Faces At The BBC — Complete Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973 Box Set Arrives
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Faces are the subject of a comprehensive box set compiling all of the group’s BBC concerts and surviving studio sessions. The collection – much of it previously unreleased – has been remastered with the full participation of band members Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, and Kenney Jones. The 9-disc set (8-CDs/1-Blu-ray), Faces At The BBC — Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973, arrived September 6, 2024, via Rhino. It’s available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
The Blu-ray includes newly restored footage of Faces’ April 1972 appearance on Sounds for Saturday. The concert finds the “Borstal Boys” in peak form, radiating their swaggering, joyous spirit of rock ’n’ roll.
Watch their outstanding performance of “Stay With Me” from that broadcast
The hardback set includes a 48-page booklet with new commentary from surviving band members and archival quotes from late members Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan, and legendary BBC broadcaster John Peel. Lavishly illustrated with many previously unseen photos, the booklet details every Faces BBC session, concert, and broadcast. BBC broadcaster Gary Crowley wrote the detailed liner notes, which include a new interview with Jeff Griffin, who produced all of the band’s BBC concert appearances.
Once thought lost, many of the band’s BBC recordings were recovered from Faces’ own archives and private collections. (Notably, only one BBC session of three songs remains missing.) Rarities include a stereo mix of the May 13, 1971, Paris Cinema concert, which was only broadcast in mono, and a February 1973 show that was never aired due to the BBC’s concerns over the band’s on-stage banter with the rowdy audience.
From the July 17 announcement: Faces’ BBC appearances are cherished by fans today. It’s shocking to think they almost didn’t happen. The BBC initially dismissed the band as not “serious” enough for airplay. Enter John Peel, who championed the band and was instrumental in securing the group’s first BBC session on March 9, 1970.
In the liner note, the band gratefully acknowledges Peel’s role. Stewart says, “If it wasn’t for John Peel, the Faces would never have broken through.” Wood adds, “He gave the Faces our first break.” Jones says, “John Peel helped the Faces so much in England, in the press and on his show.”
Watch their performance of “Three Button Hand Me Down” from a 1972 appearance on Peel’s program
Faces At The BBC — Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973 spans the band’s formation and meteoric rise. Exploring a period of intense creativity, which included four Faces studio albums (First Step, Long Player, A Nod Is As Good As A Wink…To A Blind Horse…, and Ooh La La) and several solo albums that Stewart recorded with most of the band (Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells A Story, Never A Dull Moment, and Smiler).
Related: Our Album Rewind of A Nod Is As Good As A Wink…To A Blind Horse
Faces At The BBC — Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973 includes live versions of fan favorites like “Bad ’n’ Ruin,” “Had Me A Real Good Time,” “Miss Judy’s Farm,” “Too Bad,” and “Stay With Me,” a gold-certified single in the U.S. and a Top 10 smash in the U.K. Several of Stewart’s solo songs were performed as well, including, “(I Know) I’m Losing You” and the U.S. and U.K. No. 1 hit, “Maggie May.”
The set also includes their covers of such classic rock favorites as “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Street Fighting Man,” “Country Comfort” and “Memphis, Tennessee,” as well as songs written by Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke, John Lennon, among others.
John Peel’s Christmas Carol Concert rounds out the collection. Originally broadcast on Boxing Day 1970, this unique holiday performance features Stewart singing “Away In A Manger” and a Christmas carol medley sung by a choir that includes Faces, their roadies, John Peel, Marc Bolan of T-Rex, and others.
Portions of the recordings have previously been the subject of two Record Store Day releases. In recent years, Jones, Wood and Stewart have been talking about a Faces reunion album and tour.
