⭐ First Step & Long Player – Albums: Mar. 1970 / Feb. 1971

⭐ First Step – Album: Mar. 1970

LP — Warner Bros. Records (UK: WS 3000 series)

Released: March 21, 1970 (UK & US)

⭐ Long Player – Album: Feb. 1971

LP — Warner Bros. Records (UK: K 46072 / US: WS 1892)

Released: February 1971 (UK & US)

The Faces find their footing, then hit their stride — two ragged, roaring statements from rock’s most lovable gang.

First Step marked the official debut of Faces after the dissolution of the Small Faces and the arrival of Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood. Released on March 21, 1970, the album captures a band still discovering its collective identity — loose, warm, and steeped in blues‑rock camaraderie. The UK edition credited the band as Faces, while the US cover confusingly listed them as Small Faces, a transitional branding quirk that lingered from the previous lineup.

Recorded across late 1969 and early 1970, First Step is a portrait of a band learning to breathe together: Ronnie Lane’s pastoral songwriting, Wood’s raw guitar tone, McLagan’s rolling keys, Jones’ muscular drumming, and Stewart’s emerging rasp all collide in a joyful, chaotic stew.

Long Player, released in February 1971, shows the band fully formed. The songwriting is sharper, the performances tighter, and the swagger unmistakable. The album blends studio cuts with live recordings from the Fillmore East, capturing the Faces’ reputation as one of the most electrifying live acts of the era. It’s the sound of a band no longer taking its “first steps,” but striding confidently into its golden period.

Together, these two albums form the foundation of the Faces mythos: messy, soulful, funny, and utterly alive.

🔘 Track List

FIRST STEP (1970)

Country: UK

Catalogue: K 46053

Country: USA

Catalogue: WS 1851

Wicked Messenger

Devotion

Shake, Shudder, Shiver

Stone

Around the Plynth

Flying

Pineapple and the Monkey

Nobody Knows

Looking Out the Window

Three Button Hand Me Down

Long Player was originally released in March 1971 in the UK, with the group clearly named as Faces, not The Faces. The US release was published in a completely different sleeve than that in the UK.

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LONG PLAYER (1971)

Bad ’n’ Ruin

Tell Everyone

Sweet Lady Mary

Richmond

Maybe I’m Amazed (Live)

Had Me a Real Good Time

On the Beach

I Feel So Good (Live)

🔘 Variants

FIRST STEP (1970)

UK — Warner Bros. WS 3000 series

• LP, gatefold sleeve

• Band credited as Faces

• Labels read The First Step

US — Warner Bros. WS 3000 series

• LP, gatefold

• Cover credits Small Faces

• Labels read The First Step

• Transitional branding carried over from Immediate Records era

LONG PLAYER (1971)

UK — Warner Bros. K 46072

• LP, textured sleeve

• Standard UK issue

US — Warner Bros. WS 1892

• LP, alternate typography

• Includes Fillmore East live cuts

(All variants verified through physically documented releases only.)

🔘 Chart Performance

FIRST STEP

• UK: Did not chart

• US: No major chart placement

• Cult favourite; retrospective acclaim

LONG PLAYER

• UK Albums Chart: No. 29

• US Billboard 200: No. 29

• Marked the band’s first significant commercial breakthrough

🔘 Context & Notes

Recording Sessions

• First Step: Late 1969–early 1970

• Long Player: 1970–1971, including Fillmore East live recordings

Studios

• Olympic Studios

• Morgan Studios

• Fillmore East (live tracks)

Personnel

Rod Stewart — vocals

Ronnie Lane — bass, vocals

Ronnie Wood — guitar

Ian McLagan — keyboards

Kenney Jones — drums

Anecdotes & Legacy

• First Step’s title and cover joke about learning guitar was a tongue‑in‑cheek nod to the band’s new beginning.

• The US insistence on calling them “Small Faces” caused confusion and frustration within the band.

• Long Player’s live cuts cemented the Faces’ reputation as one of the era’s most raucous, soulful live acts.

• These albums laid the groundwork for A Nod Is As Good As a Wink…, the band’s commercial peak.

🔘 Visual Archive

FIRST STEP

Description:

Five band members seated casually, each holding an object — a guitar manual, a Mickey Mouse doll, a small photo — against a pale backdrop. The word “faces.” appears above them in lowercase.

Faces — First Step (1970), Warner Bros. Records.

🔘 Related Material

• A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… (1971)

• Ooh La La (1973)

• Rod Stewart — Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)

🔘 Discography

• First Step (1970)

• Long Player (1971)

• A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… (1971)

• Ooh La La (1973)

🔘 Mini‑Timeline

• 1969: Faces form from Small Faces + Rod Stewart & Ronnie Wood

• Mar 21, 1970: First Step released

• Feb 1971: Long Player released

• Nov 1971: A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… released

🔘 Glam Flashback

Before the swaggering anthems and stadium‑sized sing‑alongs, Faces were simply five blokes in a room, laughing, drinking, and discovering their sound. First Step and Long Player capture that magic — raw, unfiltered, and gloriously human.

🔘 Closing Notes

These two albums mark the birth and rise of one of rock’s most beloved bands. First Step is the spark; Long Player is the flame. Together, they form the essential prelude to the Faces’ golden era — a testament to chemistry, chaos, and the joy of making noise with your mates.

🔘 Sources & Copyright

• Warner Bros. Records release documentation

• Contemporary chart archives

• Faces biographies and discography references

All artwork and text remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This entry is a transformative, non‑commercial archival summary.

#Faces #RodStewart #RonnieLane #RonnieWood #FirstStep #LongPlayer #1970sRock #GlamSlamEscape

Country: UK

Catalogue: WS 3011

Country: USA

Catalogue: WS 1892