
I first bought it at a Penguin Feather while in college in the
late-'70s. With a roommate who was seriously into Kansas and Styx, I
remember I wasn't thrilled by Lane's laidback mixture of English folk and
country influences. Mind you, there
were a couple of okay rockers - a Cajun-flavored version of Chuck Berry's
"Y
"Ronnie
Lane's Slim Chance" track listing: 1.) The Poacher (Ronnie Lane) - 3:40 rating: **** stars Originally If you were ever looking for an example of a pastoral melody coupled with soothing lyrics then this would be a good place to start. Surrounded by decidedly non-rock and roll instrumentation including twin fiddles, prominent oboe and support from Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle, this beautiful melody was the perfect spotlight for Lane's unique, double tracked voice. The plotline seemed to focus on a farmer running into a vagrant illegally fishing on his property. Rather than being upset, the farmer's intrigued, almost envious of the tramp's simple life style. I certainly am not an expert on Lane's life, but it seems like the perfect story for a guy who didn't seem to want the usual trappings of the rock and roll lifestyle. I actually stumbled on an interview with Lane where he talked about the inspiration for "The Poacher": Having recently quit The Faces Lane was essentially destitute trying to figure out what to do next. "The idea for "The Poacher" came to me when I was living in a fortune teller’s caravan by the side of the River Thames at Pete Townshend’s back garden." The track was released as an English single.
- 1974's "The Poacher" b/w "Bye Bye (Gonna See the King" (GM catalog number GMS 024)
YouTube has a clip of Lane and the band performing the song during an appearance on ITV's short-lived Supersonic television show: Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance - The Poacher
2.) Stone (Ronnie Lane) - 4:07 rating: *** stars Featuring Lane on vocals, the bluegrass and Cajun tinged "Stone" originally appeared on The Faces debut album 1970's "The First Step". Under the title "Evolution" a version also appeared on Pete Townshend's 1972 solo album "Who Came First". Lane's remake didn't mess with the song's country melody, though it seemed to strip off some of the bluegrass flavor. Country music normally makes me leave the room. However, I love a great mandolin. I love a great bass line and I quite enjoyed the remake. 3.) A Bottle Of Brandy (Isaacs Family) - 2:47 rating: ** stars One of three covers, his remake of the traditional bluegrass tune "A Bottle Of Brandy" was pretty enough, but didn't so much for me. 4.) Street Gang instrumental) (Ronnie Lane - Ruan O'Lochlainn - Steve Simpson) - 4:04 rating: ** stars Showcasing Ruan O'Lochlainn's jazzy sax, the instrumental "Street Gang" was built on an odd tropical vibe. Pleasant, if weird; you got the impression it was there as a time killer. 5.) Anniversary (Ronnie Lane) - 2:57 rating: **** stars Beautiful, country-tinged ballad and one of the reasons I've always loved Lane's voice. Not sure when or where it was recorded, but YouTube has a lip-synching television performance of the song at: Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance Anniversary 1975 6.) I'm Going To Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter (Joe Young - Fred Ahlert) - 2:54 rating: ** stars No idea why Lane thought this was a good song to record. No idea why he thought letting Steve Simpson handle the vocals was a good idea. No idea why it was released as a single in Germany:
- 1975's "I'm Going To Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" b/w "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime' Island catalog number 16 214 AT)
7.) Little Piece Of Nothing (Ronnie Lane) - 2:22 rating: **** stars Yeah it was about as far from The Faces as you could get, but another pretty, country-tinged melody made "Little Piece Of Nothing" an album highlight. I didn't even mind the prominent fiddles
(side
2) I always wondered why Lane decided to cover an American classic like "Brother Can You Spare a Dime". It's one of those songs that seemingly everyone has heard; a dark lyric that instantly draws your thoughts to the pains of the 1920s and 30s Great Depression. There certainly wasn't anything wrong with Lane's cover, but it was such an odd choice; even weirder when Island tapped it as a single:
- 1975's "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" (mono) b/w "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" (stereo) (A&M catalog number 1704-S) 2.) Ain't No Lady (Kate Lambert - Ronnie Lane - Ruan O'Lochlainn) - 4:25 rating: *** stars One of two song co-written with wife Kate Lambert, the minute Steve Simpson's mandolin kicked in "Ain't No Lady" won be over. When the Cajun-flavored accordion kicked in it became hard to sit still. The backing vocals have always reminded me of prime-era Mungo Jerry. 3.) Blue Monday (Dave Bartholomew - Fats Domino) - 4:18 rating: **** stars I'm usually not a big fan of covers; particularly covers of Fats Domino material. I'll make an exception for "Blue Monday". With Charlie Hart on accordion and Ruan O'Lochlainn on sax, Lane sounded like he was having so much fun doing this one. 4.) Give Me A Penny (Ronnie Lane) - 3:00 rating: **** stars There was just something special about Lane's voice and that characteristic was seldom as apparent as on the pretty country-tinged ballad "Give Me a Penny". What a pretty tune and is it just me or do I hear echoes of "Ooh La La" in this one? The melody also seems to have influenced "Annie" off the 177 Lane-Townshend "Rough Mix" LP. 5.) You Never Can Tell (Chuck Berry) - 4:31 rating: *** stars Always wondered how a poor London street kid could pull off a Cajun-flavored cover like this one with such joie de vivre ... YouTube has a clip of the band performing the song for a 1975 appearance on the BBCs Old Grey Whistle Test television show. The late Steve Simpson on rhythm guitar and backing vocals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtsyc8OKLpw 6.) Tin And Tambourine (Kate Lambert - Ronnie Lane) - 4:11 rating: **** stars Originally entitled "Devotion", the ballad "Tin And Tambourine" was another track reworked from the debut Faces album "First Step"). Out with the Rod Stewart vocal and Ian McLagan's keyboards. In with a laconic, mandolin powered country-fied arrangement. Add in some angelic backing vocals, Simpson's harmonica and the song was all the better for those changes. Shame the song wasn't longer.
© Scott R. Blackerby November 2025
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ou
Never Can Tell" and a cover of Fats
Domino's "Blue Monday", but those were the exceptions. It
just wasn't the straight forward rock and roll I craved at that time.
Some thirty years later I stumbled across a copy at a small used record
store in Portland and this time around I was shocked to discover how
much more attractive I found the album's laidback ambience. Produced
by Lane and recorded at Fishpool Farm (his Welsh farm) using a mobile
studio, musically the album was extremely diverse, but the entire collection
reflected an easy going vibe. You got the
feeling Lane was doing this to enjoy himself, rather than to be headlining
massive stadium tours. A big part of the feel good vibe had to be
attributed to his backing band Slim Chance (the name reportedly reflecting
Lane's expectations for commercial success). The album glistened with
support from multi-instrumentalist Charlie
Hart, Ruan O'Lochlainn, and Steve Simpson. Their dexterity on a wide
array of acoustic instruments (including accordion, acoustic guitar, banjo,
fiddle, mandolin, etc. wasn't going to pose a threat to The Faces. At
the same time it was interesting to hear how much energy they could conjure
up on tracks like "The Poacher", their Chuck Berry cover "You
Never Can Tell") and the closing ballad "Tin And Tambourine".
Certainly not Lane's best solo album, but a good place to start checking out
his catalog.
