Top Gear Sessions, Radio One Spring 1968: Get Ready/Every Little Bit Hurts/Lazy Sunday/If I Were A Carpenter

This tape only recently came to light courtesy of Paul Cornwall. The opening number is an instrumental version of the Motown classic Get Ready, which showcases McLagan's exceptional keyboard work, interspersed with nice flashes of fret-work from Steve Marriott. As far as we know the Small Faces never performed this number live, so it was presumably recorded especially for Top Gear. (Note from Martin Payne: When I saw the Jam soundcheck at Bristol Locarno in December 1980 - the day after John Lennon's death- I am sure they did an instrumental version of another Motown song Reach Out I'll Be There. Can anybody shed light on this?)

The following number, Every Little Bit Hurts, was a stage favourite around this time and the studio version features PP Arnold and backing voices. Lazy Sunday is next and this chaotic version features some great ad-libbing from Ronnie Lane, especially on the "rinky dinky doo" middle section where Ronnie chips in with "what a lovely turnout."

The number ends with farmyard chicken clucking away amongst chiming bells. The last number from this excellent session is a studio version of another 1968 Small Faces live favourite If I Were A Carpenter which was a big hit for the brilliant Four Tops. This would make a superb EP if a label like Strange Fruit, who released the Peel Sessions series, could get permission to issue the tapes.

Live in Europe 1966: Stop Me/If I Were A Carpenter/Every Little Bit Hurts/All or Nothing/Tin Soldier

This bootleg vinyl EP, released around 1979, is a bit of a misnomer. The tracks are in fact from the Autumn Stone double set from 1969. They were recorded at Newcastle City Hall in 1968 and the opening track isn't a long lost Small Faces track but Rollin' Over with a different title. The EP is believed to have originated from Israel and that is all we know.

Small Faces: Roll It Over/If I Were A Carpenter/Every Little Bit Hurts/Oh No/Little Tin Soldier

Even more obscure is this bootleg vinyl EP from the United States which surfaced around 1975 with no label or catalogue number. It's the same tracks as the Live In Europe EP again with misleading titles. Roll It Over is of course Rollin' Over. Little Tin Soldier is Tin Soldier minus the Little and Oh No is All or Nothing.

Small Faces: French LP on A/Z Records

This contains alternative versions except for Own Up which is slightly longer than the usual version. This could be a bootleg or a budget release according to Jeff Zang. Does anybody else know this LP? The track listing is as follows:

1. Hey Girl
2. What's the Matter baby?
3. Come Back and Take this Hurt Off Me
4. You Better Believe It
5. Shake
6. Own Up

1. My Way of Giving
2. What'cha Gonna Do About It?
3. Baby Don't Do It
4. Do You See Me
5. Come on Children