“rock’n’roll with a twinkle in its eye…”
Producer Glyn Johns on working with the Faces
“iwas always terribly impressed with Rod as singer. I had a previous relationship with the small faces, but the faces were nothing like them. although they had Kenney, mac and Ronnie lane in the band, it was completely different – largely because of woody and Rod. like any chemistry set, if you add two different chemicals, it’s going to be different. I thought it quite wonderful: rock’n’roll with a twinkle in its eye.
“the sessions were always very good fun; I enjoyed them enormously. a lot of the songs were written in the studio and performed in very good spirits. woody and Ronnie lane were largely responsible for that. mac, too. I mustn’t leave anybody out!
“they worked very collaboratively. It was very democratic – but then, that was true with most of the bands I worked with at the time. they all brought their own little piece that helped the faces be a success. Ron started life as a bass player – he’s not a lead guitar player, he’d never profess to be – he’s a very loose player. his attitude to the music was completely in parallel with Rod’s, along with their sense of humour. later, Ron became a huge influence on the success of Rod’s solo career, without question. he was the key. But his role in the faces was the perfect role for him as a musician. he was a huge influence. But Ronnie lane, Kenney and mac had a very similar attitude to Rod and Ron. there was nothing pretty about what they did. there was nothing too clever; it was a reaction to the groove or a reaction to the tempo even. It wasn’t ever particularly thought out. nobody ever looked at anything under a microscope. It was completely based on feel.
“It got awkward on the second album I made with them [Ooh La La]. Rod wasn’t always there or he’d turn up on his own. the band was no longer a priority, as his solo career was taking off. I’m not sure that he dealt with that particularly well.
“my brother [Andy] worked with Rod later. I’ve run into him a couple of times in la and he’s always charming.”