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P E R F O R M E R S

A S H L E Y K A H N

ONE OF R O C K & R O L L ' S M O S T I M P R O B A B L E S E C O N D - C O M I N G S

Tl here are groups that are about to rock, and bands

that simply, rock. There are those that prepare and primp until every power chord is just so, and

there are those that power up instinctively—guilelessly— with a generosity of spirit that doesn’t fade over time. The Small Faces and the Faces are kings of that latter category, two bands forming the distinct halves of one unlikely continuum—a shared timeline that writer David Fricke

rightly describes as one of rock & roll’s most “improbable second-comings.”

As the Small Faces, the group first blossomed as a foursome in swinging, mid-sixties London. During the height of psychedelia, with guitarist/singer Steve Marriott usually at the helm, they grew into a scene-leading band. After losing Marriott and recruiting two freelance blues rockers—namely Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood—they returned to deliver some of the most carefree rock & roll

of the 19 70s. Consistent to both lineups was its rhythm section, taking its cues from the best of American R&B and blues: Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones, and second lead singer and songwriting genius Ronnie Lane.

In 1972, Lane described the scene into which the Small Faces were born, and how that music still shaped the

new Faces: “There was a big Mod era, with all the Mods taking pills down at the Marquee, and Tamla-Motown and Otis Redding was what was going down then . . . It’s still our Toots now. With this band it’s still very much in there

in the foundation.”At the start of the sixties in the drab world of postwar

England, a new generation began dressing in sharp, colorful outfits and hanging out. They were the Mods and called themselves “faces,” gobbled speed, and craved records by the Miracles, Booker T. & the MGs, and James Brown. John’s Children and the High Numbers (later renamed

the Who) became centers of the Mod scene. In 1965, a

band composed of East End teenagers—Marriott* Lane,

Jones, and guitarist/keyboardist Jimmy Winston built

an audience in and around London. Their initial set list

included only five tunes; all of short stature and good

humor, they dubbed themselves the Small Faces.They came together easily: Steve Marriott, a former

child actor, sold instruments in a music shop to both Lane

and later Winston; the Outcasts, one of Lane’s first groups,

included Jones. Their first gig in early ’65 ended with a

OPENING PAGE SmaffiFSiiig'SS'Steve Marriott, lan McLagan, Kenney Janes, and Ronnie Laneifrom left). THIS PAGE, FROM TOP darlings, 196^‘On the air in

broken piano, an irate bar manager, and the group on the

sidewalk. But before the year was over, the Small Faces

had a manager (the hard-nosed Don Arden), signed with

Decca Records, hit the U.K. charts with “Whatcha Gonna

Do About It,” and recruited the suitably diminutive Ian

McLagan to replace Winston on Hammond organ. By

1966, they were living together in Central London and

enjoying growing stardom. They appeared regularly on

Ready Steady Go! While the media portrayed the Small

Faces as safe and respectful, their live shows showed off a

rowdy, unruly side.Radio hits followed, some written for the band, others by

them: “Sha La La La Lee”; “Hey Girl”; their first U.K. chart-

topper “All or Nothing”; “My Mind’s Eye”; and “I Can’t Make

I t ” All revealed Marriott’s distinctive growl and a burgeoning

group sound, which began to lean to a harder rock tilt,

influencing a new crop of bands. Check out the Small Faces

19 66 rendition of Willie Dixon’s “You Need Loving ; it s the blueprint for Led Zeppelin’s 1970

classic “Whole Lotta Love.”The Small Faces had been living

fast and, true to their Mod roots,

fashionably, spending on account.

At the outset of ’67, realizing how

little money they had to show for

their success, the group parted

ways with Arden and Decca, and

signed with Andrew Loog Oldham’s

new Immediate imprint. Oldham,

young and connected through his

role as the Rolling Stones’ manager,

gave them free rein in the studio

and reintroduced them to an old friend from Decca days,

producer Glyn Johns.Though Immediate soon fell victim to the label’s

own creative excesses, Oldham deserves credit for giving

the Small Faces the chance to fully realize their studio

potential and develop as songwriters. From 1967 into

’68, they drew freely (and often humorously) from all

the era’s flavors—psychedelic effects like phasing and

spacey harmonies, acoustic instruments, found sounds

to create inspired, three-and-a-half-minute reflections

of their experiences, and of the times: Here Comes the

Nice” (an ode to drug Use that somehow bypassed BBC

rules of the day), “Itchycoo Park” (with its memorable

singalong line, “It’s all too beautiful. . . ”), “Tin Soldier,”

