8CD/BluRay - Faces at the BBC: Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings (1970-1973)

8CD + 1 BluRay 

The Faces are set to make fans “Shake, Shudder, Shiver” with a comprehensive boxed set compiling all of the group’s BBC concerts and surviving studio sessions. This new collection – much of it previously unreleased – has been remastered with the full participation of band members Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, and Kenney Jones.

The Blu-ray includes newly restored footage of the Faces’ April 1972 appearance on Sounds for Saturday. The concert finds the “Borstal Boys” in peak form, radiating their swaggering, joyous spirit of rock ’n’ roll that continues to inspire generations.

The hardback set includes a 48-page booklet with new commentary from surviving band members and archival quotes from Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan, and legendary BBC broadcaster John Peel. Lavishly illustrated with many previously unseen photos, the booklet details every Faces BBC session, concert, and broadcast. BBC broadcaster Gary Crowley wrote the detailed liner notes, which include a new interview with Jeff Griffin, who produced all of the Faces’ BBC concert appearances.

Once thought lost, many of the band’s BBC recordings were recovered from the Faces’ own archives and private collections. (Notably, only one BBC session of three songs remains missing.) Rarities include a stereo mix of the May 13, 1971, Paris Cinema concert, which was only broadcast in mono, and a February 1973 show that was never aired due to the BBC’s concerns over the band’s on-stage banter with the rowdy audience.

FACES AT THE BBC — COMPLETE BBC CONCERT & SESSION RECORDINGS 1970-1973 spans the band’s formation and meteoric rise. Exploring a period of intense creativity, which included four Faces studio albums (FIRST STEP, LONG PLAYER, A NOD IS AS GOOD AS A WINK...TO A BLIND HORSE..., and OOH LA LA) and several solo albums that Stewart recorded with most of the band (GASOLINE ALLEY, EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY, NEVER A DULL MOMENT, and SMILER). It includes live versions of fan favorites like “Bad ’n’ Ruin,” “Had Me A Real Good Time,” “Miss Judy’s Farm,” “Too Bad,” and “Stay With Me,” a gold-certified single in the U.S. and a Top 10 smash in the U.K. Several of Stewart’s solo songs were performed as well, including, “(I Know) I’m Losing You” and the U.S. and U.K. No. 1 hit, “Maggie May.”

John Peel’s Christmas Carol Concert rounds out the collection. Originally broadcast on Boxing Day 1970, this unique holiday performance features Stewart singing “Away In A Manger” and a Christmas carol medley sung by a choir that includes the Faces, their roadies, John Peel, Marc Bolan of T-Rex, and others.