A comprehensive Faces box set featuring all of the legendary British rock band’s concerts and surviving studio sessions recorded for the BBC will be released on September 6. The collection, titled Faces at the BBC – Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973, will feature eight CDs and a Blu-ray disc.
The CDs feature remastered recordings of the Faces’ appearances on various BBC TV and radio programs, including John Peel’s Sunday Concert, Sounds for Saturday, Top Gear, Sounds of the Seventies, and In Concert. Many of the performances are previously unreleased.
[RELATED: Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood “Struggling” to Make First New Faces Album in 50 Years]
The box set includes a February 8, 1973, appearance on In Concert that was never broadcast because the BBC were concerned about the band’s rowdy banter with the audience.
The Blu-ray featured restored film footage of the Faces’ full April 1, 1972, appearance on Sounds for Saturday. Audio of the band’s seven-song performance also appears on one of the CDs.
In advance of Faces at the BBC’s release, the band’s performance of their hit “Stay with Me” on the aforementioned Sounds for Saturday episode has been made available as digital single. A video of the performance also has premiered on the Rhino label’s YouTube channel.
More Details About the Box Set
The Faces at the BBC box set was put together with the full with the full participation of the group’s surviving members—frontman Rod Stewart, guitarist Ronnie Wood, and drummer Kenney Jones.
The collection comes packaged with a 48-page booklet boasting new commentary from Stewart, Wood, and Jones, plus archival quotes from the group’s two late members—bassist Ronnie Lane and keyboardist Ian McLagan—and late legendary BBC deejay John Peel. The booklet also features previously unseen photos, and information about every Faces BBC session, concert, and broadcast. The box set’s liner notes were written by BBC broadcaster Gary Crowley, and includes a new interview with Jeff Griffin, who produced all of the Faces’ BBC concert appearances.
Peel is credited with championing Faces and getting the BBC to allow the band to perform on the network.
“If it wasn’t for John Peel, the Faces would never have broken through,” Stewart says in the liner notes. Adds Wood, “He gave the Faces our first break,” while Jones notes, “John Peel helped the Faces so much in England, in the press and on his show.”
Songs Featured on the Box Set
On the various shows, the Faces played a mix of their popular songs, deeper cuts, and select cover tunes. The band also performed songs from Stewart’s solo career, which he launched simultaneously with his work with the Faces.
The latter included “Maggie May” and “Every Picture Tells a Story.” Incidentally, Stewart’s early solo albums featured appearances of some or all of his fellow Faces members.
The cover tunes appearing on the box set include songs that the Faces and/or Stewart recorded for their studio releases. Among these are Elton John’s “Country Comfort,” Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed,” The Temptations’ “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind,” Sam Cooke’s “Twistin’ the Night Away,” and Chuck Berry’s “Memphis, Tennessee.”
In addition, the box set features the Faces performing on a holiday episode of Top Gear that was broadcast on December 26, 1970. The show featured Stewart singing “Away in a Manger” and the band joined by special guests, including Peel and T. Rex’s Mardc Bolan, for a medley of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Good King Wenceslas,” “Silent Night,” and “O Come All Ye Faithful.”
For more details about Faces at the BBC, visit TheOfficialFaces.com.
Most Popular
Comments / 0