The Faces - Open To Ideas (1969-1975)

Compilation 
The Faces were a British rock band active in the early 70s. 

The Faces were together from 1969 to 1975, by which time Rod Stewart's solo career had become much more successful, causing problems in the group which finally led to their breakup. Over those six years they released four studio albums, a live album, and a number of singles. In 2004 a box set was released called Five Guys Walk Into A Bar..., which featured most of their original album tracks with an array of bonus material. I have compiled the best of this bonus material into this 14-track album.

With outtakes, rehearsal recordings, non-album singles, b-sides, and material from their last ever studio sessions, it makes for an excellent compilation. Among the highlights are covers of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy", The Beach Boys' "Gettin' Hungry" and a live version of The Temptations' "I Wish It Would Rain", plus "Tonight's Number", a stunning instrumental Ronnie Lane and Ron Wood recorded for the film Mahoney's Last Stand. It also includes three singles which can't be found on their original albums, including their non-charting cover of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" (a different recording to the live version that appeared on Long Player) and the raucous "Pool Hall Richard" (which actually got to #8 on the UK singles chart). The most exciting inclusion is their last ever single - the brilliant "You Can Make Me Dance, Sing Or Anything", together with its b-side "As Long As You Tell Him". These could be argued to be their very best two songs, and a perfect A and B side pairing. As they weren't included on any of their original albums, they are generally forgotten today, though the single was a #12 UK hit at the time.

The material here is easily as good as that of the original albums, and shows that if the band had stayed together they could have maybe released another classic record. I haven't put every last bonus track from the box set here - I left out lots of live recordings, rehearsal recordings that were just too rough, and bland instrumentals (including some b-sides).

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The Faces - Ooh La La (1973)

The Faces were a British rock band active in the early 70s.

Ooh La La was the fourth album from the Faces. It was notable for being split between one side of rockers, and one side of slower songs. It generated the band's highest charting single, the mid-tempo "Cindy Incidentally" which got to #2 in the UK (though today it is not as well remembered as their earlier trans-Atlantic hit "Stay With Me"). The other notable song was the title track, the only Faces song to be sung by guitarist Ronnie Wood. The album was a success, and topped the UK album chart.

However by 1973 tensions were running high, mostly due to the fact that singer Rod Stewart's solo career was proving much more successful than the band (he had scored two #1 hits with "Maggie Mae" and "You Wear It Well"). He was becoming increasingly distanced from his band-mates, and in concert they were presented as little more than his backing group. It was bassist Ronnie Lane who was irritated the most, and shortly after the album's release he left the band. He was replaced by former Free bassist Tetsu Yamauchi, and the band stayed together for a while longer, but Ooh La La turned out to be their last studio album.

A Nod Is As Good As A Wink... To A Blind Horse (1971) <|> Coast To Coast (1974)
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The Faces - A Nod Is As Good As A Wink... To A Blind Horse (1971)

The Faces were a British rock band active in the early 70s.

The third album from The Faces, 1971's A Nod Is As Good As A Wink... To A Blind Horse, turned out to be both their most consistent and also their commercial breakthrough. Their first two albums could perhaps be accused of being uneven, but A Nod was consistently strong throughout, and saw them hone their distinctive style of boozy rock & roll to perfection, through eight fanastic original songs and a cover of Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee". The best-known track is "Stay With Me", which when released as a single got to #6 in the UK and #17 in the US. Elsewhere, the album featured both some of their best rockers and their most stirring ballads.
Also notable for three excellent songs written and sung by bassist Ronnie Lane. Though he was obviously not as talented a singer as Rod Stewart, he was a great songwriter and a vital part of the band's sound.
The album itself was a #2 hit.

Long Player (1971) <|> Ooh La La (1973)
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The Faces - Long Player (1971)

The Faces were a British rock band active in the early 70s.

The Faces' second album came out in 1971, and saw them hone their distinctly British style of rock & roll further. It could be accused of being uneven - whilst their good-time, back-to-basics boozy rock was perfected on the standout track "Had Me A Real Good Time", it also proved to be their downfall on the rambling live recording of "I Feel So Good". Elsewhere though, Long Player presented a wider range of sounds than their somewhat rushed debut, with a bit more focus on their laid-back acoustic side. Guitarist Ronnie Wood got to play pedal steel on "Sweet Lady Mary", and also closed the album with an instrumental slide guitar reading of the stirring English hymn "Jerusalem". Also featured was a live cover of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" (a studio version was released as a single ahead of the album). Whilst as a whole the album can't exactly be called perfect, it certainly does include some of the band's best material. It got to #31 on the UK album charts.

First Step (1970) <|> A Nod Is As Good As A Wink... To A Blind Horse (1971)
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The Faces - First Step (1970)

The Faces were a British rock band active in the early 70s.

Bassist Ronnie Lane, organist Ian McLagan and drummer Kenney Jones had been members of the successful British mod-rock band Small Faces. Singer Rod Stewart and guitarist Ronnie Wood had played together in The Jeff Beck Group (the latter on bass), and when frontman Steve Marriott left the Small Faces, Stewart and Wood replaced him and the band became simply the Faces. Stewart had also released a solo album by the time their debut First Step came out. It consisted of nine band originals (mostly raw bluesy rockers but also including a few tender ballads and a moment of light-hearted folk) alongside a powerful reworking of Bob Dylan’s “The Wicked Messenger”. However, despite a distinctive sound emerging, and the album including some positively first-rate material (in particular Ronnie Lane's ballad "Devotion") by the inclusion of two mediocre instrumentals it was clear the band were still finding their feet.

|> Long Player (1971)
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