FACES - At The BBC
October 9, 2024, a month ago
(Rhino)
When discussing "proto-punk" bands, the most common names seem to be the likes of the Stooges, the MC5, and New York Dolls. But one that tends to get overlooked is the Faces – who have been name-checked over the years by likes of the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones as an early influence.
Picture a more drunken and rowdy Rolling Stones, and you're not that far off from what the band – which featured a pre-superstar Rod Stewart on vocals and a pre-Stones Ron Wood on guitar – sounded like. And on the new box set, Faces At The BBC - Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973, we get to hear what the band sounded like playing live together…albeit in a studio rather than on a concert stage.
Included are such standouts as "Miss Judy's Farm," "Cindy Incidentally," and their biggest hit, "Stay With Me," as well as a few early Stewart solo tunes, including a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Angel," plus "Maggie May." But what results in a deduction of a point is that only the hardest of hardcore Faces fans will be able to listen to it all in its entirety and not be tempted to skip over at least one of the five different renditions of "Miss Judy's Farm" (as several selections are repeated throughout).
Still, this extensive 8 CD (+ a Blu-Ray) set is a further reminder what a great – and oft-overlooked – rock band the Faces were during this golden period.
