The Faces • Early Steps (1969) – Vinyl & CD Review
Rod Stewart and The Faces — few bands define that glorious late-60s / early-70s swagger quite like they did. Over the years I’ve gathered a fair few of their releases: the studio albums box set, Five Guys Walked Into A Bar…, and my absolute favourite, Faces at the BBC, which I still haven’t featured on the channel but will do at some point.
But this one… this one is different.
Early Steps is not so much a lost album as it is an unexpected time capsule. These are the earliest known recordings of The Faces — tapes no one even realised existed. And the story behind them is pure rock ‘n’ roll chaos, involving skips full of discarded reels, chance discoveries, and a reel marked “Small Faces” that turned out to be something far more historically important.
Thanks to Rhino Records’ Rocktober series, these remarkable 1969 recordings have now been restored, cleaned up, and made available on both vinyl and CD. And if you’re a Faces fan… this really is essential.
Packaging & Presentation
Vinyl Edition
The vinyl comes housed in a smart, clean sleeve with a lovely photo of the band on the back, plus a map-style illustration showing the rehearsal location. Inside, the record arrives in a poly-lined inner sleeve — and as you all know, that earns immediate Now Spinning Magazine points. New vinyl must come poly-lined, so well done Rhino!
CD Edition
The CD version is absolutely delightful and goes the extra mile:
Mini-vinyl replica packaging
Proper spine
The same hype sticker as the LP
Beautiful gatefold with unique photos not found in the vinyl version
A booklet packed with an in-depth essay, photos of tape boxes, and a detailed historical overview
Notes written by Rob Caiger, Faces reissue producer (London, 2025)
In terms of pure information and context, the CD actually wins — it gives you the full story behind the discovery and restoration of these tapes.
The Story Behind the Music
The tale of how these recordings survived is extraordinary. Hundreds of reels were thrown out, scavenged, mislabelled, and scattered. One of these reels found its way to Germany, marked simply as “Small Faces.” Only later did someone realise… this wasn’t the Small Faces.
This was The Faces, 1969.
Their earliest recordings. A genuine historical find.
How Does It Sound?
Part 1 – Barnes, Autumn 1969 (Rough Mixes)
Four tracks:
Shake, Shudder, Shiver
Devotion
Train
Flying
And the sound? Jaw-droppingly good.
I mean it — it sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Crystal clear. Full of life. Whoever mastered and restored these tapes has worked miracles. These four tracks alone make the £10.99 CD price tag a complete no-brainer.
Part 2 – Burntwood / Rehearsal Sessions, Summer 1969
This is where you enter true fan territory. The sound quality drops — as you’d expect from bare-bones rehearsal tapes probably captured with a single microphone in a room.
But here’s the charm:
It feels like sitting quietly in a pub while the early Faces — Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane, Ronnie Wood, Ian McLagan, and Kenney Jones — rehearse right in front of you. No crowd noise, no glasses clinking, just the band working through:
I Feel Good
Evil
Shake, Shudder, Shiver (alt)
Pineapple and the Monkey
Stone
Devotion (alt)
Once your ears adjust, it’s magical. This is anthropology for rock fans — a peek behind the curtain at a band who would go on to define an era.
At £10.99 for the CD (at time of filming), this is absolutely worth picking up. The vinyl is excellent, but the CD’s booklet and essay provide a lot more historical depth. The recordings themselves range from astonishingly pristine studio-quality takes to rough, gritty rehearsals — and that contrast is part of what makes Early Steps such an exciting archival release.
If you love The Faces, if you’re a collector, and if you enjoy these little windows into rock history, Early Steps sits beautifully alongside the rest of the Faces catalogue.
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Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine
