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Making Time Review:
There are But Four Small Faces is effectively
the US version of the Small Faces' first Immediate album that has been
released in March 1968. The major
difference between the two albums is the the US version contains singles and
b-sides while the UK version only included Talk to You the b-side of
Here Come the Nice. This UK deluxe release takes advantage of the recent
remastering of the Small Faces Immediate catalogue to produce a
stunning-sounding album that showcases these classic tracks at their best and
really does benefit from being played loud. There are two versions of the album,
one in stereo and the second disc has a mono version intended for US DJs. The
set is excellently completed with a booklet containing details of the album with
interviews and more. This is a great read in itself.
Small Faces fans will not need convincing
of the quality of this album. Those who are investigating for the band for the
first time, and there are still many, will discover why the Small Faces
are rated as one of the UK's best band, why Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane rank
alongside Lennon/McCartney and Jagger/Richards as great 1960s songwriting
partnerships and hear some classic singles.
When the Small Faces left Don Arden's
management and Decca Records they signed with Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder's fledgling
Immediate Records. To some extent they became the house band backing many other
artists with Marriott and Lane's songwriting and production skills also
benefiting other acts. Immediate Records promised the band the freedom they
craved with almost unlimited studio time, mostly at Olympic Studios. The Beatles has become a studio
band by this time and musicians were looking to enjoy the freedom that had
previously been denied to them. There is no doubt that while the Small Faces
had produced some tremendous tracks while with Decca, the switch to Immediate
really opened the band up with almost unlimited studio time and the freedom to
exploit it.
Itchycoo Park is a familiar start as
possibly the best-known track for UK and US audiences. Released during the
"summer of love" the track links the psychedelic mood of the times with the East
End of Small Faces London. The-side I'm Only Dreaming is an
enduring track with its inclusion on the album helping to ensure that the track
reaches a wider audience that it surely deserves. B-sides are not always
throwaway tracks and I'm Only Dreaming is a perfect example of the Small
Faces at their best. While Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane wrote the majority of
Small Faces original songs, Ian McLagan chips in with Up the Wooden Hills to
Bedfordshire. The next
single on the album is the phenomenal Tin Soldier. This would have
convinced anybody who still doubted that the Small Faces' creativity was
flourishing in the studio. Although Tin Soldier was a single and not on
an album in the UK it did show a heavier direction which the Small Faces,
later Humble Pie and rock music in general would take. Years later,
Tin Soldier stands out as the Small Faces at their absolute peak, a
great Steve Marriott song, perfect arrangement and every member of the band
playing their hearts out. Add to this the soulful backing vocals of Immediate
artist PP Arnold and who have one of the greatest rock songs ever
recorded. Again, the b-side I Feel Much Better is a highly creative track
and not just a throwaway to fill the space.
The other single on the album was the first launched
in the US although without troubling the chart compilers. Here Come the Nice
is a great example of Marriott at his cheeky best making numerous drug
references and getting away with it. The US version of the single is included on
disc 2. Again, the b-side Talk To You is included and it is a great track
with soulful vocals from Marriott.
Get Yourself Together is another favourite
although one the Small Faces never played live. A great version is
available from The Jam and when Weller asked Mac about it, the keyboard player
could not recall the track. Many of the tracks were played in the studio and
never played again. Get Yourself Together later became a staple of Ian
McLagan's live act. One of Mac's major moments on the album is on the Ronnie
Lane track Show Me The Way with its barque instrumentation. The freedom
of Olympic Studios allowed Mac to use the harpsichord he found there, quite a
departure from the more usual Booker T Jones style he played with the Small
Faces. At the time, Lane was looking for spiritual enlightenment and this
tracks marks the start of his search. Lane also features on Green Circles,
probably one of the band's more "psychedelic" tracks. A curio on side two
which also appeared on The Immediate Years boxed set is a version of
Green Circles with Steve Marriott on lead vocals. Judge for yourself which
is the better version.
The main album finishes with (Tell Me) Have
You Ever Seen Me, the opening track of the UK Small Faces album. This
is a much under-rated and under-played track that certainly justifies its
inclusion. The US album excludes some of the tracks from the UK release although
Eddies Dreaming is included as an extra track. Presumably these were seen as
less appropriate for a US audience especially Marriott's "Cockney" introduction
to "Ronald Leafy Lane".
In summary, nothing especially new here but
without doubt the inclusion of three classic singles and their b-sides makes
this pop and rock perfection. March 2015 |
