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The Final Original Small Faces Album With Johnny Hallyday

Christopher L. Dolmetsch | Hurricane, WV USA | 07/24/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In March 1969 the original Small Faces played their final concert before splintering into Humble Pie (Steve Marriott) and the Faces (McLagan, Lane, and Jones). By the end of 1968 it was clear that the group was nearing its end as Marriott was hanging out with ex-Herd guitarist Peter Frampton and even inviting him along for gigs and the occasional recording session. Then in late December the group was asked to collaborate on French pop legend Johnny Hallyday's next project, a rock album showcasing Hallyday's attempt at hard-rock. With master engineer Glyn Johns at the helm, the group seemed eager to oblige. Sessions were held in London and in early January 1969 in Paris. Marriott and Lane donated three songs to the project ("Amen" was a retitled version of the Small Faces own "That Man" first recorded for DECCA back in 1966) and their assistance was most evident when one listens to the finished product. Indeed, this could well be called the final original Small Faces album, since the sessions that later produced such posthumous Small Faces compilations as "The Autumn Stone" were never brought to completion by the group itself. For any diehard Small Faces fan this album is a must have, despite the dominence of the French singing Hallyday. It sounds very much like a Small Faces album from that period. From here the band made a brief concert visit to Germany and Vienna, Austria (from which a rough bootlegged recording survives) and then it was all-too-soon over."