First Step (album) - Definition and Overview

First Step, alternatively titled Small Faces due to a miscommunication in the United States, was the first album by the British group The Faces, released in early 1970, a few months after they had formed from the ashes of the Small Faces (from which Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Ian McLagan hailed) and the Jeff Beck Group (from which Rod Stewart and Ron Wood hailed.)

It is generally regarded as their weakest studio effort, recorded much too quickly after the group's formation, and staggered to an abysmal #119 on the Billboard charts. Highlights include "Three Button Hand Me Down", "Shake, Shudder, Shiver" and the album's centerpiece, "Flying".

Track Listing

• 01. The Wicked Messenger (B. Dylan)

• 02. Devotion (R. Lane)

• 03. Shake, Shudder, Shiver (R. Lane and R. Wood)

• 04. Stone (R. Lane)

• 05. Around The Plynth (R. Stewart and R. Wood)

• 06. Flying (R. Lane, R. Stewart and R. Wood)

• 07. Pineapple and the Monkey (R. Wood)

• 08. Nobody Knows (R. Lane and R. Wood)

• 09. Looking Out The Window (K. Jones and I. McLagan)

• 10. Three Button Hand Me Down (I. McLagan and R. Stewart)

Group Members and Other Participants

• The Faces produced themselves on this effort.

• Kenney Jones manned the drums.

• Ronnie Lane played bass, the occasional guitar and sang the occasional vocal.

• Ian McLagan was on piano and organ, and sang some harmony.

• Rod Stewart did the bulk of the lead vocals and played banjo on one track.

• Ron Wood did most of the guitars, as well as harmonica and bass on one track each, and harmonies.

• Martin Birch engineered the mess.