Faces At The BBC — Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973 will be available this fall
After teasing their legendary BBC recordings on two Record Store Day releases, the Faces is set to make fans “Shake, Shudder, Shiver” with a comprehensive boxed set compiling all of the group’s BBC concerts and surviving studio sessions. This new collection – much of it previously unreleased – has been remastered with the full participation of band members Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, and Kenney Jones.
On September 6th, Faces At The BBC — Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973 will be available as an 8 CD/Blu-ray set at rhino.com and select retailers. The Blu-ray includes newly restored footage of the 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 that continues to inspire generations.
The hardback set includes a 48-page booklet with new commentary from surviving band members and archival quotes from Ronnie Lane, 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 Faces’ BBC concert appearances.
Once thought lost, many of the band’s BBC recordings were recovered from the Faces’ 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.
The 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 notes, 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.”
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, including Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells A Story, Never A Dull Moment, and Smiler.
The box 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 US and a Top 10 smash in the UK. Several of Stewart’s solo songs were performed as well, including, “(I Know) I’m Losing You” and the US and UK No. 1 hit, “Maggie May.”
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 the Faces, their roadies, John Peel, Marc Bolan of T-Rex, and others.
CD 1: John Peel’s Sunday Concert (Broadcast July 5, 1970)
1. You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want To Discuss It) [Previously Unreleased]
2. Wicked Messenger [Previously Unreleased]
3. Devotion [Previously Unreleased]
4. It’s All Over Now [Previously Unreleased]
5. I Feel So Good [Previously Unreleased]
John Peel’s Sunday Concert (Broadcast November 29, 1970)
6. Country Comfort
7. You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want To Discuss It)
8. Too Much Woman (For A Henpecked Man) / Street Fighting Man
9. Maybe I’m Amazed
10. Around The Plynth / Country Honk / Gasoline Alley
CD 2: John Peel’s Sunday Concert (Broadcast May 23, 1971)
1. You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want To Discuss It) [Previously Unreleased]
2. Cut Across Shorty
3. Love In Vain
4. Bad ’n’ Ruin [Previously Unreleased]
5. It’s All Over Now [Previously Unreleased]
6. Had Me A Real Good Time [Previously Unreleased]
7. (I Know) I’m Losing You [Previously Unreleased]
8. I Feel So Good [Previously Unreleased]
CD 3: Sounds For Saturday (Broadcast April 1, 1972)
1. Three Button Hand Me Down [Previously Unreleased]
2. Maybe I’m Amazed
3. Too Much Woman (For A Henpecked Man) / Street Fighting Man [Previously Unreleased]
4. Miss Judy’s Farm
5. Love In Vain [Previously Unreleased]
6. Stay With Me
7. (I Know) I’m Losing You
CD 4: John Peel’s Sunday Concert (Broadcast February 26, 1972) [Previously Unreleased]
1. Intro / You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want To Discuss It)
2. Three Button Hand Me Down
3. Miss Judy’s Farm
4. Memphis, Tennessee
5. Give Me The Moonlight
6. Too Bad
7. Last Orders Please
8. Devotion
9. That’s All You Need / Country Honk / Gasoline Alle
10. (I Know) I’m Losing You
11. Stay With Me
12. Had Me A Real Good Time
13. Underneath The Arches
14. Every Picture Tells A Story
CD 5: In Concert (Recorded February 8, 1973) not originally broadcast [Previously Unreleased]
1. Silicone Grown
2. Cindy Incidentally
3. Angel
4. Memphis, Tennessee
5. True Blue
6. I’d Rather Go Blind
7. You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want To Discuss It)
8. Twistin’ The Night Away
9. It’s All Over Now
10. Miss Judy’s Farm
11. Maybe I’m Amazed
12. Three Button Hand Me Down
13. (I Know) I’m Losing You
CD 6: In Concert (Broadcast April 21, 1973)
1. Silicone Grown [Previously Unreleased]
2. Cindy Incidentally [Previously Unreleased]
3. Memphis, Tennessee [Previously Unreleased]
4. If I’m On The Late Side [Previously Unreleased]
5. My Fault [Previously Unreleased]
6. The Stealer
7. Borstal Boys
8. Angel
9. Stay With Me
10.True Blue
11. Twistin’ The Night Away [Previously Unreleased]
12. Miss Judy’s Farm
13. Jealous Guy
14. Too Bad
CD 7: Top Gear (Broadcast March 28, 1970)
1. Wicked Messenger [Previously Unreleased]
2. Devotion
3. Shake, Shudder, Shiver
4. Pineapple And The Monkey [Previously Unreleased]
Dave Lee Travis (Broadcast March 15, 1970)
5. Three Button Hand Me Down [Previously Unreleased]
6. Flying
7. Wicked Messenger [Previously Unreleased]
Top Gear (Broadcast September 19, 1970)
8. Had Me A Real Good Time [Previously Unreleased]
9. Around The Plyth / Gasoline Alley
10. Country Comfort [Previously Unreleased]
Top Gear: John Peel’s Christmas Carol Concert (Broadcast December 26, 1970)
11. Away In A Manger” – Rod Stewart [Previously Unreleased]
12. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen / Good King Wenceslas / Silent Night / O Come All Ye Faithful” – Faces & Choir [Previously Unreleased]
CD 8: Sounds Of The Seventies (Broadcast May 3, 1971)
1. Had Me A Real Good Time [Previously Unreleased]
2. Love In Vain [Previously Unreleased]
3. Oh Lord I’m Browned Off [Previously Unreleased]
4. Maybe I’m Amazed [Previously Unreleased]
Top Gear (Broadcast October 6, 1971)
5. Stay With Me
6. Miss Judy’s Farm
7. Maggie May
Blu-ray: Sounds For Saturday (Broadcast April 1, 1972) [Previously Unreleased]
1. Three Button Hand Me Down
2. Maybe I’m Amazed
3. Too Much Woman (For A Henpecked Man / Street Fighting Man
4. Miss Judy’s Farm
5. Love In Vain
6. Stay With Me
7. (I Know) I’m Losing You
