What Are You Listening To?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SMALL FACES  "small faces"  cd  1967

a revisit
their second album of five, i own them all
stupid me, i meant to pick up the debut which is self titled also but played this by mistake
anyway, guess what tomorrow morning's pick will be LOL
fourteen tracks,
first half is quite bluesy as was the norm for the period
second half is more like the sound most people would know by them
great, great album which scores 2.5 from me and means
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

lets go for this one:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SMALL FACES  "small faces"  cd  1966

a revisit
their debut album of five, i own them all
two covers on here:
Sam Cooke's "shake" and Willie Dixon's "you need loving".
album is a real bluesy/r+b affair
a solid album but the best IS yet to come
album scores 2.4 from me which means
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

their first UK top-10 hit:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SMALL FACES "ogdens' nut gone flake"  cd/vinyl 1968

a revisit
their third UK release, second in the US.
a concept album about Happiness Stan, a young boy, looking for the missing half of the moon
album is narrated between the songs by English monologuist  Stanley Unwin whose style coined the phrase 'gobbledegook'
the band wanted Goon Spike Milligan to narrate it initially but he wasnt available at the time
album contains blues, R+B, pop, psychedelia and dancehall cockney rhyming pub tunes
Stanley Unwin's narration is something you either love or loathe, theres  no in between, 
me, i "get it" and thats why this is my favourite album of all time bar none
album scores 2.9 from me which means
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

some of Stanley Unwin's gobbledegook:  The Small Faces With A Little Help From Their Friend Professor Stanley Unwin 1968





the band split after the release of this album, 

Steve Marriott went on to form Humble Pie with friend Peter Frampton after declining an offer to front a band with another friend Jimmy Page, that band ended up being Led Zepplin.

The Small Faces ended up recruiting Ron Wood and Rod Stewart to become The Faces.

by 1973 Peter Frampton had left Humble Pie due to Steve Marriott's escalating drug and alcohol usage and Humble Pie imploded in 1974.

by 1974, Steve Marriott was adrift, homeless and broke, 
The Faces were all but broken up as Rod Stewart's solo career took off
Ron Wood was asked to join the Rolling Stones after Mick Taylor left the band.

The Faces had no direction and Marriott needed the cash so in 1975 The Small Faces reunited.....

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SMALL FACES "playmates" cd 1977

a revisit
their fourth of five, i own them all
Ronnie Lane left the band after a few rehearsals and in came Rick Wills who left Roxy Music to join the band
album sounds more like The Faces sounds than Small Faces and/or Humble Pie
several tracks have that slow-burn bluesy Rolling Stones vibe also
one R+B cover on here, "looking for a love" originally by The Valentinos in 1962
album starts off slow and uninspired but the back half really shines IMO
album manages to score 1.8 which means
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SMALL FACES  "78 in the shade"  cd  1978

a revisit
their second and final reformation album
Jimmy McCulloch left Wings to join the band, and i quote: "i was finding McCartney extremely difficult to work with" unquote.
the first half of the album is fairly weak and sounds uninspired IMO
the second half ramps up and the songs have more of a spark
(wouldnt you put the best tracks up first on an album?, who knows?)
can hear hints of early to mid 70s Stones in places
its not till the closing track i hear something remotely like classic Small Faces on here
the album proves (as does 'playmates') that sometimes reforming really shouldnt happen
and to be honest if it wasnt the Small Faces theres a chance i wouldnt give this a second listen
album scores 1.8 at a stretch which means
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

fave is the closing track:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

and the final Small Faces album.....



SMALL FACES  "there are but four small faces"  cd  1968

a revisit
so why this one? and why is it not in chronological order you may ask....or not!! LOL
this was their first US release
and as US releases go by UK artists they were generally a mash up of other UK releases
this contains  six tracks from their second English album "small faces "(1967) plus three stand alone singles
technically a compilation but considered to be part of their official studio albums discography now.
much like Magical Mystery Tour LP, contains stand alone beatles singles and the UK "ep" tracks
MMT is now considered part of the Beatles offical albums' discography...
and just like MMT i think this album is brilliantly put together
album scores 2.8 from me which means
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

i have to pick this one on this occasion:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

KID ROCK  "rebel soul"  cd 2012

 a revisit
from Detroit
nineth album of twelve, i own seven from memory
southern rock on this one with some redneck elements
not as good as some other albums but still rocking it at 2.0 which means
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

loving his ode to his hometown

[CRAZY-HORSE]

DAVID BOWIE  "nothing has changed"  cd  2014

a two disk 40 track career spanning compilation from "space oddity" onwards
first disk  is from 1969-1980, the second 1993-2014
as much as i love the latter decades of his career it does pale when you listen to it all the way through.
an excellent set overall
and the four standout singles for me are "starman", "heroes", "ashes to ashes" and "blue jean"
it scores 2.4 from me which means
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

[CRAZY-HORSE]

THE ANGELS  "greatest hits: their finest hour, and then some" cd 1992

Aussie pub rock band
they have that blues rock sound of early ac/dc and Cold Chisel as examples
was never a big fan but i liked enough of their singles to warrant getting this when it was released
loving a four or five tracks, disliking a few also but the majority are worth the admission price
album scores 1.9 from me which means
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

my favourite:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

BEATLES  "let it be" cd/vinyl 1970

a revisit
i hate it when shit gets complicated and this one gets complicated, here goes...
1: its the twelfth and final UK release yet now it their regarded as their thirteenth studio album with the inclusion of Magical Mystery Tour (1968) included in their official discography...
2: it was actually the eleventh recorded album (12th if you cound said MMT), yet it was their final release...
3: it was overdubbed and re-produced by Phil Spector and Paul has previously disowned the album for the fact Spector added strings to "the long and winding road" without Paul's permission, the album was re-released without the Spector overdubs/production in the early 2000s and retitled "let it be....naked" which is how it was meant to be originally released...
Phew!, now on witht he album
its one of their weakest albums IMO but it is still really good and contains "let it be", "the long and winding road", "get back", "across the universe" and "ive got a feeling", yeah its a weak Beatles album LMAO
"two of us" has an almost Simon & Garfunkel folk/pop vibe, plus "one after 909" has a 1950s rockabilly sound and was written back in 1959 shortly after John and Paul met. Geroge has a couple of tunes.
all up the album scores 2.3 from me, (not bad for a weak album LOL) which means
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

ive never posted this track before but it is George's 'dig' at Paul for his bossy/controlling nature in the studio...





All through the day
I me mine, I me mine, I me mine.
All through the night
I me mine, I me mine, I me mine.


Now they're frightened of leaving it
Everyone's reading it
Comin' on strong all the time
All through the day.

I me mine
I me me mine, I me me mine
I me me mine, I me me mine.

All I can hear
I me mine, I me mine, I me mine
Even those tears
I me mine, I me mine, I me mine.

No one's frightened of playing it
Everyone's saying it
Flowing more freely than wine