Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood arrived from the Jeff Beck Group and joined the remaining members of Small Faces to build something new. Faces began after Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie, but Faces’ first album was credited in the U.S. to Small Faces. It’s understandable if you’re a little confused.
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Beck ended his group’s first incarnation on the eve of the Woodstock Festival, leaving Stewart and Wood to connect with Ian McLagan on keys, bassist Ronnie Lane, and drummer Kenney Jones. Wood’s older brother, Art, and his neighbor, Kim Gardener, collaborated on early recordings under the name Quiet Melon. Then Stewart released An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down—his first solo album—in 1969, also featuring Ronnie Wood and McLagan. Faces released their debut, First Step, in 1970 on Warner Bros. Records. Wood appears on the album cover holding a guitar tutorial called First Step: How to Play the Guitar Plectrum Style.
First Step was a democratic effort, but Stewart and Wood’s songwriting partnership dominated subsequent releases. Stewart’s solo success brought the band more attention, but his rising star cast a shadow over the band. Wood began working with The Rolling Stones in 1975, and Faces broke up by the end of the year.
The group experienced modest success compared to The Rolling Stones or The Who, but their stripped-down rock ’n’ roll was a welcome relief to the bloat taking over ’70s bands. Faces influenced punk bands like the Damned and Sex Pistols. You can also hear their imprint on The Replacements and Guns N’ Roses, and the aesthetic of Ronnie Wood is imaged by Tommy Stinson, Izzy Stradlin, and many more.
If you’re in the mood for British blues revivalism from the early ’70s, the five songs below highlight a period right before Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood became global superstars. Especially for the uninitiated, here are Faces’ top 5 must-listen-to songs
5. “Cindy Incidentally” from Ooh La La (1973)
Apart from “Maggie May,” “Cindy Incidentally” might be Stewart’s most endearing vocal from the Faces era. Ian McLagan shines on this song, and with Nicky Hopkins, became an in-demand session musician, working with the Stones, Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, and in later years, Bruce Springsteen and Paul Westerberg. “Cindy” rivals “Stay With Me” for Wood’s best guitar riff, and it’s not surprising he’d eventually replace Mick Taylor in The Rolling Stones. Faces’ A Nod Is as Good as a Wink… to a Blind Horse may have sold more copies, but Ooh La La is their best work. “Borstal Boys” probably influenced the Robinson brothers as much as the Stones, so do yourself a favor as you shake yer money maker and listen to Ooh La La in its entirety.
4. “Glad and Sorry” from Ooh La La (1973)
With pulsing piano and acoustic guitar, Lane, Wood, and McLagan sing together over chords Carole King might have written for Tapestry. A reflection, “Glad and Sorry” features one of Wood’s finest guitar solos, and it’s nice to hear the band stretch from their default rhythm and blues sound.
3. “Debris” from A Nod Is as Good as a Wink… to a Blind Horse (1971)
Ronnie Lane sings “Debris,” backed by Rod Stewart, who, at the time, had a solo hit with “Maggie May.” With Stewart’s success, Faces’ third album became their most successful worldwide. It was a Top 10 album in the U.S. and peaked at No. 2 in the U.K. “Debris” is a tender slow burner, and Lane’s voice is a nice break from Stewart’s broken glass wail. Stewart’s backing vocal isn’t harmony; instead, he shouts in a higher register like Keith Richards on “Wild Horses.”
2. “Ooh La La” from Ooh La La (1973)
Rod Stewart didn’t sing Faces’ defining song. He and Lane attempted to sing it but weren’t satisfied with the results. Producer Glyn Johns suggested Wood try it; his version made the album. “Ooh La La” sounds like the acoustic blues on the Stones’ Sticky Fingers, and here, Wood is already sounding like a Rolling Stone. Upon release, Ooh La La felt like a letdown after the success of A Nod Is as Good as a Wink… to a Blind Horse, but over time, the album has accrued weight and became Faces’ defining work.
1. “Stay With Me” from A Nod Is as Good as a Wink… to a Blind Horse (1971)
Ronnie Wood’s playing on “Stay With Me” foreshadows his work with The Rolling Stones. It showcases McLagan on the Wurlitzer electric piano, as well. Released a year before the Stones’ Exile on Main St., the dirty blues of “Stay With Me” is a little piece of one-night-stand swagger. It’s Faces at their most dynamic. The song has a snarl like the Sex Pistols before their time. In fact, it probably indirectly influenced Izzy Stradlin’s songwriting on Appetite for Destruction. And it is pretty clearly No. 1 on Faces’ top 5 must-listen-to tunes—especially for the (formerly) uninitiated.
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