This boxed set has had more false starts than a good day at the Olympics, but I can happily say that it really does look as though it will be with us very soon. I must add that since I spoke to Ian McLagan around four years ago this four CD set has changed beyond all recognition. Originally it was decided to release the band's entire studio output plus some previously unreleased tracks. What we have now spread across four discs is a fair smattering of the previously released and thirty-two tracks that have never seen the light of day before…in other words a real treat for Faces fans. For anyone who has either never heard the Faces or newcomers to the band, then perhaps the recent compilation Good Boys...When They're Asleep would be a better place to start. For the hardened Faces fan, I am afraid you will have no choice other than to go out and purchase this stunning boxed set immediately. As you may or may not be aware, I am a huge fan of the Faces. Having been lucky enough to see the band in their heyday, I can fully attest that the live tracks on this set finally do the band justice. The previously available live album Overtures And Beginners was an unsatisfactory example of the Faces in the live arena. In the live tracks presented across the four discs of this set, that album is consigned to history and the bands honour is restored and justice is done.

Disc One opens with the track Flying from the bands First Step album. This track whilst being a bit ragged has always been a favourite of mine, and its position as set opener is fully justified in my completely biased opinion. The live tracks on this disc will be the real draw with an excellent version of Maggie May recorded at the BBC. I am sure many will agree that the live version of Ronnie Wood's I Can Feel The Fire is a showstopper with some excellent soloing from Woody and general ensemble playing from the band. For those who have been listening to Rod's latest albums of standards, then the rehearsal takes of I came Looking For You and Evil will provide the other side of the coin. Sure Rod can croon with the best of them but personally listening to him here in a dark, dank, sweaty rehearsal room is a complete revelation. You can see why he was so revered as a rock vocalist with the Faces and of course prior to that with the Jeff Beck Group in America. It is for tracks like this that boxed sets were surely made. Other interesting tracks are the alternative mix of Cindy Incidentally, which offers little to an already classic performance found on the Ooh La La album. One of the band's recorded highlights, Debris, is a wonderful Ronnie Lane song which originally appeared on the
B-side of Stay With Me. Remember that most of the guys in the Faces, including Rod, saw Ronnie Lane as the heart and soul of the group. When placed next to the more raucous material of the Faces, Debris stands out like a jewel in the crown and a wonderful contrast to the bawdy image the band tended to cultivate and revel in.

Disc Two starts in fine style with Pool Hall Richard, which was one of the final stand-alone singles from the band. Another track from the BBC archive, You're My Girl, is an excellent performance which prompts me to ask that someone reconsider compiling all the Faces' BBC performances. I would be first in the queue for that album. Other BBC tracks are Miss Judy's Farm, Bad 'n' Ruin and a full tilt version of Cut Across Shorty. Moving on we have Glad And Sorry and another wonderful Ronnie Lane song in Richmond, which again shows the other side of the Faces with some tasteful, slide work from Ron Wood. Another track of interest is the Faces' version of (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right, which of course Rod would cover on his 1977 album Footloose And Fancy Free. I'm interested if the Faces had recorded one final album with Rod, what else may have appeared that perhaps Rod earmarked for his solo career. It's an interesting thought, don't you think?

Disc Three begins with the Nod's As Good As A Wink period, You're So Rude. The number of previously unreleased tracks on this disc is pretty high with nine in total, some of which are from the BBC including wonderful versions of Angel and Stay With Me. One of my favourite Faces' tracks is the Memphis feel of Skewiff (Mend The Fuse) - still gets me every time I play it, and to think this instrumental gem was merely a throw away on the B-side of Cindy Incidentally. This disc finishes off in fine style with the Ronnie Lane co-write, Ooh La La, that was used recently by Vodafone as part of their advertising campaign.

Disc Four and we're into the home run now. Anyone who says the Faces weren't a bona fide rock band will have to eat their words when they hear the opening track, an excellent cover of the Free song, The Stealer. This song firmly states the case that the Faces could cut it with the big boys like Free and Led Zeppelin. To be fair, the big names of the era such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Free certainly saw the Faces as contemporaries. More BBC tracks abound on this disc with a medley of Around The Plynth, Gasoline Alley, Flying, My Fault, Miss Judy's Farm and an outstanding version of Robert Johnson's Love In Vain. The disc also includes another of my Faces favourites in Three Button Hand Me Down, which has that good time feel that Faces produced oh so easily. Making up the numbers on this final disc are some of the band's best single releases in Cindy Incidentally, the wonderful final single of You Can Make Me Dance, Sing Or Anything; and the whole box finishes appropriately enough with Stay With Me. I would wager that this boxed set will certainly stay with you for a long time. I have had this set on my CD player permanently since I received it from the record company.

In closing, it has to be said that the record company has at long last done the boys proud. This set is beautifully sequenced to get the very best out of a band that were in a class of their own. It has also been rumoured that the final obstacle to a Faces' reunion, Rod Stewart, is rather keen to do the honest thing and get back together with Woody, Mac and Kenney for perhaps a couple of gigs. Of course the tricky thing is who would replace the much-lamented Ronnie Lane? God Bless him, Tetsu did his very best. I have many great memories of the band with Tetsu as a member; but whoever joins the band, should they decide to get together, certainly has big shoes to fill. Perhaps latter day Small Faces' bassist Rick Wills could do the job? Having said that, I for one would certainly want to catch the band even if it was the four core members plus others for one last time…we will see but here's hoping hey? In the meantime, I urge you to go out and purchase this boxed set at your earliest convenience as it is one of the most anticipated archive releases of the last few years and strengthens the opinion that they were one of the best bands this country ever produced. Five guys walk into a bar... is everything you would hope a Faces boxed set to be. Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Highly Recommended? You bet it is, even if I am biased.