The SMALL FACES part two |  

Kenney Jones is one of the most underrated drummers of the Sixties. Inspired by Al Jackson, he is one of the best British feel players of the era. His playing on ‘Afterglow of Your Love’, ‘Song of a Baker’, and ‘Tin Soldier’ is just brilliant!

Spent years working on friends to get them to dig the Kinks, they finally got it…now onto the Small Faces!

Thank you for featuring the Small Faces. IMO, the Beatles were the greatest all round band, but my absolute favorites were the Small Faces. In 3 short years, the were the most creative, innovative and talented band. Their music encompassed so much variety from soul, R&B, pop, psychedelic, whimsical English folk, Music hall and lastly rock. I listen to them almost everyday and never tire of them. I believe their music is timeless, like the Beatles.They were like a brilliant comet streaking across the sky, then sadly burning out. I still mourn their loss and what could have been. Luckily I do love Faces and Humble Pie, but not as much as the mother band. RIP Steve, Ronnie and Mac.

I ❤️ The Small Faces. All those dudes.

Steve mariotts voice is outstanding!

By the late 1980's Marriott was playing small pub gigs around London and I knew this and didn't bother to go. What a fool I was! Again, there was a feeling that he was a man out of time. If only he'd lived on long enough to experience Britpop then I feel he would have been in vogue again.

I think the Small Faces at their best might be my favourite of all the mid-60's British bands. So much of their music still sounds so powerful, inventive and fresh. They had an embryonic heavy rock sound that was at least a few years ahead of their time but never lost their R n B musical roots or their east end working-class outlook.Their embrace of psychedelia seemed natural and usually enhanced their sound unlike a lot of UK groups of the time whose lysergic turns are often looked back on as a mistake . Each member had a unique signature style on their respective instruments and Marriot's voice - f**k it still sounds unbelievable. Possibly the best white soul singer ever? And they were so young it's almost embarrassing. Marriot wasn't even 20 when they made "All Or Nothing". I bought "Itchycoo Park" when it was re-released in 1975 at the age of 11 and it sounded better to me than anything else in the charts at the time.I didn't even realise it was an oldie.

Love Small Faces. Been into them since my early teens back in the mid 70s. Great stuff!

Yes, thank you for this educational video on The Small Faces...

Great job. I love The Small Faces 👍

'Tin Soldier's my favourite single of theirs.

Thank you. I agree the band that grabs my heart after the Beatles are the Small Faces...the song Tin Soldier is probably one of the best songs of the 1960's. I really enjoyed your wonderful presentation.

The Small Faces can't be appreciated enough. They should be re-discovered by as many young people as possible, instead of them listening to current crap music. Luckily I discovered them in the 80's already, and a fan ever since.

It's amazing how many members of this group fit in to so many other "family trees" throughout England. It's quite the shame that they suffered from so many backfires that led them to not break in the United States. I picked up a live album of Steve Marriott's to give it to a friend that I knew was a big fan. While I never cared for Marriott's voice, his guitar playing was phenomenal. That same friend was able to catch Steve Marriot at a local club gig in our hometown just a few months before he died in that tragic fire.

Ronnie Lane's band Slim Chance had a hit with the song HOW COME?. Other Brit bands around then that had lots of hits you may have missed , The Searchers [Needles and Pins] Gerry and Pacemakers [You'll Never Walk Alone] Cliff Bennet/ Rebel Rousers [One Way Love] Billy J Kramer/Dakotas [ Little Children] Maggie Bell /Stone the Crows [No Mean City], Nazareth [This Flight Tonight ] all had several hit songs and great chart success .

