Faces

When <a href="spotify:artist:7pvL2bMcPtEGYzwTcULQKj">Steve Marriott</a> left <a href="spotify:artist:1YqGsKpdixxSVgpfaL2AEQ">the Small Faces</a> in 1969, the three remaining members brought in guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:5HFtQOrPHOFptM1WF9xPuK">Ron Wood</a> and lead singer <a href="spotify:artist:2y8Jo9CKhJvtfeKOsYzRdT">Rod Stewart</a> to complete the lineup and changed their name to the Faces, which was only appropriate since the group now only slightly resembled the mod-pop group of the past. Instead, the Faces were a rough, sloppy rock & roll band, able to pound out a rocker like "Had Me a Real Good Time," a blues ballad like "Tell Everyone," or a folk number like "Richmond" all in one album. <a href="spotify:artist:2y8Jo9CKhJvtfeKOsYzRdT">Stewart</a>, already becoming a star in his own right, let himself go wild with the Faces, tearing through covers and originals with abandon. While his voice didn't have the power of <a href="spotify:artist:2y8Jo9CKhJvtfeKOsYzRdT">Stewart</a>, bassist <a href="spotify:artist:3Hw84tYUnRSISebwzmosDC">Ronnie Lane</a>'s songs were equally as impressive and eclectic. <a href="spotify:artist:5HFtQOrPHOFptM1WF9xPuK">Wood</a>'s rhythm guitar had a warm, fat tone that was as influential and driving as <a href="spotify:artist:08avsqaGIlK2x3i2Cu7rKH">Keith Richards</a>' style.

Notorious for their hard-partying, boozy tours and ragged concerts, the Faces lived the rock & roll lifestyle to the extreme. When <a href="spotify:artist:2y8Jo9CKhJvtfeKOsYzRdT">Stewart</a>'s solo career became more successful than the Faces, the band slowly became subservient to his personality; after their final studio album, Ooh La La, in 1973, <a href="spotify:artist:3Hw84tYUnRSISebwzmosDC">Lane</a> left the band. After a tour in 1974, the band called it quits. <a href="spotify:artist:5HFtQOrPHOFptM1WF9xPuK">Wood</a> joined <a href="spotify:artist:22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe">the Rolling Stones</a>, drummer <a href="spotify:artist:57an2MaFNGGCWGF9oP7zDE">Kenny Jones</a> eventually became part of <a href="spotify:artist:67ea9eGLXYMsO2eYQRui3w">the Who</a>, and keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:5HVDf6EAbKdW7Md5V3VL8I">Ian McLagan</a> became a sought-after supporting musician; <a href="spotify:artist:2y8Jo9CKhJvtfeKOsYzRdT">Stewart</a> became a superstar, although he never matched the simple charm of the Faces.

While they were together, the Faces never sold that many records and were never considered as important as <a href="spotify:artist:22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe">the Stones</a>, yet their music has proven extremely influential over the years. Many punk rockers in the late '70s learned how to play their instruments by listening to Faces records; in the '80s and '90s, guitar rock bands from <a href="spotify:artist:4WPY0N74T3KUja57xMQTZ3">the Replacements</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:5krkohEVJYw0qoB5VWwxaC">the Black Crowes</a> took their cue from the Faces as much as <a href="spotify:artist:22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe">the Stones</a>. Their reckless, loose, and joyous spirit stayed alive in much of the best rock & roll of the subsequent decades.

~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine