Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart at the 2020 BRIT Awards
Faces members Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, and Kenney Jones have recorded new songs with some special guests and are reassessing some unreleased archival material, with plans to play several arena dates. The news comes from Jones via several interviews he’s done in recent months. The three have shared the stage numerous times since Faces called it quits well over 40 years ago. But this time, and despite Wood’s role as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, it appears that the British music legends will give it a go.
In a September 5, 2021 interview with Contact Music, the drummer said they have recorded 14 songs. In the interview, Jones described the new recordings as “a mixture of stuff we never released which is worthy of releasing and there’s some new stuff which is really wonderful. Rod is writing the lyrics and he’s really keen on it.”
In an interview with Uncut that appeared in January 2022, Jones offered an update. “What we’ve decided to do is work on some of the original stuff that we didn’t use, so the album is going to be a mixture of old and new,” he said. “The songs we’ve been revisiting are from right across the board. It’s very difficult to go into specifics, because many of them didn’t even have titles. Ronnie and I, in particular, have been working on lots of the old stuff together and we’ve re-recorded a couple of those songs with a more modern feel. . . The new songs are coming along, too. We’re definitely going in the right direction.”
When pressed further, Jones said, “I don’t want to give away too much at this point, but there will be some special guests on there with us. We’ve already done a few overdub sessions with some well known people, which will remain a trade secret for the moment.”
Jones wouldn’t commit to a full tour. “Whether or not we’re going to go on a big extended tour remains to be seen,” he told Contact Music. “What we have decided is to do some really big gigs like [London’s] The O2, [New York’s] Madison Square Garden, some other big venues in America.”
Watch Faces perform on The Midnight Special in 1975
2022 came and went with no additional news. Jones had many dates with The Jones Gang. Stewart’s 2023 calendar is already very full with a tour of Australia and New Zealand in March and April, followed by a Las Vegas residency, a tour of the U.K., Ireland, and Spain in the summer, followed by a North American tour into September. As of early-March, the Rolling Stones have not announced their tour plans.
Faces formed in 1969 from the ashes of Small Faces, with Jones, and his Small Faces bandmates Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan, joined by Stewart and Wood. (Small Faces frontman Steve Marriott departed to form Humble Pie.) They recorded four studio albums and scored a hit with the classic rock song “Stay With Me.” Stewart had also signed a solo recording contract and was frequently joined by his Faces bandmates.
By the mid-Seventies, the group was essentially done. Stewart’s solo career took off. Wood joined the Stones after Mick Taylor departed. And Jones joined The Who following Keith Moon’s death.
Stewart, Wood and Jones have performed together on occasion. Best Classic Bands was there in 2015 when they played seven songs for a benefit concert. Lane, who suffered from multiple sclerosis for decades, passed on June 4, 1997. McLagan died on Dec. 3, 2014. Stewart turned 77 on Jan. 10. Wood turns 75 on June 1. Jones turns 74 on Sept. 16.
Jones told Uncut, “The Faces never finished on a good note. So, it’d be good to finish on a good note and that would be that.”
Related: Our review of Faces’ 2015 mini-concert
Stewart, Wood and Jones shared the stage at the BRIT Awards on Feb. 18, 2020, at The O2 to perform “Stay With Me,” accompanied by an orchestra.
2 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationGreat news! Go for it Kenney, Ron and Rod!
Yeah! About time! I always loved the Faces and was really sorry to see Mac pass away before Rod rejoined them. Maybe now they can do the farewell gigs they always deserved.