The Faces
First Step

An event nothing short of epic shakes the already mature English Rock-Blues scene between the '60s and '70s: from the ashes of two illustrious formations (the Small Faces and the Jeff Beck Group) emerges one of the main Rock'n'Roll bands history has ever known, able to deliver a raw, authentic, and genuine sound like few others, and devastating especially in live performances, enough to comfortably rival in this particular field with the Stones and the Who (albeit gaining undoubtedly less following than those two monuments). In 1969, a pivotal year, the bassist and highly skilled composer Ronnie Lane, drummer Kenney Jones, and organist/pianist Ian McLagan leave Small Faces, forcing Steve Marriott (already leader of that legendary Beat group across the channel) to finally shut down shop and join the semi-unknown Peter Frampton in the emerging Humble Pie; meanwhile, Jeff Beck himself finds himself compelled to reform his ensemble on entirely new bases, more markedly Jazz-oriented, after the major defections of vocalist Rod Stewart and a much-underestimated but brilliant guitarist till then relegated to the bass, Ron Wood.

The five "deserters" come together and soon rename themselves "Faces," to emphasize (not without some irony) a continuity with the previous experience of the Small Faces, and they release their long-awaited discographical "first step" in March 1970 ("First Step" is actually the title of the beginner's guitar manual Ron Wood is seen reading on the cover); it will be the 600,000 attendees at the Isle of Wight Festival that year to test the band's actual live consistency, known so far only for the big names that constitute it, but meanwhile, our guys gain attention (and appreciation) with a very interesting album deserving to rank among the most significant and surprising debuts of those years. This album, which some critics have (perhaps too hastily) deemed the weakest studio effort of the Faces, in polemic comparison to the greater commercial success of "A Nod Is As Good As a Wink" and the timeless charm of "Ooh La La", perhaps Rod Stewart and the company's most well-known album. In reality, I feel I can say with relative ease that the present "First Step" deserves far more consideration, especially given the quality of the material presented and the taste displayed in the choice of tracks: the Blues and Rock'n'Roll roots, foundational elements in the training of each member, are revisited with a far from puristic spirit, in the context of very effective and instantly appealing tracks, approached securely and with personality, without blemishes or moments of particular weakness. It has also been said that the presence of two not exactly memorable instrumentals like "Pineapple And The Monkey" and "Looking Out The Window" confirms the fact that the group was, at the time, still searching for a precise stylistic direction, but that is not entirely true since the instrumentals mentioned appear far from mere fillers recorded for lack of better: they are instead sincere testimonies of the distinctive timbre of the Faces, of a sound already characteristic and perfectly recognizable; those evocative guitar and organ interlaces are indeed the "trademark" of a formation whose technical mastery and whose taste in the choice of arrangements certainly cannot be disputed. The rough singing of Rod Stewart (who had already stood out in Beck's first two albums, starting in 1969 a more than satisfactory solo career) suits magnificently the typically bittersweet coloring of the Blues of Faces, adept at combining hardness and nostalgic-melancholic flavors between the folds of a wisely varied and selected repertoire. Outbursts at the edge of Hard (the use of the organ in this album is very reminiscent of certain similar solutions by Vanilla Fudge) blend with swaying (and irresistible) ballads with distinctly "bluesy" tones and pleasant semi-acoustic parentheses that once again highlight the timbral variety of the proposal.

Starting with the masterful rendition of the Dylan-esque (and devilish) "Wicked Messenger," almost overlooked at the time of the release of "John Wesley Harding" but here in great shape, with fluid bass lines laid down by Ronnie Lane to support the structure of a powerful and full-bodied Blues, far more incisive compared to the original version (to put it with an example also taken from the same Dylan album, there is the same difference that passes between the original version of "All Along The Watchtower" and the interpretation that Hendrix would give); splendid is the subsequent "Devotion," an engaging slow dominated at the start by the warm sounds of McLagan's Hammond, until reaching the superb, overwhelming final solo by Ron Wood, also the author of a brief but significant vocal contribution; not as interesting is the overly conventional Boogie of "Shake Shudder," before encountering the best parts of the first half of the album, two excellent pages of taste and instrumental skill, as well as of philological knowledge of those typically "southern" vibrations: the first is the almost-nursery rhyme of "Stone," sung by Ron Wood accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, with Rod Stewart "engaging" on banjo for a very catchy old-style Country-Western, with a lively and bouncy rhythm (very close are the atmospheres of Stewart's contemporary "Gasoline Alley"); the second is the grim yet pure Delta Blues of "Around The Plynth," where the protagonist is undoubtedly Wood's slide guitar, amidst slowdowns and sudden accelerations that guarantee dynamism and unpredictability to the track (Rod Stewart's vocal performance is sensational).

The second part of "First Step" opens with the Clapton-esque (but not particularly original) "Flying" and the already mentioned instrumental interlude (far from negligible) "Pineapple And The Monkey"; but it's another ballad that surprises, the romantic "Nobody Knows" marked by piano and Wood's guitars, author of delicate and captivating embellishments. Another instrumental ("Looking Out The Window," introduced by Lane's pulsating bass and a perfect showcase for the instrumental skills of the band: Wood is more abrasive than ever), before closing beautifully with the engaging shuffle-blues of "Three Button Hand Me Down."

Four well-deserved stars. A spectacular debut for one of the legendary English Rock bands of the '70s.