A time when Rod Stewart was cool

Rod Stewart has become a whipping post among rock music circles today, and for good reason. As if his disco-inspired heyday in the 80s were not bad enough, with his spiked hair, leather pants, and leopard-skin jackets, Rod has made a comeback recently by killing American standards like “It Had To Be You” and “Blue Skies.” And yes, even in his ripe old age of 63, he’s still trying to be sexy.

Imagine the shock, then, that the man once fronted a serious and vital rock n’ roll band. And he was cool while doing it.

Faces, a group that also included Ronnie Wood of Rolling Stones fame and Ronnie Lane, rocked a hard, boozy rock that grooved like a motha and stung like a bee. Think of a bar-band type sound, one that is so aggressive, so sloppy, and so darn fun that it could internally combust at any moment.

The group released a number of strong albums during their brief time together (“Long Player” and “A Smile is a Good as a Wink” are the ones to look into), but to fully appreciate the group’s rockin’ talents and their (gulp) diversity, the true purchase must be “Five Guys Walk into a Bar,” a four-disc box set that is simply one of the finest box set releases in the history of rock n’ roll.
There have been better bands than Faces, but as far as the purpose of a box set is concerned—to provide an ultimate showcase of a group while offering music for beginners and music for diehards—“Five Guys…” exceeds on a gargantuan scale. Assembled by group keyboardist Ian McLagan, the set features a whopping 31 unreleased tracks, which include many wild live performances. While I was aware of the hard rock side of Faces when I purchased the set, it was the featured ballads that left me stunned. Yes, ballads! While a bar-band is not the typical benchmark for emotional songs of love and loss, Faces performs a striking series of ballads that all but defy their hard rock roots.

With beautiful melodies and glistening harmonies, songs like “Debris,” “Glad and Sorry,” and especially “If I’m on the Late Side” are as fine as rock balladry gets, offering a wonderful icy cool to the heated rock numbers. This is due in no small part to Lane’s influence, a wonderful and underappreciated songwriter.

A final note is worth being made about the musicianship. Fans of the Rolling Stones will recognize Wood, but his playing throughout the set is still a revelation. Aggressively hoisting his slide guitar to the front of the group, Wood harkens back to the blues with his rendition of “Around the Plynth,” and grooves like the devil in the white city during a live recording of “You’re my Girl.” And then there’s Rod Stewart.

I began this post with Stewart, so I might as well end it with him for the sake of bookends. Stewart is great on these numbers, almost making you forget of his recent dreck. He yelps and hollers with glee during the rock numbers, but sings with feeling and sensitivity during the ballads. He adds a potent charisma to each number, displaying that he had the goods to be a great rock n’ roll vocalist; and during the early part of the 70s, he was. It’s just a crying shame that he had to sell out.

Bottom line, Faces is a band well worth investigating, as they offer harder rock than the Rolling Stones while the sensitive balladry of any folk group. Give ‘em a chance, as I am sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised!