THE POUR BOYS: smiles return thanks to the FACES

[email protected] September 3, 2019

It has long since been a source of fascination to me, not to say amusement, at how certain rock songs came to be regarded as essential for any disco (I know, how ancient does that make me sound?)

Accepting why ‘Miss You‘ or ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy‘ enticed people to the dance floor, it is hard to fathom how ‘Brown Sugar‘ or ‘You Really Got Me‘ (as brilliant as both are) worked their way onto the playlist of any self-respecting DJ – neither having a groove in the Sly Stone, James Brown sense.

From memory, the best example of this peculiarity is provided by Status Quo, a denim clad British rock band, who made at least half-a-dozen catchy, upbeat singles, any one of which sent their legion of fans out beneath the mirror balls – where rather than go through a set of precise dance moves, they would perform a bending and straightening exercise that largely imitated what Quo did on stage.

Not that there was anything wrong in that, from the bar it looked a fairly harmless pastime – although it may explain why The Who were rarely played in nightclubs, given the potential for injury if a group of people began leaping up and down and twirling their right arm in the manner of the guitarist.

Hence, if getting up to dance was merely invitation to behave like the artists whose record was playing, it is little wonder the Faces (artists of a different kind) were never heard in dance halls – as kicking footballs around, drinking until barely able to stand and finally falling in a heap on the floor would have been frowned upon by the management.

Suffice to say they will always be my kind of band.

For aggro and anger it was the Stones or The Who, for wit and wisdom you went to The Kinks – but for raucous revelry the Faces were the only party in town.

Lacking the musical accomplishment of Led Zeppelin, (most did to be fair), the Faces were more about vibe than virtuosity, beating them hands down for bonhomie.

Re-reading the excellent Zep biography ‘Hammer of the Gods‘ recently, they do come across as a somewhat charmless bunch – on the other hand, with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood out front, the Faces positively oozed charm, the booze brothers an altogether different proposition to Plant and Page.

Which is not to say the Faces made records of comparable power and precision. Simply put, they didn’t. During a relatively short (1969-75) lifespan – their recording career was even shorter – they released four studio albums of variable quality, all of which were overshadowed, in both critical and commercial terms, by the solo triumphs of Stewart.

Indeed, it would be a long list of ‘All-Time Great Albums‘ that included a Faces entry, but Rod’s ‘Every Picture Tells A Story‘ (1971), would rightly be found in the upper reaches of most.

Yet in an era when the notion of rock music as an uplifting creation was being usurped by twiddly-diddly keyboard posturing’s aligned to lyrics amounting to fourth-form mysticism, the Faces had an altogether different concept – that of putting rowdy back into rock ‘n’ roll.

The late broadcaster John Peel had no hesitation in naming them as his favourite live band:

‘At a time when groups were taking themselves so seriously and rock was becoming the domain of colour supplements – and as a result over-theorised – the Faces came along and put the fun back into it.‘

Formed from the remnants of two exceptional, yet different bands. Kenny Jones (drums), Ronnie Lane (bass) and Ian McLagan (keyboards), had been members of innovative power-pop outfit the Small Faces – guitarist and lead singer extraordinaire Steve Marriott quitting in late 1968 to pursue hard rock ambitions with Humble Pie.

Around the same time Stewart and Wood, tiring of the self-obsessed ways of the leader, departed the Jeff Beck Group (Wood playing bass to the extraordinary guitar/vocal combo of Beck and Stewart) – but not before they had contributed to ‘Truth‘ and ‘Beck-Ola‘, two of the most influential albums of the period, profoundly influencing the horde of blues-rock bands that followed in their wake.

With Wood on guitar and naming themselves simply the Faces, through 1969 & 70 they built a steady following on the club and college circuit across Britain and the US. Stories abound from this time of bottles of Mateus Rose circulating from the stage to audience and back again, Stewart displaying his football skills while the others performed instrumental passages.

Before the Faces had any semblance of musical direction two things were abundantly clear; they enjoyed a good laugh (usually at themselves) and boy, did they like a drink.

Eventually the reputation for boozing became something of a curse and overshadowed some fine music (they even had a bar and barman on stage for goodness’ sake) – not that the Faces seemed unduly bothered to begin with, adopting a ‘those who live by the bar, fall by it‘, approach to their shows.

Stewart had signed a solo contract with Mercury and already released his excellent, but largely unnoticed debut album ‘An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down‘, by the time the Faces, recording for Warner Bros, put out ‘FIRST STEP‘ (March 1970).

An unfocused, sprawling collection (the ten tracks clock in at almost fifty minutes), this jumble of folk, rock, two instrumentals and (no doubt at the insistence of Stewart) a Dylan cover, is no great shakes. But closing cut ‘Three Button Hand Me Down,’ an energetic rocker with a self-deprecating Stewart lyric, not only offered indication of what was to come from the Faces, but later taken up as a rehearsal/occasional live number by the Sex Pistols.

