Faces reuniting?

[Chris P.]

Well, my thoughts about The Small Faces, Faces and Humble Pie.

I think The Small Faces is a truly unique band and one of the best bands ever. Based losely on Booker T. & the MGs of course. Steve's one of the best white soulsingers ever and he didnn't overshout himself in this band yet. His guitar playing is spikey and great, I think Kenney is the best pop drummer ever (with Moon being a league on his own), Mac is one of the best keyboard players doing great jobs on Wurlitzer B3 and piano and I just love Plonks bass and singing (BTW: I know someone who want to sell his Harmony, which is really Plonks bass!!! PM me if interested). The songs of TSF were great. Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake is legendary and they just have unique songs.
I prefer them over The Beatles, The Kinks and The Who and even Townshend wanted to be in TSF!

Listen to this! maybe not the best song ever, but IMHO the best pop song ever! Listen to the way it builds up, the climax with PP Arnold, going back and again a climax at the end. And the drum signature of Kenney when the song's already over:



Singing along in my car with Performance - Live at the Filmore or some live Faces songs is one of my guilty pleasures, but I don't like most of the stadium rock somgs of The Faces and Humble Pie. Steve's overshouting himself, songs of 20 minutes with boring solos... I do like the soul songs of Humble Pie and the Ronnie Lane folk songs of The Faces though. I think Steve was just peaking with the Small Faces and it was downhill afterwards. I have some solo stuff with bluesy shouting versions of Small Faces songs... Not that good.

But I only have all those albums because of the really unique band that The Small Faces are. If you buy this CD/DVD with the Marriott tribute concert you see how difficult it is to play those songs well. Nice DVD/CS though.

[dexter]

Of course there are two, erm, faces to The Faces. On one hand the stadium rock like Stay With Me, which is great while driving. But I like the Foly Lane songs like Debris much too!



BTW: I can't get enough of this one. A Macca song. I believe there are two versions on that box set. Another one's on one of their albums. The fun they have, they have, the great Plonk basslines, his vocals and the vocals of Plonk en Rod together, the Zemaitis. Everything!

Chris that is correct , there are two versions on the box set , this version you posted is the better one, imo .... but they are both great ,  you may like to know there is another live performance of  the Faces doin this on u- tube  , search for Faces live at the marquee 1971, youll find it,... fine performance too .

just out of curiosity , why do you refer to Ronnie Lane  as ' Foly Lane '  in post above above  ?, .... never heard this before?

nice to know there is someone else here who digs the band too,  and since you mentioned  'Stay With Me ', here is  a great live television  performance ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIWba_pAMW0&feature=related

uwe .... Ronnie Wood played all the guitars , AND bass on  'Maggie Mae'     ....superbly so ,..... imo 

dexter

[dexter]

oh you guys are on to  Steve Marriot now, .... well here  he is in one of his most rockin performances , ever , ... with Humble Pie
just awesome...



dexter

[Chris P.]

I think I meant something like folky Lane songs. And typing to quick it became foly.

[gweimer]

BTW: I can't get enough of this one. A Macca song.

I don't recall hearing the Faces version, but my band in the late '70s did a version of this that is eerily close.  Right down to the melodic plonking bass runs.  I'll have to post it for you somewhere.

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

oh you guys are on to  Steve Marriot now, .... well here  he is in one of his most rockin performances , ever , ... with Humble Pie
just awesome...



dexter

Faces were cool as hell when they were young but I wouldn't want to see 'em now without Ronnie Lane.

That's the Best of Marriott in my opinion too, Dex.
I posted that same vid over yonder here a few days ago. 

[Chris P.]

I don't recall hearing the Faces version, but my band in the late '70s did a version of this that is eerily close.  Right down to the melodic plonking bass runs.  I'll have to post it for you somewhere.

Maybe I'm Amazed sounds totally like a song the Faces could have written. Hearing it back to back to Stay With Me it could be written in the same period. But if you listen to the real McCartney song, you'll hear the Faces are eerlily close to the original too. Some of those basslines are more Macca than Plonk. With the sharing vocals, Macs keys and Woody I find the Faces version much better though. On the box there's a studio version and a liver version and on one of the studio albums there's another live version. I play them all three very often.

Mac writes in his great book All The Rage that they were driving through the States hearing this song on the radio. They didn't knew who it was but Mac said: 'If McCartney could start writing those kind of songs he would be great!' Later it turned out it was Macca...





Okay, I told this never before. Nobody knows this! One of my bg secrets. Hold on tight.





I don't play guitar. Just three chords, but not fluently. But sometimes I grab the set neck mahogany bodied Epiphone '57 Les Paul Jr. of my girlfriend. I'll give it an open tuning (DAGDAD or something), so I can play chords with one stretched finger. I plug the Junior into my 200W  Orange all tube bass rig and I play the chords of I Don't Need No Doctor really loud! Love it:D With the P90 it immediately sounds like Stevie Marriott and for a moment I'm him! (but without that very bad moustache he had during Humble Pie;) )

[Basvarken]

I don't recall hearing the Faces version, but my band in the late '70s did a version of this that is eerily close.  Right down to the melodic plonking bass runs.  I'll have to post it for you somewhere.

With the band Stonefly we do Maybe I'm Amazed too.
This was recorded before I joined the band, but it is still on the setlist.

[gweimer]

You can find our version on my BandMix page -  www.bandmix.com/garyweimer

[Chris P.]

If one of you guys accidentally run into Ronnie Wood or Rod the Mod.. Tell 'm I'm available. And cheap. And I drink lotsa beer.

[OldManC]

Quite loose, yes. 

I had a better recollection of Kenny Jones "time stability", but that must have been from The Who days when he was mostly drumming to a click (and sounded dead for it)! Ron Wood's choice of notes in his solos is adventurous too  . ...

The Who tied Jones' hands from the beginning and they really suffered for it. Years ago on MTV I saw an early 'reunion' show they did that Kenney played and he tore it up completely. Played just like Moon and the band sounded fantastic. He was fully capable of playing in that style. For some reason, they wouldn't allow him to when he was first in the band.

Here's where 'loose' beats tight in my book:

[Chris P.]

The NME site states that the bass player of Rod Stewarts liveband will replace Ronnie.... I did some googling, but I don't know who that is.

[rockinrayduke]

I like the Wood/Rod era of the Faces but I'm a bigger fan of the original lineup of Small Faces. And a big +1 to the Ronnie Wood on bass idea. His bass work on the first 2 JBG albums still makes me grin my ass off.

[uwe]

The NME site states that the bass player of Rod Stewarts liveband will replace Ronnie.... I did some googling, but I don't know who that is.

Should be this young man then playing a product of the renowned Fender company, California. Or the umpteenth boutique version of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7fEmmakhzA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlegAUs5hL0&feature=related

[Dave W]

I see Rod doesn't have to worry about his voice, he just gets the audience to sing his hits.