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This
week a dream came true: I interviewed keyboardist Ian 'Mac' McLagan
and drummer Kenny Jones for the very first time.
Members,
of course, of one of the truly GREAT London bands of all time, the
Small Faces, who summed up the Mod lifestyle and gave us some of
the most exciting, vibrant pop of the 60s.
It
was a blend of music that began by being heavily influenced by the
R&B and Soul sounds coming out of America, but then evolved into
a very individual, British take on psychedelia.
whopping
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Popmeister
and Faces keyboardist Ian 'Mac' McLagan
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Mac
and Kenny came in to promote the release of 'The Ultimate Collection',
a whopping 50-track, ace new compilation that features the standout
cuts from the band's work on Decca and then Andrew Loog Oldham's
Immediate label.
Apparently, because of legal problems in the past, it's the first
time these tracks have been collected together on one double album
- and appropriately enough, the sleeve notes are done by Paolo Hewitt.
He's
a long standing fan of the combo who's also in the process of putting
the finishing touches to a book about the band's late, charismatic
singer Steve Marriott.
excess
Paolo's been a friend (or fiend?!) of mine for eons and back in
the mid 80s, he kindly invited me to Denmark Street to meet Mr Marriott,
whom he was interviewing for the NME at the time.
Suffice
to say I got down there faster than a rat up a drainpipe, and we
met up outside the old Giaconda cafe, an old Faces hangout in Tin
Pan Alley.
Steve
was in sparkling good form, regaling us with stories of the band's
illustrious, colourful past. He looked as though the years of excess
had taken their toll, but still had that naughty twinkle in his
eye and a mischievous laugh that wouldn't have gone amiss in a Carry
On film.
classics
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Where
it all began...The Ultimate Collection gathers together 50
of the band's classic tracks
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Listening
again to this CD has confirmed once again the talent and influence
the Small Faces once wielded - just ask people like the Sex Pistols,
Weller and Blur for starters.
Songs
like 'All Or Nothing', 'Here Comes The Nice' and 'Itchycoo
Park' are veritable classics in my book, and it's no wonder
the band are spoken of in the same breath as the Fabs, the Stones,
the Who and the Kinks.
Catch
it all in the interview with Mac and Kenny, which we broadcast last
Saturday (24 May) on 94.9 - available on your PC NOW!
 listen
hear the Small Faces and 'All Or Nothing' from The Ultimate Collection
(listen
in Windows Media Player - )
listen
hear 'Itchycoo Park' from The Ultimate Collection
add
your opinion
email me direct at: yourlondon@bbc.co.uk
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