New Music from Faces
In 1969, Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart, fresh from the Jeff Beck Group, joined three members of the Small Faces, Ian McLagan, Ronnie Lane and Kenney Jones, to form a band, the Faces. Their soulful, blues- and funk-infused rock’n’roll was riotously creative and engagingly shambolic, both live and on wax.
The Faces recorded four studio albums. They broke up in 1975, leading to Rod and Ronnie establishing hugely successful careers individually, one as a solo act and the other as part of the Stones.
Recently, though, news has emerged of activity from the legendary band. Ronnie Wood spoke openly with The Times about getting the all-clear after battling with cancer and about making new music. As well as collaborating with Mick Jagger on a Rolling Stones project, Ronnie has been in the studio with drummer Kenney Jones and Rod Stewart:
“Me and Mick have done nine new tracks for the [40th] anniversary re-release of Tattoo You.
“And me, Rod and Kenney have been recording some new Faces music.
“I’ve had a front-row seat on some amazing rock’n’roll projects these past couple of weeks.”
A release would represent the first new Faces album since their 1973 record Ooh La La.
In early September, drummer Kenney Jones has revealed that Faces have recorded 14 new songs together since reforming this summer, as reported by Uncut.
Andy Neil's definitive book about the Faces, 'Had Me a Real Good Time', which tells their story and paints an evocative portrait of the times in which they raised hell and recorded some timeless tracks, is available now in paperback form.
Photograph by Tom Wright. A compilation of Wright's groundbreaking photography and the true stories behind the captivating pictures can be found in 'Raising Hell on The Rock 'n' Roll Highway', published by Omnibus Press, now available in a Kindle edition.