05-08-2015 @ 17:29
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the debut release of The Small Faces, a stunning 5CD boxed set will bring, for the first time on CD, everything together that the Small Faces recorded for Decca during their 18-month record deal with the label, along with the last remaining recording sessions that the group made for the BBC during the same period.
For this project, hitherto ‘lost’ tapes have been unearthed from the Decca archives and BBC material, long thought lost and not heard since first broadcast, have been found. This includes a great Steve Marriott interview with Brian Matthew, which has not been officially heard in the UK since it was made by the BBC Transcription Services for transmission overseas. In total, 5 BBC interviews with Steve Marriott are featured.
All of the audio, including the rarities and alternative versions, has been carefully remastered from original analogue sources under the close supervision of Small Faces’ last remaining member Kenney Jones.
Housed in a rigid, deluxe, lift-off lid box set, the 5CDs come complete with a 72-page booklet, which includes interesting and insightful liner notes by respected music journalist and Small Faces aficionado, Mark Paytress. The notes track the group’s eventful and prolific 18-month tenure with their charismatic manager, renowned music impresario Don Arden, and Decca Records and their subsequent split from both to join Andrew Loog Oldham and Immediate Records. All is amply illustrated by fascinating press cuttings and photographs from the time.
Small Faces were the quintessential 1960s mod band. Fronted by the charismatic Steve Marriott, perhaps Britain’s most soulful white vocalist ever, the band dominated the second half of the 1960s. Marriott, together with bassist Ronnie Lane, drummer Kenney Jones and Hammond-player, Ian McLagan (who replaced original keyboard player Jimmy Winston early on) created an impressive body of work, evolving from high octane mod-soul and beat-pop in the earlier days into a more sophisticated blend of rock and psychedelia. Their influence casts a wide net, with their legacy still heard in more recent times from such artists as Paul Weller, Blur, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene and countless others. The music, which included many memorable chart hits (What’Cha Gonna Do About It, Sha La La La Lee, All Or Nothing plus many more) continues to resonate and appeal to a whole new generation of music-lovers.
CD1 GREATEST HITS (21 tracks of singles released worldwide, As, Bs and Eps)
CD2 SMALL FACES (original Decca UK LP release – 6th May 1966)
CD3 FROM THE BEGINNING (original Decca UK LP release – 2nd June 1967)
CD4 RARITIES & OUTTAKES (23 tracks)
CD5 BBC SESSIONS (spanning 23rd August 1965 – 3rd August 1966)