A new boxset from legendary drummer Kenney Jones features unreleased and rare versions of Small Faces songs.
The sticksman for the legendary rock group’s Small Faces, the Faces and The Who has announced the release of a 3LP coloured vinyl and 3CD expanded editions of the Small Faces’ final album, 1969’s ‘The Autumn Stone’, to mark the 60th anniversary of British record label Immediate Records.
The boxset will be available from March 28, and is released in conjunction with Kenney’s own label, Nice Records.
Newly mastered by Nick Robbins, it includes stripped-down acoustic mixes showcasing the talents of late frontman Steve Marriott.
The collection includes previously unreleased track ‘Olympic Jam (“one more!”)’, plus an unreleased version of ‘Red Balloon’, and the compilation’s title track.
The original 1969 Best Of LP was unfinished and rush-released by Immediate Records months after the Small Faces split, prompting Steve to form Humble Pie.
Fans can also get their hands on a limited-edition ‘autumn stone and gold’ colour 180-gram 3LP vinyl boxset
The 3LP coloured vinyl package is limited to 3000 numbered copies, 750 of which are signed by Kenney Jones and Gered Mankowitz. Both editions are available to pre-order exclusively via www.thesmallfaces.com.
The 3LP vinyl boxset also includes a lavish 68-page hardback book containing detailed sleeve notes and track-by-track recording information, illustrated with rare memorabilia, original artwork and previously unseen photos by Small Faces photographers Tony Gale and Gered Mankowitz. The vinyl boxset boasts gold foil lettering, with the band’s name finally restored to the front cover, having been mistakenly left off the original copy.
Elsewhere, Kenney has inked an exclusive licensing deal with BMG for Nice Records to release Immediate Records in the UK.
The Small Faces formed in 1965 in London, with the original lineup also the late Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan.
Following their demise, Steve formed Humble Pie in 1969 with Peter Frampton, Greg Ridley, and Jerry Shirley.
Meanwhile, Sir Rod Stewart recently admitted The Faces are “struggling” with their comeback album.
The surviving members of the ‘Stay With Me’ group – which also includes guitarist Ronnie Wood and Kenney – were revealed to be recording new music in summer 2021, but fans have yet to hear it, and the ‘Maggie May’ hitmaker has admitted he’s been writing songs for the project though he is unsure what will happen to the tracks.
Asked the best unreleased song he’s written, Rod told Vulture last year: “I’ve sent a lot of them to Ronnie Wood. I told him, ‘This is stuff we’ve recorded with my band, maybe the Faces would like to do it instead?’ We’re still struggling to make this album. We’ll see. Some of them might see the light of day.”
Kenney previously explained The Faces’ comeback record – which would mark their first since 1973’s ‘Ooh La La’ – would be a “mixture of old and new”.
He told Uncut magazine: “What we’ve decided to do is work on some of the original stuff that we didn’t use, so the album is going to be a mixture of old and new.
“The songs we’ve been revisiting are from right across the board.
“It’s very difficult to go into specifics because many of them didn’t even have titles.
“I think the fans may have heard certain things before and might recognise them.
“Ronnie and I, in particular, have been working on lots of the old stuff together and we’ve re-recorded a couple of those songs with more of a modern feel.”