Hi Matt:: Thanks very much for this second part of The Small Faces. Although I now live in London (since 1975) I missed out on the growth and development of a number of British bands prior to my living here. I am grateful for you to "fill the holes" in my knowledge. I love The Small Faces and find their development quite interesting . The offshoots - ie. Faces and Humble Pie I also love. From the tracks you played from "Autumn Stone" make me feel like the writing was on the wall for what Marriott had in mind with adding another guitarist to the band and so, Humble Pie was formed. My favorite, of course, is "Live at the Fillmore". As for the Faces I have all of their albums and saw them live in California. Sorry to rattle on - I get carried away with my memories and feelings for the music. D

Really enjoying the direction of the channel. Small Faces and Byrds videos have been great. I'd like to see a part 3 of the Small Faces that takes it through the Faces. The fact that it took both Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood to replace Steve Marriott pretty much says it all

Donkey Rides, a Penny a Glass is one of my faves by them. Like nothing anyone else ever did. It's on "The Singles As & Bs" (1990, See for Miles Records Ltd.), available from Discogs sellers. (BTW, a request I'll make is The Idle Race, Jeff Lynne's band before The Move. It's incredible.)

Excellent! (It is too easy to binge on this channel!)

Arthur Lee and love would be a good project Matt ..

This was so detailed and much good information presented, thank you! I always believed that Steve Marriott was highly underrated! Thank you.

A great presentation of my favourite band, I've seen dozens, but this is up there with the best.

I was lucky to see Steve Marriott with Humble Pie in the 70's. One of the greatest live vocalists ever. Great video.

This is a great career retrospective, very informative, enjoyed both part 1 snd 2 .

Matt, this is the first I’ve ever heard of Steve “auditioning” for the Stones. Considering the jealousy that Keith had over Mick Taylor’s guitar playing, I can’t imagine the conflicts Steve could have created with his playing and singing causing both Mick and Keith to be jealous of his talent. The music could have benefited, but the personality conflicts would have torn the band apart. Ronnie Wood is just talented enough to fill the slot without pissing off the core of the band.

Wham Bam Thank You Man is the precursor to the sound of Humble Pie.

Matt, thanks for covering this BAND so well - as they were overlooked in the US - VERY British. Steve Marriott was special. The Ogdens' sounds amazing. Next step Humble Pie.

Another brit thanking you very much for joining all the dots to really understand what went on with the demise of the small faces which seemed at the time insane, although time proved that both sides were correct in the sense of the success of both the faces and humble pie. I think you've demonstrated to me that they never really had a weak period. They constantly switched genres from R&B to straight up pop, psychedelia and cockney whimsy, etc., and Ogden's Nut Gone Flake is truly the summit of that achievement and it is a masterpiece. The story part was staged for a TV show called Colour Me Pop and it was truly great, with Stanley Unwin. Also, thanks for the handy guide over both episodes to the unknown gems of their back catalogue, including the lost tracks post-Ogdens. Thumbs up!

Much of Paul Weller's solo stuff is very reminiscent of late 60's Small Faces. I remember he used to style his hair just like Steve Marriott.

It caught my interest, the six degrees of separation between them and AC/DC through Steve Marriott performing with the Easybeats, of which their older brother George was a member. I bet Angus and Malcolm grew up listening to the Small Faces on their brother George's record player.

As much as I love the Decca era for its rawness, for me the Immediate era is jaw dropping. Lane was growing as a songwriter and the whole band was getting even better. Their work in 1967 is wonderful. Ogden’s is one of my favorite albums ever, I never tire of it. The compilation Autumn Stone is still my favorite SF comp, the “new” songs on the album are for the most part great, including a beautiful version of Tim Hardin’s “Red Balloon”. The reasons for their break up are many. Marriott had a bit of a temperament, but so had the other 3 - especially McLagan. Those two had at times a troubled relationship through the years. McLagan recalled storming out of a recording session - quite possibly for the sessions for “Wham Bam Thank You Man” and Marriott immediately brought in Nicky Hopkins to work on it, and it sounds like Nicky Hopkins on that track. McLagen came back but was well annoyed. These things didn’t help and Ronnie Lane’s writing was moving away from Steve. Marriott wanted Frampton in and the others refused. Frampton later said in an interview (that I’ve not seen myself) that after the break up the others asked him to join the band without Marriott! He said that he told them that it’s a bit late now - and it was. McLagen strongly denied this later, but why would Frampton lie about this? McLagen in my view wanted to control the narrative of the breakup to the media, especially after Marriott’s death. Ian - legend that he is, told a few “porky pies” over the years, which was his right to do, but Marriott was not the only one at fault for the breakup. A lot of it was about not wanting to split the money 5 ways. But that’s what they ended up doing in the Faces with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood! It all worked out with Humble Pie and the Faces in the end. But for me the Small Faces were the better band. Great video by the way.

