Small Faces
The Small Faces - Immediate 1967
Tracks:
1. (Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me / 2. Something I Want to Tell You / 3. Feeling Lonely / 4. Happy Boys Happy / 5. Things Are Going to Get Better / 6. My Way of Giving / 7. Green Circles / 8. Become Like You / 9. Get Yourself Together / 10. All Our Yesterdays / 11. Talk to You / 12. Show Me the Way / 13. Up the Wooden Hills to Bedfordshire / 14. Eddie's Dreaming / 15. I Can't Make It / 16. Just Passing / 17. Here Comes the Nice / 18. Itchycoo Park / 19. I'm Only Dreaming / 20. Tin Soldier / 21. I Feel Much Better / 22. Don't Burst My Bubble / 23. Things Are Going to Get Better / 24. Green Circles // 1. Album Sampler / 2. (Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me / 3. Something I Want to Tell You / 4. Feeling Lonely / 5. Happy Boys Happy / 6. Things Are Going to Get Better / 7. My Way of Giving / 8. Green Circles / 9. Become Like You / 10. Get Yourself Together / 11. All Our Yesterdays / 12. Talk to You / 13. Show Me the Way / 14. Up the Wooden Hills to Bedfordshire / 15. Eddie's Dreaming / 16. I Can't Make It / 17. Just Passing / 18. Here Comes the Nice / 19. Itchycoo Park / 20. I'm Only Dreaming / 21. Tin Soldier / 22. I Feel Much Better / 23. (Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me / 24. Green Circles
Comments:
The Small Faces' first album for Immediate is really an overlooked classic. The album, consists of entirely new original songs. Bubbling fantasy and playing pleasure is what characterizes the album and it obvious that the band took and enjoyed the freedom given to them by Immediate to further develop their musical expression.
Unlike their first album (released on Decca in 1966), this is a real album and not just a collection of singles, supplemented with an appropriate number of outtakes and b-sides. This is really nice songwriting, and though it hardly contains overlooked potential hit singles the album has many strong numbers of which several easily could be called classics. The song "My Way of Giving" probably in a more commercial cover version could have reached charts. "Green Circles" is the an early example of Small Faces psychedelia - and a fine example that Immediate’s confidence in the band immediately gave bonus in the form of inspired songwriting. An alternative version of this number is found among the bonus-tracks and is known as one of the very first songs the group recorded after leaving Decca. This rare version is in many ways more interesting than the regular version.
Overall, the album without weak tracks, but a few more than those already mentioned, however, do stand out. Although "Become Like You" and "Feeling Lonely" are short tracks, they are both songs you just have to hear again and again - a little bit like "Mad John" from "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake". "Happy Boys Happy" is a short instrumental, which in full lives up to its optimistic title.
"Talk to You" is classic Small Faces "and could well have been recorded simultaneously with a song like" All or Nothing". "Show Me the Way" shows with the band in a more subdued version with Ronnie Lane as lead singer and classical-inspired keyboard accompaniment.
The first Immediate album released in the United States was entitled "There are But Small Faces." This album was also very strong in a more conventional way containing three big single-hits along with two unusually strong b-sides "I'm Only Dreaming" and "I Feel Much Better". "There are But Small Faces", however, miss seven titles from "The Small Faces"album and contains only 12 titles.
This release contains all tracks from "There are But Small Faces" and has several interesting bonus tracks. Among these the outtake
"Don’t Burst my Bubble", the single "I Can’t Make it" and alternate versions of several album tracks. Both mono and stereo versions of the original album are to be found on a recommended deluxe-version - and although the differences are not very significant both versions interesting. Also most bonus tracks are found in both mono and stereo versions. A fine booklet with interesting facts and fine photos follows with this 2 CDs release.
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