Label: UMC – 5394184, UMC – 00600753941843
Series: Essential (14)
Format:
3 x CD, Compilation
Country: UK
Released: Jul 2021
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Classic Rock
1-1 All Or Nothing
1-2 What'Cha Gonna Do About It
1-3 Grow Your Own
1-4 Sha La La La Lee
1-5 Hey Girl
1-6 Own Up Time
1-7 I've Got Mine
1-8 You Better Believe It
1-9 Don't Stop What You're Doing
1-10 Plum Nellie
1-11 You Need Loving
1-12 My Way Of Giving
1-13 Almost Grown
1-14 What's A Matter Baby
1-15 Understanding
2-1 My Mind's Eye
2-2 I Can't Make It
2-3 I Can't Dance With You
2-4 Here Come The Nice
2-5 Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow
2-6 That Man
2-7 Just Passing
2-8 Baby Don't You Do It
2-9 (Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me
2-10 It's Too Late
2-11 I Feel Much Better
2-12 I'm Only Dreaming
2-13 Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire
2-14 Get Yourself Together
2-15 Wide Eyed Girl On The Wall
2-16 Don't Burst My Bubble
2-17 Eddie's Dreaming
3-1 Itchycoo Park
3-2 Tin Soldier
3-3 Red Balloon
3-4 Lazy Sunday
3-5 The Universal
3-6 Afterglow (Of Your Love)
3-7 Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
3-8 Rollin' Over
3-9 Wham Bam Thank You Mam
3-10 Song Of A Baker
3-11 The Journey
3-12 Mad John
3-13 The Hungry Intruder
3-14 The Autumn Stone
3-15 Donkey Rides, A Penny, A Glass
3-16 Green Circles
3-17 Become Like You
Formed in London in 1965 their name, Small Faces was particularly appropriate. All were mods, for whom the term ‘face’ meant someone to check out for what they were wearing, listening to, reading etc. And you guessed it, with the exception of their original keyboardist, Jimmy Winston, Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane and Kenney Jones were all were under 5’5” tall. Needless to say Jimmy was subsequently replaced in 1966 by Ian McLagan who literally ‘fitted’ the bill being under.
Progress was swift with rehearsals in a pub in Manor Park quickly leading to one-off shows in the capital, which is how future star Elkie Brooks got to hear them and so taken was she by lead singer Steve Marriot’s vocals, recommended them to an agent. They never looked back and after subsequently securing a management contract with Don Arden, a deal with Decca followed and lead to their debut single What’Cha Gonna Do About It in the autumn of 1965. It rose to No.14 on the UK charts, whilst the follow up in Feb 1966, Sha-La-La-La-Lee climbed to No.3. However both were cover versions and Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane were keen to push the songs they’d been writing together. 3rd single Hey Girl saw the label back them and in return achieve a UK top 10 but it was Marriott and Lane’s penned All Or Nothing in August ‘66 that proved the game changer, reaching the UK No.1 spot that autumn.
Over the next 2 years they would rarely be away from the singles and album charts. Single hits included My Mind’s Eye (UK No.4), Itchycoo Park (UK No.3), Lazy Sunday (UK No.2) and Tin Soldier (UK No.9) whilst their debut long player for Decca hit No.3 in the album charts, the official follow-up for Immediate No.12 and the subsequent Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake the No.1 spot in the summer of 1968.
On the surface things couldn’t have been better as 1968 played out but pressures within the band had been building for some time and after a New Year’s Eve show Marriott quit and subsequently went on to form Humble Pie. Lane, McLagan and drummer Kenney Jones would subsequently join forces with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood and become The Faces.
Kenney Jones is sadly now the only surviving member of the band. He still occasionally plays with Rod and Ronnie in the Faces and has kindly contributed to both the track listing and artwork for this release for which we are very grateful.
You’ll find all the Small Faces singles together with key album tracks and rarities across the 3CDs here. Enjoy…