Thanks for this great two part story on the Small Faces. I never knew that Steve Marriott auditioned for the Rolling Stones after Mick Taylor had quit the band ! One highly recommend dvd for fans of both the Small Faces and Ronnie Lane that they may not be aware of is "The Passing Show - The Life And Music Of Ronnie Lane". This is superb !

I remember in the early 70s reading a book simply called " Rock " by British music critic Nik Cohen regarding the history of rock music up to that point. In it he talked about The Small Faces but being American I'd never heard of them. He described 4 English guys who were small in size that rivaled The Who as mods in London that never made it here in the states. Fast forward to about 8 to 10 yrs ago and I got a video disk at the New York Public Library. It was a retrospective of their career and boy was I surprised! The music was simply wonderful! The only song up to that point I was familiar with was Ichicoo Park which I liked. But the other stuff like Tin Soldier and several other tunes were simply excellent ! It's a shame they never had a chance to play here in the states. They would have been very popular.

I just listened again. I like the Small Faces also. If you want ideas for things to cover--well, the 60s were unusual in that each year was different, and had a different sound. I'm thinking of '63 on, and not so much about '60-'62. It would make for interesting shows to look at each year separately. Also, don't forget about Motown for being the source of episodes.

Thanks for this. I learned a lot.

Odgen's is my all time favorite album. I have a round fold out cover, but I mistakenly left it out and the vinyl fell out of it and side two got a gash down the whole record. I've kept it for the cover, but I did replace it with a square cover reissue. The reissue had some bonus inserts that weren't in the round version, so it's kind of cool. One of the inserts was a square replica of the front cover, which I have up on the wall for display. I live in Ohio in the USA, so I'm not really sure how I first came to discover Small Faces, but it was in the 70's. The only one I've seen live was Kenny Jones when he played with The Who. I corresponded with Ian McLagen briefly when I ordered a 2 disc CD retrospective from him which he autographed. That was shortly before his untimely passing. I still have that, of course. I've always known about The Autumn Stone, but could never find a copy. I finally found one last year so I have that too now.

I actually think "The Universal" is one of their best songs. It's one of my favorites, anyway. Sure, it's goofy, but it's also catchy and charming in its homespunness.. It's a great example of how less is often more when it comes to music (I ascribe more to the punk and indie aesthetics). It also predated what Paul McCartney would do with some songs on his next two albums. This was super interesting and informative. Thank you!

Nice story. I saw Steve Marriott back in the early '80s and he was an hour late and messed up pretty good but holy shit did he jam. At some point he said he wasn't going to bother with an encore but just keep jamming. The venue Harpo's eventually unplugged him around 4am but what a great show. I always thought he never got enough love for his guitar playing cause on that night he was shredding his Les Paul like a madman.

Love the debut! Own it.

Intelligent commentary, appreciated. Nicely put together!

Nicely done. RENE is one of my all-time favorite songs!

Loved part 2 thank you Matt. I just cant find music like this any more, I know its out there but God its hard to find. Ogden's Nut has two of my favourite songs of all time (Afterglow and Baker) and like you, I place the Small Faces very high on my list of bands that I still play over and over and over. Frampton's recent autobiography has some lovely information on his work with the Small Faces and in detail on working with Marriott and Humble Pie. This band is such a joy to listen to. and even when Steve left and became Ron and Rod, the fun in the music was still there for a while.

As always, thank you. The Small Faces was a band I listened to growing up during that time period. I always was just mesmerized by Steve Marriott's vocals.....to me, he is one of the best.....ever.

Great career overview, Matt. I'm happy to have a Small Faces CD called "The BBC Sessions" which includes "If I Were a Carpenter," which you sampled, and 14 other songs, along with interview clips of Marriott and Jones.

Never saw the Small Faces, but caught Humble Pie touring w Black Sabbath & Mountain . Steve finally got to play w Peter, must have been a dream come true

Great ! Please, the story of The Beau Brummels !

