Before
Rod Stewart had a successful solo career and before
Ronnie Wood was a member of
The Rolling Stones, they were in the
Jeff Beck Group then became
Faces. Faces were the seminal British blues rock band that rivaled the Stones, challenged
The Who, and brought their own crass and demolition to rock. The band, who formed in 1969 from the ashes of
Small Faces, where a majority of the band came from, gained attention straight away and released their debut,
First Step in early 1970 just months after forming. Yet, due to rights issues in the U.S., the band were still called The Small Faces stateside, but that didn't hinder their growing popularity. Faces were much more different from Small Faces, this Faces were harder and not as polished, it was a totally new band even though it had a background and similar name hanging over them.
First Step was the band putting their foot down and declaring who they were and what they were going to do. It was no frills rock and roll and they made no apologies for it.
First Step is a classic bar band sounding record that featured originals and a cover of
Bob Dylan's "Wicked Messenger." Now, the sound that was on
First Step is called "Garage Rock," yet, as Faces proved, it is only rock and roll.