and “The Universal.”Their magnum opus was Ogdens N ut Gone Flake, an

ambitious two-part LP packaged in a round tin resembling

a tobacco can, and advertised with a print ad satirizing the

Lord’s Prayer. On one side, actor Stanley Unwin strung

together a folk-like tale between original songs; the flip

featured Cockney-flavored songs (“Lazy Sunday” and

“Rene”) and the soulful “Afterglow (of Your Love).”The Small Faces had become a creative cauldron, and

cauldrons do boil. Their musical differences pulled them

down divergent paths; they refused to play any Ogden

tracks live. Unhappy when “The Universal” failed to top

the charts, Marriott stopped writing songs. Toward the

end o f ’68, he met guitarist Peter Frampton and, hearing a

more hard-driving, two-guitar band in his future, split to

form Humble Pie. He quit the Small Faces on New Year’s

Eve, 1968.

Ultimately, the Small Faces were part o f the British

Invasion that never invaded. “ Itchycoo Park” represented

their most significant crossing, rocking American radio for

a few months in ’68.

Many heard o f the dismantling o f the Small Faces

and reached out, like Donovan, a fellow Hall o f Fame

inductee, who offered them a gig playing with him (they

respectfully declined); and guitarist Ron Wood, a friend o f

Lane’s then playing bass in the Je f f Beck Group alongside

first two years together, they would tour America no less

than four times.

There were but two hiccups." Their new record

company (Warner Bros.) insisted on keeping the old band

name; “Small” was dropped as a compromise. The second

would prove more challenging: Stewart was already signed

to M ercury as a solo artist. For five years, the singer

recorded simultaneously for the two labels, often using

members o f the Faces on his own recordings. And as his

star rose with hits like 19 7 1’s “Maggie May,” the group

repeatedly found themselves billed as “Rod Stewart and

the Faces,”

Their first three albums were

released in rapid succession in 1970

and ’71: First Step, Long Player, and A

N od Is as Good as a Wink.. . . to a B lin d

Horse (the latter reuniting them for

a third time with Glyn Johns). They

were solid playing blues or gospel-

tinged love songs and weren’t afraid to

take it slow and get teary. Thanks to

T H E I R LIVE S H O W S H A D A R O W D Y , U N R U L Y

R E P U T A T I O N

ABOVE Ron Wood, Lane, an#.find Stewart,1 w e t r i g h t The FiCWt in typk$f&#ckstage ■mode, Hoiland, 1972.

vocalist Rod Stewart. McLagan, Lane,

Jones, and Wood—soon joined by

Stewart—began jamming regularly in

a basement room in South London.

Almost immediately, they made for a

rare musical mix. Having apprenticed

in such blues-focused bands as

Steampacket, Stewart had developed

a confident, raspy vocal style; Wood’s

punchy guitar sound had a worlqnan-

like grit—minimal and effective. In

mid-1969, Stewart and Wood left

Beck’s employ, and a new, five-man

edition o f the Faces emerged. In their

Faces: Lan-e, Wood, Jones, McLaga®, and St ewa rt (f ro mieW

Lane’s influence, they had an affection for country-flavored

ballads. Whether they locked into a supple sentimental

tune or balls-to-the-wall rocker, they had an instinct for

building a great song into a loose-footed, out-and-out jam.

The Faces had a nose for tunes old and new that seemed

tailor-made: Big Bill Broonzy’s *1 Feel So Good”; Paul

M cCartneys “Maybe I ’m Amazed.” Their own songwriting

was top-rate, with a British accent, rootsy, and rough-edged:

“Around the Plynth,” “You’re So Rude,” “Three Button

Hand M e Down.” They explored other flavors as well: a

honky-tonk feel on “Debris” and “Richmond,” a soaring,

jazzy approach on “Flying.” Songs like “Had Me a Real Good

Time” and “Last Orders Please” reflected the jet-setting,

fast-moving road trip their lives had become, as they began

to accrue the rewards that had been denied the Small Faces.

But the recordings, as Jones recalled, only suggest the

full story: “The albums were an advertisement, a trailer for

what we were about. W ith the Faces, live was better.” In

England, they were favorites on various B B C T V shows,

invited back repeatedly; U.S. promoters could not get

enough o f them, and for good reason. Their performances

were informal, good-time affairs, filled with surprises and

laughs, hard fockers and impromptu covers like Ettajam es’

“ I ’d Rather Go Blind,” Luther Ingram’s “ (If Loving You Is

Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right,” and lots o f dancing,

joshing, pushing, and drinking. On one tour, the Faces

installed a fully stocked bar (with bartender) on the side o f

the stage, in full view o f the audience.