Greatest rock singer of all-time - Steve Marriott! And love Ronnie, Mac, and Kenny.....PP too for sure. I'm sure you've seen the documentary - The Passing Show: Life & Music of Ronnie Lane When Mick Taylor left the Sones in 74, Keef wanted Steve Marriott to replace him, but Mick Jagger wouldn't have ANYONE upstaging him and gave it thumbs down. Great videos man, thanks!!

I bought The Small Faces Decca Years box set a few months ago and it has to be one of my favorite cd sets wonderful masterpiece they even put the BBC session tapes on it well anyway great part 2 awesome video as always thank you Matt.👍

Marriott wrote Small Faces songs and he wrote Humble Pie songs. I love the Small Faces and rarely go near Humble Pie albums. It must be the times they were recorded in and the basically different sounds of the groups. Another excellent video, thank you.

Great series on the Small Faces! I hereby request Paul Revere and the Raiders as a subject - very interesting and often underestimated band.

Great stuff, Matt, As always. I'm sorry you never got to see Marriott live. He was an amazing frontman. Maybe the best ever.

Just finished watching Both Small Faces segments. Excellent, just recently heard the tune Wham Bam, very heavy, wow. Afterthought Frampton would not have worked for Small Faces, Love Humble Pie, plus Savoy Brown, early Fleetwood Mac, and Brian Auger's Oblivion Express. Would have Loved to see Steve Marriott either solo or with Humble Pie, a bit too young at the time. Got to see Frampton in 1977. Steve Marriott, one of the best bluesy type voices, in History, Streetheart a Canadian band 70s,80s did a cover of Tin Solider,

Another great video Matt, thank you. You hit the nail on the head when you said they had balls. They must have been a blast to see live in their prime.

"Wam bam, thank you man" was quoted by David Bowie

I saw Stevie Marriott play at a small club in London a few years before he died. I got into him when he was in Humble Pie, and was pretty ignorant of his work with Small Faces (other than Itchykoo Park). I didn't recognize many of the songs he played, but really liked them.

I met Steve Marriot once when my band played support for him in about late 1990. It was a really weird experience. I was super-excited to meet him. This was the person who did Tin Soldier after all! While we were setting up and did our soundcheck, he was nowhere to be seen though. When it came time to do his soundcheck, his girlfriend came in and told us that everyone needed to clear out and that Steve wouldn't come out of his trailer until everyone had left. I initially thought "what a diva!". We did our set, then Steve did his set, which was great. But we still hadn't even met him at that stage. We then went to the pub next door to get something to eat. A short time later Steve Marriot walked in with his band too and he was really friendly and chatty. Told us he loved our set and thought our guitarist was great. I didn't even realise he'd seen us. In retrospect, I don't think his earlier behaviour was him being a diva, it felt more like he still got stage fright. Which I thought was kind of endearing and made him a lot more human. Sadly this was only about two months before he died in a house fire.

Interesting story of the Small Faces. I’d heard that they were very influential but had not heard much of their music. Groovy.

This was a great deep dive into the Small Faces. Although they were too British for me in my record collecting years in the '70s, I now appreciate their immense contribution to rock and roll. A natural follow up would be The Faces with Rod Stewart. I loved their LP 'Long Player', it's such a classic album with some of the best rockers Rod and the boys ever did. Thanks for all the work you put into these old bands that helps them remain relevant. I love how you fill in the gaps of rock history in every program. Keep it up!

What a great 2 part series. I knew very little about the Small Faces. Shame on me. I love the family tree discussions and there is so many directions possible. The seemingly small-ish decision to not hire Frampton. And to not fight their way over the the States. That would have changed a lot I suspect. Have you considered or already covered the Dave Clark Five? I remember having a magazine from mid 60s that asked who was bigger. Dave Clark or the Beatles. Now pretty much forgotten as The Beatles continue to rise...Or maybe the more generic treatment of critical short lived bands and their influences....Buckinghams, Paul Revere, etc. Thanks Matt. Always a joy. Peace!

Really great videos Matt of one of my favourite bands. I’m glad you’re a fan! I think their music has worn really well and has influenced so many bands that came later...The Jam and Paul Wellers solo career have been built around them!! I loved the direction they were heading it’s such a shame their career was cut short..

