On of my favourite rock stars, Ian McLagan, past away yesterday. His organ playing was a huge part for me in Small Faces and even more so in The Faces with Ron and Rod. I strongly recommend everyone to read Mac’s book, All The Rage, I enjoyed it way more than both Keith’s and Ron’s biographies.
In 1969 Ampeg and guitar super-guru Dan Armstrong set about revolutionizing the electric guitar. What came next was “clearly” innovative, technologically advanced and well, clear! The Rolling Stones took the stage with Keith Richards sporting the ‘See Through’ guitar and Bill Wyman playing the companion bass. The legend was born.
I have such a love / hate relationship with Dan Armstrong’s plexi guitar. A part of me finds them quite ugly and the other part would love to have one, just to be as cool as Ron and Keith. When Ampeg reissued this model I got super excited and really wanted one, then I realised that unless I played in some Stones or Faces like rock band, it wouldn’t make much sense. They actually have one of these reissues in a Cash Converters here in Barcelona for 900€ which is probably quite cheap.
I was raised on Rod Stewart. It’s the only music that was ever played out loud in my house when I grew up. Weekend mornings back in Södertälje and my mum would dazzle my young innocent mind with the raspy voice of Rod Stewart while she was cleaning the house. I guess I kind of always liked it but since she preferred the late Seventies stuff I didn’t fully understand how good he was until I decided to find out for myself. I bought his 1971 album Every Picture Tells a Story when I was about 17-18 years old and was hooked straight away and bought everything I could find, both Rod Stewart solo and with The Faces. Well everything I could find up until his 1974 album Smiler, after that he left The Faces and moved to America and made Atlantic Crossing and the Rod I knew and loved was gone. Out of my old heroes I guess it’s just Rod Stewart, with and without The Faces, and Crosby, Stills & Nash that I still really care about. Here is a longer post about Rod Stewart that I wrote for my other blog.
The record that changed my life, Rod Stewart’s 1971 album Every Picture Tells a Story
One of the reasons why I love Rod
Grab yourself a drink and start the night with this concert
The Faces live at The Marquee Club 1970
Claescaster 