The Faces carried the inclusive spirit o f the sixties

well into the seventies, delivering the right mix o f no-

frills, riff-based guitar rock and boisterous abandon

(small surprise so many punk groups regarded the Faces

as stylistic forebears). They may have been rock stars, but

unlike Led Zeppelin, the Stones, or other headliners, the

Faces were accessible rock stars. Check out the security

nightmare on the cover o f A N od Is as Good. . . : the band in

full-tilt concert mode, audience members seated onstage,

a front-row fan chatting up Wood mid-song. O r listen to

“Stay W ith M e,” the hit single from the same album that

was their one entry into the U.S. Top Forty. That fuzz-

filled opening guitar riff, the drum fills kicking it into high

gear, and that delicious break on the Wurlitzer that shifts

it down to a more measured beat, the better to deliver the

song’s bold, bumbling invitation to a one-night stand: One

can’t help but be pulled in, as many female fans were. “Hey,

what’s your name again?”

The Faces had traveled far by 1973, when they began

work on Ooh La La. Their most consistent studio effort—ten

well-crafted songs that preserved both the band’s down-home

sentimentality and raw energy—came at a price. The twin

pressures o f Stewart’s increasing fame as a solo artist (his own

schedule prevented him from making most o f the sessions)

and Lane’s growing desire to step up and sing his own songs

(he wrote or cowrote six o f the album’s ten tracks) ultimately

convinced Lane it was time to break free. Ironically, it was

Wood who sang Ooh La La’s title track. It served as a swan

song for the Faces, with its melancholy refrain: “I wish that I

knew what I know now, when I was younger.”

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B O T H G R O U P S WERE S I M P L Y T O O G O O D

TO BE A R O U N D F O R T O O L O N GThe Faces knew they were a rare and special thing, and

so did their fans. How better to explain that they continued

for two more years after Lane’s departure, even as Stewart’s

solo career shifted into high gear and Wood began his

romance with the Stones? The Faces rocked on with bassist

Tetsu Yamauchi added to the lineup, touring both sides

of the Atlantic and releasing one last, live album before

railing it quits at the end of 1975. The followingyear brought

a surprise reunion of nearly all the original Sm all Faces

McLagan, Jones, and Marriott, with bassist Rick Wills—that

lasted for three years and generated two albums. Jump cut

to 2010: Wood, McLagan, and Jones joined former Simply

Red frontman Mick Hucknall and Sex Pistols bassist Glen

Matlock for a brief fling as the reformed Faces.The fates of the Faces: Marriott returned to the pubs

and clubs of Merry OP England, content to perform in the

intimate settings of his youth; tragically, in ’9 1, he died in

a fire in bis home. Stewart’s story is one of long-running

success spinning gold with gutsy blues and disco workouts,

synth pop ballads and, most recently, torch songs. In early

S i i Wood signed up with the Stones for good—a gig he

maintains to this day. In ’79, Jones was recruited by the

Who to fill the drum chair left empty by Keith Moon’s

death; most recently, he co-leads the Jones Gang. From

'f ? on, McLagan worked as a solo artist and in-demand

sideman, playing with the Stones, Jackson Browne, Bonnie

Raitt, and others; he currently resides in Austin, Texas, and

leads the Bump Band.Ronnie Lane’s path is a narrative all its own. His creative

vision led him £ £ form such projects as a brief, circus­

like tour—The Passing Show—and the motley folk-rock

ensemble Slim Chance. During sessions in 77 for Rough

M ix with Pete Townshend, he was diagnosed with multiple

sclerosis; in ’83, his illness inspired the legendary A.R.M.S.

(Action and Research for Multiple Sclerosis) benefits.

A year after, Lane moved to America, and eventually

succumbed to M.S. in ’97, “Glad and sorry,” he sang ruefully

on a memorable Faces tune: “Can you show me a dream?/

Can you show me one that’s better than mine?/Can you

stand it in the cold light of day?/Neither can I.”

Both the Small Faces and the Faces were simply too

good to be around-for too long. Lane’s lyric captures the

bittersweet feeling that seems to flavor their history, the

same sentiment that accompanies their induction tonight

as neither Lane nor Marriott will be here to receive a well-

deserved statuette, nor hold it high. They were the two

who got the ball rolling back in 1964, when they met at that

East End music shop and started talking music. So set ’em

up one more time, barman, and let’s raise glasses to Steve

and Ronnie—along with Mac, Kenney, Rod, and Woody.

Cheers, mates, and welcome all Faces, small and large, to

the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!