Customer Reviews

Small Faces (35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

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The year 1967 marked The Small Faces change of record labels (from Decca to Andrew Loog Oldham's newly-formed Immediate), and a switch from the more r&b-based British mod sound to a more psychedelic-flavored pop sound. Of the band's first four Immediate singles in Great Britain, it was the third one, "Itchycoo Park," which _finally brought them notoriety in the United States. To capitalize on its Top 15 chart success, the album "There Are But Four Small Faces" was issued over here in February 1968, a release whose structure resembled some of the early Beatles Capitol albums, a mishmash of LP and single tracks, and bearing only seven of the fourteen tracks on the June 1967 "Small Faces" album released in England. Not only does this double-cd set present the original British album (tracks 1-14 on disk one and 2-15 on disk two), but disk two presents the original mono mixes of all album and single tracks, most of which have become very difficult to come by over time. I'm very happy to finally have the original mono single mix of "Itchycoo Park" on cd: Because of the complexity of the phasing technique then (getting identical tracks to play a tiny fraction of a second apart), it was easier to get a more circular, swirling phase effect with a mono recording--as you'll hear if you play the two mixes back-to-back. Meanwhile, the stereo mixes of "Green Circles," "Get Yourself Together," and "Tin Soldier" all feature the entire backing track bunched into the middle, with the lead vocal on one side and any backing vocals on the other--the result being the vocals fairly buried in the mixes, so the only way you could really hear them well was in stereo headphones. The balance between music and vocals on these three tracks is much better on the mono mixes. You'll also notice a little stronger bass and backbeat on a few of the other mono tracks, especially the frustration-powered "Talk To You." If, however, mono just doesn't float your boat, the stereo mixes are all here for you on disk one, along with the final two cuts on disk two. (Apparently there is no true stereo mix of "Happy Boys Happy," but everything else on disk one is stereo.) There's even a stereo mix of "Don't Burst My Bubble," which I did not know existed. It's great, also, to have the original album (as the artists intended it) together in order on cd--including some great tracks left off the US release, "Something I Want To Tell You," the forementioned "Happy Boys Happy," and "Become Like You," among others. The liner notes are pretty informative, although I would have liked a bit more. All in all, though, this package is a winner, and at a decent price for a double import, I do not believe you'll regret the purchase.

Although the contents of the Small Faces' Immediate debut (after 2 albums from Decca) may be found elsewhere, such as the superb compilation "Darlings of Wapping Wharf Launderette," the sequencing and overall concept of this package makes it superior for anyone who doesn't have this material already. The remastering is solid, both on stereo and mono versions, and the progress the group made from the explosive Decca sides, which date from mid-1965 through 1966, to the inventive, meticulously constructed (with help from Glyn Johns)music released in May 1967 is astonishing.The tonal coloring and range of emotional content (from the soulful Marriott-led tracks to the whimsical to the melancholy, searching Ronnie Lane classic "Show Me the Way"). In addition to mono and stereo versions of the "Small Faces" album there is another, bonus collection of 1967 singles and outtakes that make up a slightly shorter but just as powerful
"lost" album that makes a great listen on its own (beginning with tracks 15 - 24 on disc 1 and adding "Don't Burst My Bubble on disc 2). Get this!

Now this is how 60s reissues should be done. Much like the excellent reissue of The Zombie's "Odessey & Oracle", this collects all the stereo and mono masters to give a complete picture of one of the best albums I have heard this year, or ever, really. I first bought these tracks on the "Whaping Wharf" collection, not realizing that I was hearing one complete album, not just a "greatest hits" compilation. This easliy stands alongside Pink Floyd's "Pipers at the Gates of Dawn", The Who's "Sell Out", and of course "Sgt. Pepper's" as one of the most eclectic, original, and enjoyable albums of the psychedelic era. It's amazing to find songs like "Have You Ever Seen Me", "Green Circles", and "Eddie's Dreaming" all on one album. The mono mixes included here are dramatically different than the stereo versions I've had up until now, and they're just so punchy and direct that I may leave the stereo disc unplayed for the next few weeks. Included also are all the singles from this era, including the absolutely stunning "Tin Soldier". To these ears, there's nothing dated about this music even 35 years after the fact. What's next? I await a two disc set of "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake", which I admit finishes a distant second to this near-perfect album.

Pop music perfection. Phenomenal songs bursting with wit, soul, charm, imagination and joy. If Ogden's Nut Gone Flake is the Small Faces' Sgt Pepper, then the first Immediate album is their Revolver. The bonus tracks include some of the greatest singles of the 20th century. I can't recommend this collection highly enough.

This 2-cd version has both the mono and stereo mixes, obviously meant for obsessive completists. The Small Faces released so little material that most of their fans become obsessive completists anyway.

The Small Faces' first album for Immediate is really an overlooked classic. The album, consists of entirely new original songs. Bubbling fantasy and playing pleasure is what characterizes the album and it obvious that the band took and enjoyed the freedom given to them by Immediate to further develop their musical expression.

Unlike their first album (released on Decca in 1966), this is a real album and not just a collection of singles, supplemented with an appropriate number of outtakes and b-sides. This is really nice songwriting, and though it hardly contains overlooked potential hit singles the album has many strong numbers of which several easily could be called classics. The song "My Way of Giving" probably in a more commercial cover version could have reached charts. "Green Circles" is the an early example of Small Faces psychedelia - and a fine example that Immediate's confidence in the band immediately gave bonus in the form of inspired songwriting. An alternative version of this number is found among the bonus-tracks and is known as one of the very first songs the group recorded after leaving Decca. This rare version is in many ways more interesting than the regular version.

Overall, the album without weak tracks, but a few more than those already mentioned, however, do stand out. Although "Become Like You" and "Feeling Lonely" are short tracks, they are both songs you just have to hear again and again - a little bit like "Mad John" from "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake". "Happy Boys Happy" is a short instrumental, which in full lives up to its optimistic title.

"Talk to You" is classic Small Faces "and could well have been recorded simultaneously with a song like" All or Nothing". "Show Me the Way" shows with the band in a more subdued version with Ronnie Lane as lead singer and classical-inspired keyboard accompaniment.

The first Immediate album released in the United States was entitled "There are But Small Faces." This album was also very strong in a more conventional way containing three big single-hits along with two unusually strong b-sides "I'm Only Dreaming" and "I Feel Much Better". "There are But Small Faces", however, miss seven titles from "The Small Faces"album and contains only 12 titles.

This release contains all tracks from "There are But Small Faces" and has several interesting bonus tracks. Among these the outtake
"Don't Burst my Bubble", the single "I Can't Make it" and alternate versions of several album tracks.

Both mono and stereo versions of the original album are to be found here - and although the differences are not very significant both versions interesting. Also most bonus tracks are found in both mono and stereo versions.

A fine booklet with interesting facts and fine photos follows with this 2 CDs release.