Deep Dive: Faces, LONG PLAYER

When it comes to the Faces, the band’s first album should be viewed through the prism of its title: FIRST STEP. As debut albums go, it’s strong, make no mistake about that, but it’s not until the band’s second album that they truly found their groove.

No, LONG PLAYER was not a sophomore slump. In fact, one might readily argue that it’s the polar opposite of one, as it’s considered by many of the band’s fans to be the single best studio album ever produced by the Faces. Indeed, it’s pretty easy to take that faction’s side in any discussion about its merits, thanks to the way they tear up – in the best possible way – Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” on the album, but then there are also such original tracks as “Bad ‘n’ Ruin,” “Sweet Lady Mary,” “Richmond,” and “Had Me a Real Good Time,” all of which handily serve as confirmation that the Faces were a rock band to be reckoned with.

This was borne out by the success of the album, which served as the Faces’ first proper foothold in America when it climbed into the top 30 of the Billboard 200, and it also proved to be the band’s most successful album in the UK up to that point. Of course, before the end of the year, the Faces had released their third album, A NOD IS AS GOOD AS A WINK…TO A BLIND HORSE, which blew its predecessor away in terms of its chart success, climbing into the top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic, but that in no way takes away from the fact that the band’s creative thrusters were firing full blast on LONG PLAYER. If you’ve never heard it, it’s time you did.