By the time they followed it with ‘LONG PLAYER‘ (February 1971), Stewart had won more critical acclaim for his ‘Gasoline Alley‘ set of the previous year (three songs from which, ‘It’s All Over Now‘, ‘Cut Across Shorty‘ and the title track became Faces live favourites).

There remained a feeling the Faces were better than their records suggested, the latest offering still not entirely satisfactory. The inclusion of Paul McCartney’s ‘Maybe I’m Amazed‘ as a live cover version showcased the camaraderie of their shows, but another concert performance (a reworking of the blues standard ‘I Feel So Fine‘) badly over-egged the pudding.

Yet for all its aimlessness, ‘Long Player‘ is redeemed by ‘Had Me a Real Good Time,’ and ‘Sweet Lady Mary‘ – two fine songs that showed they could rock and be reflective with the best. The former is a rollicking, carefree romp that serves as a group manifesto, while the latter gives rise to a more wistful side and although never likely to be played in concert, stands as a great track by their or anyone else’s standards.

According to rumour, Stewart penned the words around the same time he wrote those to his imminent worldwide hit ‘Maggie May‘ – both of which bolstered his reputation as a preeminent lyricist of the time. An acoustic ballad of great poignancy, ‘Sweet Lady Mary‘ (written in conjunction with Wood and Lane), is so good, it would not have been out of place on ‘Sticky Fingers‘ or the Burritos debut album.

Stewart maintaining a solo side-line does not appear to have been an issue in the early years – only with the gargantuan sales of ‘Maggie May‘ and its parent album ‘Every Picture Tells A Story‘ (September 1971), did the situation begin to complicate. The success was richly deserved, both the single and LP are defining 70s records – and although the other Faces happily hammed up ‘Maggie May‘ with him on television, it was only his name on the record.

There was pay-off as such when his huge breakthrough prompted an accordant rise in the Faces popularity – reflected in healthy sales of their next album ‘A NOD IS AS GOOD AS A WINK TO A BLIND HORSE‘ (November 1971).

Fresh from engineering the ‘Who’s Next‘ sessions, experienced studio hand Glyn Johns sat at the control panel, putting a stop to the ill-disciplined, self-produced ways of the first two albums.

If not quite an unqualified success, there was still much to enjoy – ‘Too Bad‘, ‘Miss Judy’s Farm‘ and ‘That’s All You Need‘ are full of jaunty, nudge-nudge humour, while the hit single ‘Stay with Me‘ showed nobody went over the top like the Faces, particularly in the turbo charged ending.

In these tall tales of making the best from adversity, Stewart dared the listener not to smile, a line in ‘Too Bad‘ (‘sweaty girls, damp hotels is where I’m going to stay‘) having unintentional humorous resonance – Rod going on to live the LA highlife with actress girlfriend Brit Ekland before the Faces career was over.

They also came up with an imaginative take of Chuck Berry’s ‘Memphis Tennessee‘ (the only cover version), which made them sound less like the Stones and more like The Band – but best of all is ‘Love Lives Here‘, another delightful collaboration between Lane, Wood and Stewart. Reflecting on the passing of time and changing landscape, it does so with the same serenity Ray Davies brought to The Kinks superb ‘Muswell Hillbillies‘ album of the same year.

The vast improvement in production was not the only evidence something was different – the songwriting demographic had also changed, a Stewart-Wood axis now beginning to dominate. The pairing would write three top-notch songs for the next Rod album ‘Never A Dull Moment‘ (July 1972) – another mightily impressive collection that contained ‘You Wear It Well‘, every inch a worthy successor to ‘Maggie May‘.

The most Faces-sounding of his solo work thus far, the glorious ‘True Blue‘ (written with Wood and featuring the entire group), was one of several tracks that found their way into the Faces live repertoire. While ‘Angel‘, ‘I’d Rather Go Blind‘ and ‘Twistin’ the Night Away‘ also brought the house down night after night, it must have been a touch galling for the others promoting an album only Rod would benefit from.

Thus, the Rod, Faces, Rod Stewart and the Faces, conundrum became a burden they could all do without – fragmenting relationships becoming a chasm with release of their next (and final) album ‘OOH LA LA‘ (April 1973).

On release Stewart described it as ‘a disgrace‘, hardly endearing him to the others at a time when his commitment to the group – or lack of it – was being openly questioned. (For all its faults, Rod would put his name to far worse records in the two decades that followed).

True, a couple of the more upbeat numbers sound a touch forced, but there is nothing to dislike about ‘Cindy Incidentally‘, while ‘Borstal Boys‘ is pounding rock of the highest order (the wailing siren at the start is a clever touch and reprised by The Clash on ‘White Riot‘ four years later).

‘My Fault‘ gets by on exuberance, Stewart throwing in a line for the critics, ‘Take me like you find me, don’t try to change me, you know better than that‘ and one for the fans, ‘if everything goes wrong and I drink all night, it’s my fault (no one else)’.

