Customer Reviews

Ooh La La

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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 ....

This is the Faces' tightest album, filled with rough, tough three-minute rock n' roll songs. The arrangements are the best you'll find on any Faces record, and the songs are more varied than usual in mood and tempo, spanning ballads, hard rock, piano-driven boogie rock, and acoustic folk-rock.

Ian McLagan plays wonderful boogie piano on the swaggering rockers "My Fault" and "Borstal Boys", and Ron Wood's muscular guitar playing on the mid-tempo groove of the classic "Cindy Incidentally" and the good-time barroom boogie of "Silicone Grown" is some of his best and most focused playing on record.
And even the lesser-known songs are excellent, like the superbly melodic "Just Another Honky" and the acoustic title track.

This collection of songs is the best you'll find on any Faces album (well, alongside "A Nod Is As Good As A Wink..."), and "Ooh La La" is a must-have for Faces fans, hardcore and casual alike.
4 1/2 stars - highly recommended.

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.

The Faces-Ooh La La ****

While not as instantly memorable as A Nods As Good As A Wink To A Horse, Ooh La La just might be the best album The Faces ever recorded. For one thing this was the last honest thing that Rod Stewart ever recorded. While he might say this is unworthy of him that is only because he only lends minimal help to the album. What he does lend is amazing and among some of his best work; but what makes this album great is Ronnie Wood, Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan, and Kenny Jones, the guys who actually make up the faces.

The fiery rockers of 'Silicone Grown' and 'Cindy Incidentally' simply tear the house down. The rawer, more bluesy 'Flags And Banners' add new flavor while the title cut 'Ooh La La' is among royalty as it is simply one of the greatest songs ever written.

What is most amazing about Ooh La La is Ronnie Wood who proved he was more than a sloppy drunk guitar player, much more. He proved he was one of the greatest sloppy drunk guitar players as well as an integral part of The Faces and soon The Rollin Stones.

Ohh La La is an album so pure and so raw that it seems it was written to the definition of rock n' roll. The faces will forever be remembered as Rod Stewart's stepping stone which is sad. But those of us who really listen know the true story.

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.

After reading all the reviews of Faces CD's, everybody has it wrong. The title song, Ooh La La, wasn't sung by either Rod Stewart or Ronnie Lane. Read up on Faces/Stewart/Wood history & you'll find that Rod didn't think the song was up to his standards, although both he & Ronnie Lane took a turn at recording it. It probably had more to do with him not writing the song, but Wood/Lane writing it. Then the producer suggested Ronnie Wood give it a go with his first lead vocal performance. Once it was captured, the band decided to go with RONNIE WOOD's lead vocal on the song. It's Wood's version on the new t.v. commercial as well. Recently, Stewart warmed up to the song & recorded it himself, but nothing compares to Wood's version here. It was this lead vocal turn that gave Wood the confidence to record his 1st 2 solo CD's before leaving Faces & joining the Stones. Catch them if you can, "I've Got My Own Album To Do", & "Now Look". Of course, by far Wood's best solo CD is "Gimme Some Neck". It's what the Faces would sound like in 1979, & what the Stones were trying to sound like at that time in between "Some Girls" & "Emotional Rescue". Also of note is that Keith Richard is featured on all 3 of Wood's solo CD's.

i always knew that the expression ooh la la came after something good and this just confirmed it for me. faces were at the top of their game for this one and it is just sad to find out that this would be their last studio offering. everything about this album is good from the cover to the pictures on the inside sleeve. rod's voice sounds great and both ronnie wood and ronnie lane are equally as great on the guitar. the album has everything you could ask for with such standout tunes like "CINDY INCIDENTALLY" "IF I'M ON THE LATE SIDE" and "FLAGS AND BANNERS"and that's not even the tip of the iceberg. you still have seven outstanding tracks that are equally as good or not better than the afore-mentioned.so do yourself a favor and buy this masterpiece so you can say ooh la la.

This CD is worth owning if only for the RONNIE LANE tunes anybody that disagrees should take another listen to "Flags and Banners","Glad And Sorry" (Golden Smog does a decent cover of this)or "Oh LA LA"

this album is great especially glad and sorry ronnie wood pours his heart out with this guitar solo.that solo gives me goose bumps.i have all of ronnie woods solo albums they are terrific.

Warner Japan extends its near-perfect track record of providing state-of-the-art remastering while remaining true to the dynamic range of the original recording. None of these remasters are available in the U.S., which remains almost criminal, thanks to WMG USA.

These mini-sleeve remasters are now the defacto best-in-class audio version of each album. The mastering supercedes all other worldwide releases, and is superior even to the Rhino box. There is enhanced clarity in each disc, especially in the percussion.

Except for Nod, which was just a single-fold standard jacket, each 'sleeve also has the original custom-designed LP covers, with all the gatefolds and die-cuts, right down to the real thread stitching on Long Player. Nod does have the original fold-out poster, too, miniaturized to perfection.

Warner Japan seldom, if ever, represses mini-sleeves, and often the 'sleeve remasters are only ever available on those editions. So, if you're a fan of these albums, and you want the best audio, get yours before they're gone.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.