The Small Faces — “My Way of Giving”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 23, 2023

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,024) The Small Faces — “My Way of Giving”

We should all give thanks for the Small Faces’ way of giving, pilgrim! First a Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane written Small Faces (see #969) demo that Decca released after the band left for Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate label, then an almost hit in the UK (#48) for Chris Farlowe (see #473), then a track off of the Small Faces’ first Immediate album, then an EP track for French rock icon Johnny Hallyday, then a track off of Rod Stewart’s Gasoline Alley, “Giving” “is a[] gem . . . with a psychedelic aftertaste in the melody and [Steve] Marriott doubling on both electric and acoustic guitars to accompany those 2 glorious minutes.” (Sergio Ariza, https://guitarsexchange.com/en/unplugged/413/small-faces-small-faces-1967/) Happy Modsgiving, everyone!

Andrew Hickey tells us that “[t][he first work the [Small Faces] did for [Immediate] was actually for a Chris Farlowe single. Lane and Marriott gave him . . . “My Way of Giving”, and played on the session along with Farlowe’s backing band the Thunderbirds. Mick Jagger is the credited producer, but by all accounts Marriott and Lane did most of the work”. https://500songs.com/podcast/episode-159-itchycoo-park-by-the-small-faces/

While the Small Faces hardly need an introduction, here is an introduction by Bruce Eder:

Small Faces were the best English band never to hit it big in America. Outside Europe, all anybody remembers them for is their sole hit, “Itchycoo Park,” which was hardly representative of their psychedelic sound, much less their full musical range — but in England, Small Faces were one of the most extraordinary and successful bands of the mid-’60s, serious competitors to the Who and potential rivals to the Rolling Stones. Lead singer/guitarist Steve Marriott’s formal background was on the stage; as a young teenager, he’d auditioned for and won the part of the Artful Dodger in the Lionel Bart musical Oliver!  Marriott was earning his living at a music shop when he made the acquaintance of Ronnie Lane (bass, backing vocals), who had formed a band called the Pioneers, which included drummer Kenney Jones. Lane invited Marriott  to jam with his band at a show they were playing at a local club — the gig was a disaster, but out of that show the group members decided to turn their talents toward American R&B. The band — with Marriott now installed permanently and Jimmy Winston recruited on organ — cast its lot with a faction of British youth known as the mods, stylish posers (and arch enemies of the leather-clad rockers, sometimes with incredibly violent results) who, among their other attributes, affected a dandified look and a fanatical embrace of American R&B. The quartet, now christened Small Faces (“face” being a piece of mod slang for a fashion leader), began making a name for themselves on-stage, sparked by their no holds barred performance style. Marriott had a uniquely powerful voice and was also a very aggressive lead guitarist, and the others were able to match him, especially Jones, who was a truly distinctive drummer.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/small-faces-mn0000423267

Here is the demo:

Here is some cool live footage:

Here is Chris Farlowe:

Here is Farlowe live:

Here is some live footage of Farlowe:

Here’s Farlowe briefly talking to the BBC about his recording:

Here’s Rod Stewart from ’70’s Gasoline Alley:

And, of course, here’s Johnny Hallyday en français:

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