YOUR LOVE IS FADING
I CAN FEEL YOUR LOVE FADING
GIRL, IT'S FADING AWAY FROM ME
' CAUSE YOUR TOUCH
YOUR TOUCH HAS GROWN COLD
AS IF SOMEONE ELSE
CONTROLS YOUR VERY SOUL
is a comprehensive
Four-disc
retrospective
of the British
rock group
released in 2004,
collecting
sixty-seven tracks
from among
the group's
four studio albums,
assorted rare single
A and B-sides,
BBC sessions,
rehearsal tapes
and one track
from a promotional
flexi-disc,
"Dishevelment Blues"
a deliberately-sloppy
studio romp,
captured
during the sessions
for their
Ooh La La album,
which was never
actually intended for
official release.
Eight of ten tracks
from 1973's
Ooh La La appear
(along with a live version of "My Fault"),
as do eight of nine
from 1971's
A Nod Is as Good as a Wink...
To a Blind Horse,
five of nine from
1971's Long Player
(with an additional two in alternative versions)
and three of ten from
1970's
First Step
(originally credited to Small Faces).
Other vintage Faces tracks
long sought-after by
collectors and completists
had never been
compiled before
such as the
studio-recorded
US-only single version
of their take on
Paul McCartney's
"Maybe I'm Amazed",
or the obscure
dobro-driven
B-side
"Skewiff (Mend the Fuse)").
The song that opens
this set,
"Flying",
is a subtly
remixed version
of the track which
which originally appeared on
First Step.
"Wyndlesham Bay"
is an early version
of one of
'solo'
songs,
"Jodie",
with different lyrics
although as the credit on
the record label of the single
itself clearly attests,
"Jodie"
is itself a later
Faces performance
of this song,
likely recorded at the
same session as
'Poolhall Richard',
that has since been
incorrectly credited to
Stewart as a solo artist
Many tracks from
BBC sessions
also appear throughout,
including Faces takes on
Stewart's own
"Maggie May"
and
"Gasoline Alley,"
the latter as part of a
medley including
"Around the Plynth."
The Faces'
earliest recordings
are represented by
rehearsal excerpts
from the summer of 1969,
including covers of
Big Bill Broonzy's
"I Feel So Good"
featuring Stewart
on guitar
and
Ronnie Wood
on harmonica
and Howlin' Wolf's
"Evil."
The set was compiled by
the group's keyboardist,
Ian McLagan,
who had previously compiled
1999's
Good Boys... When They're Asleep,
and his liner notes
offer a unique and
intimate take on
the band's history
alongside a
fulsome tribute to
late Faces
founder member
Ronnie Lane.
Five Guys Walk into a Bar...
has received a largely
positive response
from critics
since its release.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
of AllMusic
praised the box set
as the best of its type:
"There has never been
a better box set than
the Faces'
Five Guys Walk into a Bar....
There has never been a box
that captures an artist
so perfectly,
nor has a box set
taken greater
advantage of
unreleased
and rare material,
to the point where
it seems as essentia
l and vital as the
released recordings."
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