Small Faces – THE SMALL FACES****

Shake/Come On Children/You’d Better Believe It/Its Too Late/One Night Stand/Whatcha Gonna Do About It/ Sorry She’s Mine/Own Up Time/You Need Loving/Don’t Stop What You’re Doing/E Too D/Sha-La-La-La-Lee

An impressive debut album from London East End mod group The Small Faces that contains two UK hit singles, the No. 14 Whatcha Gonna Do About It and the follow up No. 3 Sha La La La Lee. (UK:3)

"In an era that was hardly short of great artists, The Small Faces still stand out. They had it all, style, taste and above all class. This debut encapsulates them at their blistering best; Marriott's supreme, passionate vocals and McLagan's organ playing giving them a highly distinctive sound. This must surely rank as one of the finest and most consistent debut albums of the sixties. A must own for all mod and British beat fans." "Great debut album for legendary 60s mod band, The Small Faces. Much more straightforward R & B and soul influenced rock, than their later (and more celebrated) work, but a great start."

"The Small Faces were rather more popular at the time than their historical standing might suggest. In the mid 60s they were serious rivals to The Who and The Stones. Several subsequent bands cite them as influences, and others clearly benefitted from their influence even if they haven't admitted it. Check out You Need Loving and tell me it isn't the blueprint for Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love, it's almost the same song."

"Much like the early Who, The Small Faces had an exuberance that threatened to detonate the band's songs but instead kept the players rolling forward with unrelenting fervour."

"This debut long player is awesome. This is probably the closest to what the band actually sounded like live at the time, with extending jamming on some tracks and influences such as Booker T clearly evident. Superb."

"The energy level, the rawness of the sound and the pure gusto displayed here is utterly incredible. This album is an electric, jaw-dropping document of 1960s rock music at its most lively and the whole album is very, very strong."