Rough Mix

 

When we were young, we regularly went to a mountain hut in Austria as a football team for a long weekend in autumn. We could rarely decide on a style of music to play during the trip and decided that everyone should make a tape that didn't include punk, jazz or metal. The majority of my tape contained Pete Townshend's latest album. Rough Mix is one of these albums showing two great musicians doing their very own thing not looking for big success. Pete Townshend was the leading figure from The Who and Ronnie Lane bass player by Small Faces/Faces. Townshend asked Lane to produce this album but over time it became more of a joint album combining the influences of both groups. It goes without saying that there are no really bad songs on it. The basic mood is relaxed and many songs sound as if they were recorded around a campfire in the evening. Both artists wrote the best song from the autumn in their career and it ends with a superb version of a Don Williams song. 

The Greatest Band In The Early 70's (Just For Me)

The first concert ever I was able to watch was The Faces in Munich back in 1973 when some older friends allowed me to come with them. I don't remember very much of the venue but from this time on I was infected into music. When I first saw Rod Stewart hanging on the microphone and watching Ron Wood playing his wonderful blues guitar I wasn't able to explain how I felt. Since then Rod and The Faces accompanied me during the last decades and I always come back to them. A few days ago I found this footage in the internet and it transported the music the way I felt more than 40 years ago. It is still fun listening to the band playing their songs with a full enthusiasm and lost in their music. Look at them faces and you might get a feeling how good they were - especially Ronnie Lane, probably the most underrated member of this great band.

Evolution

Back in 1972 Pete Townshend released his first solo album after years working together with The Who. It was one of the first albums ever I listened to in full time. An older friend of my close friend in school days introduced us to this record. Since then I was impressed by the work of Pete Townshend. Not that I like everything he did after The Who but I always felt that he made his very own music without his bandmates. The songs on this album are totally different to the sound of the mod-like The Who and maybe the reason is that Ronnie Lane guided Pete to another way of sound. These days an anniversary edition was released with some out-takes and other stuff. And on this record he showed us his affection to country/folk inspired music that he couldn't do with his band. But this doesn't matter at all - it is still fun listening to this old songs again.

Pete Townshend - Evolution
Pete Townshend - There's A Heartache Following Me
Pete Townshend - Time Is Passing

Rough mix

George's ICA about The Faces brought back a record to my radar I didn't listen for long time to. It almost 40 years ago I bought Rough Mix the collaboration of Ronnie Lane and Pete Townshend. Both legends with their bands The Small Faces and The Who they found together for this superb album. It's dominated on one side by Townshend's remarkable guitar and on the other side the deeply folk inspired music by Mr. Lane. It's similar to the music of The Faces: I don't know which songs I prefer more - the rocking ones or the ballads. Maybe it depends on the mood I'm in. I love the way Pete Townshend plays his guitar but I also love the melodies of Ronnie Lane's country influenced ballads. In addition, as John Prine once said of Jackson Browne. I don't know where Lane gets his melodies. but I'd sure like to go there. Through all songs I can hear this relaxed feeling and I imagine that they had great fun doing this record.

My Baby Gives It Away
Nowhere To Run
Keep Me Turning
'Til The Rivers All Run Dry

Addition to George's ICA

In addition of George's very fine ICA-Compilation over at JC's place I checked out my records of The Faces. I am a long time friend of their music because they introduced me into music. Introduced means that the former boyfriend of my oldest mate  sister played The Faces to me when I was at my youngest days. Back in 1975 he took us to a concert by The Faces in Munich and it was the first time ever I was on a concert before. Me and my lad were astonished by the live appearance of the band. Notably Rod Stewart that impressed us with his unique voice. It was an evening we both stepped into another era. From this time on I followed Rod Stewart and The Faces. A lot of times since now I occasionally I slip back to their records. For me it was the entrance to rock music and made fundamentals to music that came to my ears during the last 40 years. Here are some songs by The Faces, George didn't put on his short list of 10 songs.

Hope you're enjoying them as much as me.

And this for Ronnie Lane on guitar. He was one of the most underrated guitar players during the last 40 years.

ronnie lane momorial concert

I can't explain why I feel a lot to Ronnie Lane and his music right now. Maybe because he and his music touched me right from the start. I followed him from the first time I ever saw him live - and this more than 45 years ago. From the bottom of the early Small Faces's days over his solo career and the collaboration with Pete Townshend I was a huge fan of him. Sadly he didn't got the respect in musical history he should have. Listening to his songs (in every version ever) you can get a little touch of his brilliancy.