Ogden's Nut Gone Flake is by far my favourite Small Faces' album.

Fantastic review of Small Faces career. I was too young in the mid 60's to know their music, but by the early 70's I'd finally heard the song Itchycoo Park and was hooked. I've always liked some of the quirkier music and bands from the UK.

Fantastic videos!

Wasnt aware that Steve Marriott had more or less "auditioned" with the Stones, and oh to be a fly on the wall in whatever studio or rehearsal space that wouldve been. While Richards, Wyman & Watts would have I'm sure been enthused, wholly supportive, theres just no way in Hell Jagger would have been able to "accommodate" that kind of an "intrusion". Marriott's vocals & range were & still are amongst the greatest in Rock History which when combined with his playing & just general "presence" would have been about as welcome to Sir Mick as a Skunk on a Bus..... But ya, I think your right in suggesting that it certainly would have re-energized the Stones, pushed the envelope a lot further which quite frankly I think they needed more of from the mid-70's on..... Nice job Matt. Like you, I'm a huge fan, one of my go to bands.

Individually I loved all the players in this band but I have to admitI much preferred THE FACES with Stewart and Wood, they were amazing! I also liked Marriott with HUMBLE PIE, I preferred him there to Small Faces. I DON’t think he would have worked in The Stones ! Except for Kenny Jones they are all gone now may they RIP . I did get to see IAN McLagen playing in clubs here in L.A. in the late 80’s early 90’s loved his playing .

A very, very nice Part 2, extended follow-up....👌 The old ad poster for the entire lineup at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool must surely have been *One Deliciously WILD Evening.* 🤣 It reminded me of some old, and even some somewhat recent evenings at downtown L.A.s comparatively "intimate" Orpheus Theater, where that venue holds fine memories of Procol Harum, and a truly enchanting evening with acoustic Ray Davies the Crouch End Festival Chorus....🤪

I believe that if they had played Monterey, Frampton would have joined. And, four/five albums later, went solo. Would've been a hell of a run, though.

Thanks for doing this! I always enjoyed your Beatles videos and going into detail on the songs and writing. It was in a period that I was working at home so I used to watch them in my breaks! Anyway, I got into the Small Faces at college back in 2000 via my friend who was also a big Beatles fan. After listening to a compilation album I purchased 'The darlings of Wapping Wharf Laundrette' a big Immediate compilation. They then rose above the likes of the Who and Kinks as my favourite behind the Beatles. Anyway, my final thing was a mystery that I never solved about the song 'Call it something nice' and you actually played the part of the song that has been a mystery! My friend back in the day at college told me that John Lennon did the vocal on that part of the song and I took it as fact. It was only years later when the internet was much more accessible that I tried to find more information but in fact I found nothing about it. But it had been in my head for so long I was desperate to not let go of that fact. I still haven't found any truth in this so I don't know why my friend told me this. You can definitely feel a Lennon vibe but unfortunately I have nothing to back it up with.

Greetings, Matt, from England. Thank you for a very well informed, researched and entertaining story of the Small Faces. As a life long fan of Steve Marriott/SF/HP you added some things I hadn't considered before which is always great. Can't agree with you about 'The Universal' though lol. It's so unique and quirky and ahead of it's time.... but as a single? Probably not IMHO. . In my head I would have had one of the heavier tracks like 'Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am' and the 'Universal' as a gem B side. The 'what ifs' eh! I saw Marriott in 1986, and he still the 'pipes' as we say over here. A sad loss.

Enjoyed that and agree that they were on of the very best.Quite like the Art Wood’s Quiet Melon tracks which came after Small Faces broke up and before Faces formed.

I met Ian McLagan after a performance in Houston, Texas in the mid 2000's. He was living near Austin, TX at that time. He was kind enough to autograph my copy of his then current CD "Never Say Never". Very gracious guy. I also saw him when he was a sideman for the Rolling Stones during their "Some Girls" tour in New Orleans in 1978.

Request- more small faces. Lol- thanks for doing them. Agreed- excellent.

