Held in high affection because of his days as keyboard player in the Small Faces and their boozy offspring the Faces, Ian McLagan has spent the better of two decades lending support to such legends as Chuck Berry, Bob Dyla... more »n, and the Rolling Stones. While his former frontman Rod Stewart went on to achieve platinum status, McLagan has kept it real, continuing the spirit of ramshackle, good-time glory that made his first two bands (and bandmate Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance) so memorable. "She Stole It!" is a brokenhearted rant against a girlfriend who nicked his collection of Hank Williams, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles records, and tells McLagan's whole story. His heart beats faster for pure soul, R&B, and country, but as a Londoner, he delivers quintessentially English rock such as "Suzie Gotta Sweet Face" and lost-love songs such as "Warm Rain." If you're longing to hear an album just like Rod used to make, Best of British is it. --Johnny Black« less
Held in high affection because of his days as keyboard player in the Small Faces and their boozy offspring the Faces, Ian McLagan has spent the better of two decades lending support to such legends as Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones. While his former frontman Rod Stewart went on to achieve platinum status, McLagan has kept it real, continuing the spirit of ramshackle, good-time glory that made his first two bands (and bandmate Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance) so memorable. "She Stole It!" is a brokenhearted rant against a girlfriend who nicked his collection of Hank Williams, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles records, and tells McLagan's whole story. His heart beats faster for pure soul, R&B, and country, but as a Londoner, he delivers quintessentially English rock such as "Suzie Gotta Sweet Face" and lost-love songs such as "Warm Rain." If you're longing to hear an album just like Rod used to make, Best of British is it. --Johnny Black
Mario Elizondo | Monterrey, Nuevo León Mexico | 11/08/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Highly recomended, I really enjoyed this rocker CD which
features Ronnie Wood on some tracks. Obviously aside "Mac's"
great vocals, his work on the piano and keyboards is brilliant.
"Warm rain" stands as one of the most beautiful ballads I've
ever heard, "Hello old friend" is pure fun with a great
accustic guitar solo with slide. "She stole it" is typical
Faces or Stones Rocker. Great CD."
Great, unpretentious record!
Mario Elizondo | 10/11/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
". . .infinitely more invigorating, articulate, and immediate (no pun intendended) than the critically-lauded junk that seems to clog the pipeline these days, this album is funky, raw, and just TOO MUCH FUN! Ian's a great singer, raspy and full of character, and the songs chug along in the classic Faces/Stones manner. Check it out before it slips out of print!!!!! The other album ("Turn Faces") is an import version of this album, FYI. . ."
RONNIE LANE WOULDA LOVED IT!
Patrick Earley | Edmond, Oklahoma USA | 10/10/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Ian Mclagan went and got a few of his old friends together, including his old Small Faces mate Ronnie Wood, to make this good old fashioned rock and roll record. It's a nice album that sounds as if they had a great time making. Mclagan's a very good keyboard player who's first album "Troublemaker" I remember owning back in the late 70's. As for his sound, he hasn't changed a whole lot in these last 20 years between solo albums. But his songwriting is a little better on here. Some of my faves are the opener "Best Of British", which lays the foundation for the rest of the album and says "we're not goin' to get very serious here". Just play and have fun. I also like the rockin' closer "This Time", where Ronnie Wood offers up some old Faces style guitar work. A couple of honorable mentions go to "Don't Let Him Out Of Your Sight" and the hilarious "She Stole It", about a girlfriend who steals his record collection because he couldn't choose between having his music or her. Like I said, this is pretty much straight ahead good time music that fans of Mclagan's old bandmate Ronnie Lane, who he dedicates this album to, should enjoy. It's similar in style in some ways to Lane's carefree music of the 70's. Nice stuff."
Nice job, Mac!
Tod C. Armstrong | Rohnert Park, CA United States | 04/04/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's been many-a-year since Rod the Mod put out Faces-sounding album, so thanks to Mac for keeping the flame alive! This should appeal to any fan of the Faces. Ian has a voice that is somewhere between Rod and Ronnie. The only "dog" is She Stole It, which is just a little too cute. That aside, this is a very entertaining an musically strong set. Ronnie makes an appearance on 3 songs. I'm definitely now in the mood for the new Ronnie/Rod work that's said to be in the works."