5 Things You Might Not Know About The Faces
You know the face of the Faces – his name is Rod Stewart – and you may even know some of the other guys in the band, but as Americans, how much do you really know about the band themselves? Here’s a list of things that might prove educational.
- The first time the Faces got together, even before they were known as the Small Faces, they were called Quiet Melon.
The band featured Rod Stewart on vocals, Ian McLagan on keyboards, Ronnie Lane on bass, Kenny Jones on drums, Ronnie Wood on guitar, and Ronnie’s brother Art on guitar and vocals. Quiet Melon recorded four songs for Fontana – “Diamond Joe,” “Engine 4444,” “Right Around the Thumb,” and “Two Steps to Mother” – but the label said that the material wasn’t up for snuff and canceled the contract they’d had with Art. Attempts to find a new record deal came to nothing, and after playing a few more gigs, the band called it quits…as Quiet Melon, anyway.
- Rod Stewart’s “I Wouldn’t Ever Change a Thing” features two fellow Faces – McLagan and Wood – but it also features a guest keyboardist who would go on to greater success as a prog-rocker.
If you’ve ever listened to the Faces’ “I Wouldn’t Ever Change a Thing” and thought,” Well, okay, I might change the keyboard just a bit, because it’s a bit busy,” we can explain why it’s like that: the man on the keys was Keith Emerson.
- The Faces were on the bill for Concert 10, a festival at the Pocono International Raceway in 1972.
The show was originally going to be an even bigger deal that it was, with both Black Sabbath and Badfinger originally on the bill, but even with their absence, attendees still got to see performances by the Faces, Edgar Winter, Cactus, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Humble Pie, the J. Geils Band, and Three Dog Night. Not bad!
- Rod Stewart’s success was the direct cause of Ronnie Lane’s departure.
In the earlier days of the band, Lane had been taking vocals on a regular basis, but with Stewart out in front, his opportunities to belt out numbers had shrunk considerably. That wasn’t the only reason he ended up departing the band’s ranks, but it was certainly one of them.
- Ronnie Lane was replaced on bass by Tetsu, a decision which caused some problems when he was refused entry into the Musicians’ Union.
It was a very odd situation, given that Tetsu had been working off and on with the band Free, during which time his non-union status didn’t seem to have been an issue. It all worked out eventually, but the Faces soon broke up, at which point it didn’t matter anyway.
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