Really enjoyed this one. Nice to have an American perspective.

One of my favorites from Small Faces Decca period is the grungy hefty n hard slammer I Can't Dance (with you ). Our other fave from the 1st Billy Nicholls LP is Girl From NY with Steve accentuating the "Riot " in Marriot. Both Ronnie Lane and Stevie were among many great artists who died too soon.

Nice video. Good job. Steve Marriott was a unique voice.

Just great...thank You..

Wow, that first album sounds great. Right up my alley. Thanks, enjoy yr channel.

Another excellent presentation Matt. Thank you!!

Great band, great video thanks for putting this out!

Thank you Matt! I really enjoyed you telling the history.

Even the Byrd's gave them a name check on eight miles high🤯and don McLean used it on the magnificent American pie ♥️👏

Great stuff! Love how you share your knowledge and passion for the 60's scene.

Love your setup with the album's Sweet 😍

Another great video ,cheers mate .

Enjoyed this two-parter, thanks. I got into Small Faces sometime after the 70s reunion, when I taped Itchycoo Park off the radio around 1979 and my older brother gave me a Decca compilation which included the SF. After hearing my brother's original Ogden's I bought my own (still available as a reissue in a circular sleeve in 1982!). After getting every LP and then original single I could find my teenage years were mostly dominated by sixties or sixties influenced artists. Flying in the face of many fans, as good as the first Immediate LP is, it comes after Ogden's and the first Decca LP for me. Some key tunes for me: I'm Only Dreaming, Tin Soldier, All Or Nothing and I've Got Mine. Many B sides trump the A's too, Grow Your Own, Understanding and the aforementioned I'm Only Dreaming, which demonstrates Steve's voice perfectly. Best of all, Afterglow, a longtime top 10 for me. Great to hear a band like this featured abroad. You also mentioned The Action in part one; I nearly fell off my chair! We had a compilation here in England, back when I was at school, with sleeve notes by Paul Weller. Easy to get these songs now, but you really had to scout around forty years ago. Thanks again.

Matt, thank you for this installment on the Small Faces - I very much enjoyed it!

Thanks Matt these two parts were very interesting.Love the band and very underrated

Thank you for doing a video on the Small Faces!! I’m in my 20’s from the states so absolutely no one I know really knows of them. But Steve Marriott is my favorite singer, and they had such a unique sound. Great video and great info. Always makes me wonder what could’ve been but at least we’re blessed with the music we do have.

Yep. And with Rod’s Faces, he sounded like two drummers on 2 kits

That was excellent Matt. Really enjoyed that, thanks.

The story goes that some time around 1965-66, Keith Moon and Jimmy Page talked about forming a band. Page approached Don Arden and asked him how he felt about Marriott joining. Arden asked Page how he felt about playing with ten broken fingers!

Thank you so much Matt. SF was my second favorite 60’s band after the Beatles and Marriott my favorite male singer. There are so many “what ifs” with this band-if they’d toured the US, if they’d played Monterey, if Frampton had become a member, etc etc. I have an film in my mind of Jagger watching Marriott auditioning for the Stones and Jagger thinking no way is this guy playing in MY band.

Great presentation, I really enjoyed this one. The history lesson was very interesting, with the Marriot/Frampton connection.

Saw Humble Pie in 1971 and being 15 their lyrics were over my head but walked away a fan after hearing ' I don't need no doctor' and 'thirty days in the hole', ended up buying Live at Filmore East...a great live band.

Steve Marriotts vocals and the rest of the bands talent, Afterglow of Your Love. Amazing.

I have been a Small Faces fan since the release of their first LP. They were an institution in the English mod scene. I would love to see you do a history of The Move and The Creation, two fantastic bands. Love your work.

I can't believe just how young the four of them were. Kenney Jones was barely 20 when they BROKE UP!

Great job..

Classic band. "Eddie's Dreaming" is an unusual track from them, but a favourite of mine. Not sure it's on the US version of 'There are but four small faces'.

I've got Steve marriott signature on a ticket stub, he also signed my vespa side panel!! I was lucky enough to meet him 3 times, he's the best soul singer and performer to come out of the uk, R I P, Nice