Faces – Ooh La La Review

A sudden, half-hour death shriek for Faces is how the band ended. Ronnie Wood and the rest of the group were, quite rightly, unhappy with being backing members of the Rod Stewart show. But it’s not the Do You Think I’m Sexy Hitmaker’s fault for tapping into the sexually repressed social consciousness with the likes of Gasoline Alley and Every Picture Tells a Story. You can hear the drift of interest in the band, from the lighter tone Stewart wanted to bring with his writing and vocal performance, and the Faces’ demand for boogie rock continuations. It’s the latter that wins out here, evolving well across Ooh La La. It’s the last of Faces’ discography, but arguably their best work. The band has finally found the time to stitch together an album of studio pieces, rather than notable live efforts and jam sessions. Ooh La La, had it come just three years before, would’ve cemented Faces as a band with real longevity to them. Instead, it’s the last of their contemporary period.  

Such a boom of quality instrumental work comes through Ooh La La. Opener Silicone Grown is outstanding, by far the best song the band has ever written and recorded. Just a thumping, brilliant time where every member of the band is given a chance to shine. Cindy Incidentally feels like it could be the same, but it highlights the major problem for Ooh La La. This is, effectively, a Stewart solo album with Faces members fighting to retain some sense of individuality. That conflict was hardly going to last more than one album, but the half hour of material it provides is one hell of a listen. Instrumentally consistent to the point where song to song, it sounds borderline the same. This may be what Stewart wanted to break from, and he would do just that soon after the release of Ooh La La, but there is still the occasional slip up from him, too.  

Flags and Banners falls short but My Fault, almost as though Stewart is offering an immediate apology for a lacklustre vocal performance, makes up for it. Wood’s guitar work is the standout for many of these songs. For all this want to hold firm to either pop or boogie rock, Faces does well to completely tip their genre classifications on its head with Fly in the Ointment. A magnificent rock and roller, a classy act highlighting the instrumental strength of the band, and crucially, their capabilities in adapting to new genres. The B-side is the sort of messy collection of shoulder-shrugging material and rare blasts of quality you should expect from a band in the death throes. The writing was on the wall for Faces when they headed into the studio to put together Ooh La La, but they manage a strong collection of songs. 

Despite that muddled feeling, Ooh La La is the Faces album worth returning to. Long Player is solid work and A Nod is as Good as a Wink… To a Blind Horse may be the breakthrough album, but it’s their last album, Ooh La La, that strikes a chord. Until the new album releases, that is. Glad and Sorry through to album closer, a staggering title track, is what Faces had been building towards on their previous releases, consciously or not. The band were bound to find a rift with their charismatic frontman at some point, but it comes right at the edge of where animosity and strain breed brilliant songwriting. Each party tries to convince the other of the musical direction, and the contrast is what brings about a wonderful change in tempo and style for the group. Ooh La La is a benchmark the band can, quite simply, never repeat, because of the unique situation the group found themselves in.