Long Player
Studio album by Faces
Released 1971
Recorded 1980-1971
Genre Rock
Length 45:16
Label Warner Bros
Producer Faces
Long Player, from 1971, was the second album by the British rock group Faces. Among the highlights are the live cover of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed", the wistful "Richmond" and "Sweet Lady Mary", the rave-up "Had Me a Real Good Time" and the opening "Bad 'n' Ruin".
A single version of "Maybe I'm Amazed" appeared just ahead of the album, featuring a studio version of the song in lieu of the live version presented on the album proper.
Professional ratings:
Allmusic 5 of 5 stars
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine of allmusic:
On their second album Long Player, the Faces truly gel -- which isn't quite the same thing as having the band straighten up and fly right because in many ways this is album is even more ragged than their debut, with tracks that sound like they were recorded through a shoebox thrown up against a couple of haphazardly placed live cuts. But if the album seems pieced together from a few different sources, the band itself all seems to be coming from the same place, turning into a ferocious rock & roll band who, on their best day, could wrestle the title of greatest rock & roll band away from the Stones. Certainly, the sheer force of the nine-minute jam on Big Bill Broonzy's "I Feel So Good" proves that, but what's more remarkable is how the band are dovetailing as songwriters, complementing and collaborating with very different styles, to the extent that it's hard to tell who wrote what; indeed, the ragged, heartbroken "Tell Everyone" sounds like a Stewart original, but it comes from the pen of Ronnie Lane. The key is that Stewart, Lane and Ron Wood (Ian McLagan only co-write "Bad 'N' Ruin") are all coming from the same place, all celebrating a rock & roll that's ordinary in subject but not in sound. Take "Bad 'N' Ruin," the tale of a ne'er do well returning home with his tail between his legs, after the city didn't treat him well. It has its counterpart in "Had Me a Real Good Time," where a reveler insists that he has to leave, concluding that he was glad to come but also glad to get home. These are songs that celebrate home, from family to the neighborhood, and that big heart beats strong in the ballads, too, from the aching "Sweet Lady Mary" to the extraordinary reworking of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed," which soars in ways Macca's exceptional original never did. Then, there's there humor -- the ramshackle "On the Beach," the throwaway lines from Rod on "Had Me a Real Good Time" -- which give this a warm, cheerful heart that helps make Long Player a record as big, messy, and wonderful as life itself.
LP track listing
Side One
1. "Bad 'n' Ruin" (Ian McLagan, Rod Stewart) - 5:24
2. "Tell Everyone" (Ronnie Lane) - 4:18
3. "Sweet Lady Mary" (Ronnie Lane, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood) - 5:49
4. "Richmond" (Ronnie Lane) - 3:04
5. "Maybe I'm Amazed" (Paul McCartney) - 5:53
Side Two
6. "Had Me a Real Good Time" (Ronnie Lane, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood) - 5:51
7. "On the Beach" (Ronnie Lane, Ronnie Wood) - 4:15
8. "I Feel So Good" (Big Bill Broonzy) - 8:49
9. "Jerusalem" (Traditional, arr. Ronnie Wood) - 1:53
Personnel
* Rod Stewart - vocals
* Ronnie Lane - bass, guitar, tambourine and vocals
* Ronnie Wood - lead, slide and pedal steel guitars
* Ian McLagan - piano, organ and keyboards
* Kenney Jones - drums
* Bobby Keyes - tenor saxophone on "Had Me a Real Good Time"
* Harry Beckett - trumpet on "Had Me a Real Good Time"