But elsewhere the boys sound on their best behaviour, the Ronnie Lane songs evoking a quieter world (between the fast and folk moments ‘Ooh La La‘ sounds like a joint Rolling Stones/Lindisfarne LP – which in 1973 might have been no bad thing).

Despite also stating the record was ‘a bloody mess‘, Stewart delivers a gorgeous vocal on ‘If I’m On The Late Side‘ (written by him and Lane) that as a singer showed he was still well ahead of the field. Yet there is no trace of him whatsoever on the title track – an absence put down, depending on whose account you believe, to the song not being in the right key or his disinterest in attending the session.

Composed by Wood and Lane, (although no Sinatra, Woody sings his heart out on a rare turn as vocalist), ‘Ooh La La‘, is a homely, joyous piece, that has deservedly become their most enduring song.

Sometime later Stewart retracted his comments, but the damage was done. Taking the criticism personally, Lane, making his biggest contribution as a writer since the debut, left the Faces within three months of ‘Ooh La La‘ coming out.

Replaced by Japanese bassist Tetsu Yamauchi (formerly of Free), before 1973 was over, they released the single ‘Pool Hall Richard‘ which was so ramshackle it could only be them – but the real treasure was found on the B-side, a glorious live reading of The Temptations ‘I Wish It Would Rain‘.

Augmented by a horn section and featuring some sterling keyboard work by McLagan, it sounds as if Stewart is being reminded that nobody played his blend of rock and soul like them.

From his opening dialogue with the audience to the very last note, it was a timely reminder of just how much magic they were capable of creating – sadly it was absent on the live album ‘OVERTURE AND BEGINNERS‘ (January 1974), a record so lacking in atmosphere it made ‘Eagles Live‘ sound like ‘Live at Leeds.’

In 1974 there were solo albums from Stewart (‘Smiler‘) and Wood (‘I’ve Got My Own Album to Do‘) but with Lane gone there was neither incentive or desire to make another Faces LP. Lane meanwhile had formed the band Slim Chance with whom he recorded a couple of engaging albums before making the superb ‘Rough Mix‘ with Pete Townshend in 1977 – a record that only enhanced the reputation of both. Tragically, Lane succumbed to multiple sclerosis in 1997.

But the best thing any Face, past or present, created in 1974 was the exhilarating single ‘You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything‘ – classy, soulful, impossible to sit still to, the B-side, ‘As Long as You Tell Him‘ also showed them in wondrous form. Sadly, even records as magnificent as these were not enough to hold the Faces together, the cat well and truly out of the bag on a label that read Rod Stewart and the Faces.

They reconvened for a US tour in 1975, ostensibly to promote ‘Atlantic Crossing‘ the first solo album Stewart had recorded without Faces input, for which a second guitarist and string section had to be hired in order to replicate Rod’s new polished sound (McLagan in particular critical of the record and extra costs). With Wood ‘guesting’ for the Rolling Stones as they undertook an autumn US jaunt, it was only a matter of time before the Faces formally ceased to exist – Stewart finally putting the matter to bed with an announcement he was leaving in December 1975.

In the immediate post-Faces years there was a short-lived Small Faces reunion, McLagan then recruited by the Stones as a sideman, Wood now residing there on a permanent basis. Jones meanwhile went on to spend seven years in The Who, being enlisted after the death of Keith Moon in 1978.

Stewart carried on making huge selling albums, yet over time each became less authentic and easier to dismiss. Always capable of giving the crowd a good performance, he surrounded himself with musicians who offered reliability when his shows cried out for spontaneity and chaos – things the Faces could produce at the drop of a brandy glass.

Nobody seems sure what happened to Tetsu; even the excellent – and even more excellently named – 4-cd box set ‘Five Guys Walk into a Bar‘ is vague on the subject.

Poor Steve Marriott perished in a house fire in 1991, never receiving the acclaim he deserved for his incredible voice and some superlative songs written for the Small Faces. Then in 2014 McLagan (69) was called to the great bank of keyboards in the sky, in his later years serving the likes of Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen with distinction.

But Mac of all people would not want things to close in a downbeat way. Those four guys he walked onto a stage with heard at their riotous best when telling us, ‘I was glad to come, I’ll be sad to go, so while I’m here, I’ll have me a real good time’ in the uproarious ‘Had Me A Real Good Time.’

‘We’re always available for birthdays, weddings and house warming’s,’ Rod informed the crowd at the 1973 Reading Rock Festival, as if anyone needed reminding they were the ultimate party band – good time merchants who came along when rock most needed them.

Thanks for everything guys – see you at the bar.

FACES – Album Discography:

FIRST STEP (B-); LONG PLAYER (B); A NOD’S AS GOOD AS A WINK TO A BLIND HORSE (A-); OOH LA LA (B+); OVERTURE and BEGINNERS (C);

This article was first published on 03/09/2019.

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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.

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