Formed
in 1969 out of the remnants of the Small Faces, The Faces are one of the forgotten
bands of the 1970s appearing it seems in the shadow of the likes of The Stones
and The Who. The band was made up of ex-Small Faces Ronnie Lane (bass), Kenny
Jones (drums) and Ian McLagan (keyboards), and ex-Jeff Beck Group members
Ronnie Wood (guitar) and Rod Stewart (vocals). As a band they were together
until 1975, releasing four studio albums and touring widely, whilst gaining a
reputation as heavy partiers and boozers, I guess it was the 70s after all.
The
bands style was very much rock and roll derived and is often labelled as boogie
rock; however their sound also contained soul, R&B, and even folk
influences. The band’s sound relied heavily on the brilliant individual talents
of the members, musicians who were great players in their own right and who are
often overlooked on those greatest players of all time lists in favour of more recognisable
or fancier names. The key aspects of The Faces sound included the very tight rhythm
section of Jones and Lane, with the underrated Lane’s heavy rolling bass lines holding
the bottom end of the sound together. He was very much a lead bass player. Ronnie
Wood who being the only guitarist got the chance to show off his talent more
than he would in The Stones, and in doing so proved how good a guitarist he is
with some amazing solos and slick rhythm playing. I wasn’t going to mention
Rod, but his soulful vocals are a key component and not to be overlooked. In
fact in my opinion he sounds far and away better vocally in this band than he
did as a solo artist, this could be largely to do with the calibre of musicians
he was playing with, as well as the sharing of song-writing duties with Lane
and Wood leading to a more diverse range of styles to play with as a vocalist.
This
brings me to the album. The compilation Good
Boys... When They’re Asleep was released in 1999 and is a true
representation of The Faces sound and career. Everything that is worth hearing
is on here including all their best tracks as well as some lesser known songs.
The highlights for me include the boogie rock of “Had Me a Real Good Time” and “Miss
Judys Farm”, the soul balladry of “Love Lives Here” and the country/folk tinged
“Debris” and “Glad and Sorry” which both feature the Harrisonesque Ronnie Lane
on vocals. Across the nineteen tracks you get a good indication of the bands
boogie laden sound, while the moments when they delved into other areas namely folk
and soul are also on display showing that they weren’t just a one trick pony.
This
is a great compilation of a great band, and represents to me what a compilation
should be, not a greatest hits collection but a best of taking in all their
good moments hit or otherwise. Too many compilations in my opinion are just
loaded up with hits or recognisable songs often at the expense of lesser-known
but just as good material. Luckily this release doesn’t fall into that trap and
is a thorough representation of the artist on show. This compilation is a must
have for anyone who wants to get into one of the great 70s British bands. I
would also recommend it for Stones and Who fans and those into British rock,
because if you haven’t listened to The Faces yet you are missing out on a rear
treat.
A
- Sam
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