Faces At The BBC – Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973 Track Listing
Disc One
John Peel’s Sunday Concert (Broadcast July 5, 1970)
“You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want To Discuss It)” *
“Wicked Messenger” *
“Devotion” *
“It’s All Over Now” *
“I Feel So Good” *
John Peel’s Sunday Concert (Broadcast November 29, 1970)
“Country Comfort”
“You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want To Discuss It)”
“Too Much Woman (For A Henpecked Man) / Street Fighting Man”
“Maybe I’m Amazed”
“Around The Plynth / Country Honk / Gasoline Alley”
Disc Two
John Peel’s Sunday Concert (Broadcast May 23, 1971)
“You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want To Discuss It)” *
“Cut Across Shorty”
“Love In Vain”
“Bad ’n’ Ruin” *
“It’s All Over Now” *
“Had Me A Real Good Time” *
“(I Know) I’m Losing You” *
“I Feel So Good” *
Disc Three
Sounds For Saturday (Broadcast April 1, 1972)
“Three Button Hand Me Down” *
“Maybe I’m Amazed”
“Too Much Woman (For A Henpecked Man) / Street Fighting Man” *
“Miss Judy’s Farm”
“Love In Vain” *
“Stay With Me”
“(I Know) I’m Losing You”
Disc Four
John Peel’s Sunday Concert (Broadcast February 26, 1972)
Intro / “You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want To Discuss It)” *
“Three Button Hand Me Down” *
“Miss Judy’s Farm” *
“Memphis, Tennessee” *
“Give Me The Moonlight” *
“Too Bad” *
“Last Orders Please” *
“Devotion” *
“That’s All You Need / Country Honk / Gasoline Alley” *
“(I Know) I’m Losing You” *
“Stay With Me” *
“Had Me A Real Good Time” *
“Underneath The Arches” *
“Every Picture Tells A Story” *
Disc Five
In Concert (Recorded February 8, 1973) not originally broadcast
“Silicone Grown” *
“Cindy Incidentally” *
“Angel” *
“Memphis, Tennessee” *
“True Blue” *
“I’d Rather Go Blind” *
“You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want To Discuss It)” *
“Twistin’ The Night Away” *
“It’s All Over Now” *
“Miss Judy’s Farm” *
“Maybe I’m Amazed” *
“Three Button Hand Me Down” *
“(I Know) I’m Losing You” *
Disc Six
In Concert (Broadcast April 21, 1973)
“Silicone Grown” *
“Cindy Incidentally” *
“Memphis, Tennessee” *
“If I’m On The Late Side” *
“My Fault” *
“The Stealer”
“Borstal Boys”
“Angel”
“Stay With Me”
“True Blue”
“Twistin’ The Night Away” *
“Miss Judy’s Farm”
“Jealous Guy”
“Too Bad”
Disc Seven
Top Gear (Broadcast March 28, 1970)
“Wicked Messenger” *
“Devotion”
“Shake, Shudder, Shiver”
“Pineapple And The Monkey” *
Dave Lee Travis (Broadcast March 15, 1970)
“Three Button Hand Me Down” *
“Flying”
“Wicked Messenger” *
Top Gear (Broadcast September 19, 1970)
“Had Me A Real Good Time” *
“Around The Plyth / Gasoline Alley”
“Country Comfort” *
Top Gear: John Peel’s Christmas Carol Concert (Broadcast December 26, 1970)
“Away In A Manger” – Rod Stewart *
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen / Good King Wenceslas / Silent Night / O Come All Ye Faithful” – Faces & Choir *
Disc Eight
Sounds Of The Seventies (Broadcast May 3, 1971)
“Had Me A Real Good Time” *
“Love In Vain” *
“Oh Lord I’m Browned Off” *
“Maybe I’m Amazed” *
Top Gear (Broadcast October 6, 1971)
“Stay With Me”
“Miss Judy’s Farm”
“Maggie May”
Blu-ray
Sounds For Saturday (Broadcast April 1, 1972)
“Three Button Hand Me Down” *
“Maybe I’m Amazed”*
“Too Much Woman (For A Henpecked Man / Street Fighting Man” *
“Miss Judy’s Farm”*
“Love In Vain” *
“Stay With Me”*
“(I Know) I’m Losing You”*
* previously unreleased
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2 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationAlways was a fan of the Small Faces!!
With a supposed reunion (RIP Mac) and a “new” LP not much more than pipe dreams and well past prime time, this is a welcome announcement. Bummer about the premium price, though.