The Faces were the quintessential ‘70s British band. Elegantly louche, often heavy but never metal, they were rooted in the blues without being blues-rock. Their recordings are collected in a box set featuring all four albums with live or alternate take bonus tracks plus a fifth disc of non-LP singles and B-sides.
The band evolved out of a ‘60s group more popular in the U.K. than the U.S., The Small Faces. They outgrew their original name when they lost singer Steve Martiott to Humble Pie in 1969 and stole a pair of rising stars from the Jeff Beck Group, guitarist Ron Wood and singer Rod Stewart. On their debut album, First Step (1970), The Faces’ tough mid-tempo rock flowed into finger picked acoustic songs, which sounded as if preserved in Appalachian aspic, and numbers whose controlled fervor was derived from gospel music. They transformed Bob Dylan’s “Wicked Messenger” into a doomy rock song driven by Ian McLagan’s organ. Drummer Kenny Jones and bassist Ronnie Lane propelled the music with muscular rhythms.
The Faces successfully mixed different influences with original songs and powerful cover versions. Wood was an adept slide guitar player, conjuring the spirit of the Mississippi Delta in an amped-up context. As lead vocalist, Stewart invested ballads with ragged vulnerability and whopped-and-hollered through the hard rockers.
Long Player (1971) continued in the direction of First Step. Half the album was recorded live at the Fillmore East, capturing their loose coherence, a combustion of talent without polish. Among the highlights was a fervent rendition of Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed.” By the time of A Nod is as Good as a Wink… To a Blind Horse (1971), the favorite album for many of the band’s fans, The Faces sounded increasingly like The Rolling Stones without ceasing to sound like themselves. The album includes their signature song, “Stay With Me,” a brilliantly nasty put-down of a one-night sexual partner written by Wood and Stewart. There would be no morning after, the singer insisted as the guitarist laid down a blistering lead.
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The final album by The Faces, Ooh La La (1973), included one of their biggest hits, Wood-Stewart-McLagan’s “Cindy Incidentally.” However, by then, Lane quite the band and Stewart’s successful solo career began to eclipse them, even as they performed his hits on tour. In 1976 Wood left to join The Rolling Stones and McLagan became the Stones’ regular keyboardist. After a brief Small Faces reunion, Jones joined The Who, filling Keith Moon’s seat.
Suggested Albums
First Step (1970)
Long Player (1971)
A Nod is as Good as a Wink… To a Blind Horse (1971)
Ooh La La (1973)
