Ooh La La

Faces

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 1993)
• Original Release Date: 1973
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KEF
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,131 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Paul Westerberg often cited the Faces as a major influence on the Replacements, and it's easy to see how careening barroom rockers like this 1973 album's "Borstal Boys" made a dent in the aesthetic that produced "I.O.U." and "Takin a Ride." More than anything, though, Westerberg was affected by the late Ronnie Lane's closed-door weepers ("Flags and Banners" and dejected apologias ("Glad and Sorry"). Rod Stewart also essays a sensitive moment or two, notably on the single "Cindy Incidentally," which nearly equals "You Wear It Well" as a masterpiece of the heartfelt affection he once commanded so effortlessly. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stayed Up All Night Checkin' Out The Doctor's Guide, May 10, 2001

By	David Bradley "David Bradley" (Sterling, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Though not as good as A NOD'S AS GOOD AS A WINK TO A BLIND HORSE, OOH LA LA is fine LP from one of my favorite bands.

Rod Stewart may not like OOH LA LA because it is the Faces album that most highlights other band members, and he didn't get to suck up his usual percentage of the glory.

Ronnie Lane and Ron Wood, Ian MacLagen, the actual musicians in the Faces, cruise through this LP. Lane, in particular, is in his element, turning out the kind of songs that also shine on his ROUGH MIX project with Pete Townshend.

The Faces were good fun, and the fact that Stewart has decided this album is beneath him says more about his disproportionate ego than anything else. Stewart hasn't been one of the boys in decades, and seems to have forgotten that it was the boys who brought him to stardom in the first place.

I've loved "Ooh La La" since the first day I heard it, and have performed it live at every lousy club and street corner I've ever performed on. Ronnie's performance on this LP is perfection. Stewart's recent attempt at the tune was lame and, to my ears, an insulting attempt to cash in on his former bandmate's lesser success. Stewart didn't diss "Ooh La La" when he remade it or when he collected the royalty checks from it's use in that stupid TV advertisement.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars for the Faces' swan song , January 23, 2007

By	bass boy "music fan" (Arkansas) - See all my reviews

Actually, the song "Ooh La La" is sung by Ronnie Wood, not Ronnie Lane, as stated in the review below. Wood did share vocals with Lane on "Glad and Sorry." Although "Ooh La La" is a Lane song -- Lane first tried singing it, and then Stewart tried, but they fought over which key to perform the song in -- that's when Wood stepped in and sang it, and it's the best Ron Wood vocal ever, hands-down.
A 4.5 star record from one of the greatest bands of all time. The title track alone is worth the 10-dollar asking price. It's possibly the Faces' greatest studio cut, even greater than the popular "Stay With Me," although "Stay With Me" has a better bass line. Had the Faces stayed together - Lane quit soon after this 1973 LP came out - they would have suprassed the good Rolling Stones. The Faces had three great writers in Lane, Wood and Stewart, and Jones and McLagan also were good at composing, whereas the Stones only utilized two writers most of the time.

Enjoy! The "Five Guys Walk Into A Bar" box set is worth it, if you want to get more than one Faces disc and see what this terrific band was like ....

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I don't care what Rod Stewart and the critics have said., November 1, 1998

By A Customer

This album has routinely been chided by critics as a sell-out, a primary example of a once-substantial band yielding to commercial pressure. Further, Rod Stewart himself considers the album horrible and has publicly disowned it. Frankly, I don't care what the critics have written. A turn to the more upbeat, which this album undeniably is, in their world will usually be dismissed as an abandonment of artism. That is, of course, unless a plug would mean an advancement in their careers. Actually, there's much of value on this album, and the hilarity of "Silicone Grown" doesn't preclude this. "Cindy Incidentally" and "Borstal Boys" rank among the band's finest work, and there is not a bad track on this album. While the traditionally critically-favored albums _A Nod's as Good as a Wink..._ and _The Long Player_ each have their weaknesses ("Memphis, Tennessee" in the case of "Nod" and the whole second side of "The Long Player") this album never ceases to interest.

Returning to Rod Stewart's dismissal of the album, it must be noted that the artist had also dismissed "Truth," the first album of two on which he sang lead vocals for Jeff Beck. It seems that he and Jeff didn't get along very well, and that's all right, but I think Rod's opinion of _Truth_ is more based on his contempt of Jeff Beck than the quality of the music. Similarly, during the production of _Ooh La La_, Rod and the rest of the band were on particulary bad terms. The rest of the band resented Rod's success as a solo artist, and Rod rarely showed up for recording sessions. Again, I think Rod simply hates the album because he hated this phase of his career. I guess you can't blame him, but it's sad to note that since the Faces broke up he hasn't produced anything as substantial and instead (now it can safely be said) sold out, while Ron Wood has taken the artistic high road but not had the successful solo career of Rod. This is understandable because, until 1992, Ron Wood couldn't sing to feed his menacing addictions to nicotine and alcohol and who-knows-what-else.