🔘 Early Steps – CD Album: Oct. 2025

Released: October 31, 2025 (Worldwide)

Label: Rhino Records

Catalogue Numbers: R2 727956 / 603497812868

Early Steps was released worldwide on October 31, 2025, by Rhino Records. Presented in both stereo and mono sources, the album compiles rare early recordings from 1969, capturing the band in rehearsal rooms and early studio sessions as they shaped the sound that would define their debut era.

🔘 Archival Overview

Early Steps offers a raw, intimate look at the Faces during their formative months in 1969. Split between sessions recorded in Barnes (Autumn 1969) and Bermondsey (Summer 1969), the album features rough mixes, early takes, and extended rehearsals. These recordings highlight the band’s blues‑rock roots, loose swagger, and the chemistry that would soon power their classic early‑’70s output.

🔘 Track List

Barnes, Autumn 1969

1. Shake, Shudder, Shiver (Take 1 Rough Mix) – 3:10

2. Devotion (Take 1 Rough Mix) – 4:16

3. Train (Take 4 Rough Mix) – 4:26

4. Flying (Take 1 Rough Mix) – 3:50

Bermondsey, Summer 1969

5. I Feel So Good (Rehearsal) – 6:23

6. Evil (Rehearsal) – 6:35

7. Shake, Shudder, Shiver (Rehearsal) – 3:37

8. Pineapple and the Monkey (Rehearsal) – 4:06

9. Stone (Rehearsal) – 8:22

10. Devotion (Rehearsal) – (timing not listed)

Produced by: Faces (original sessions)

Archival production: Rhino Records

🔘 Release Details

Label: Rhino Records

Format: CD, Album, Stereo/Mono

Country: Worldwide

Year: 2025

Notes:

- Compiles early studio and rehearsal recordings from 1969

- Includes both rough mixes and extended rehearsal takes

- Features early versions of tracks later re‑recorded for the debut album *First Step*

🔘 Variants (Discogs‑Verified)

Variant 1

Worldwide – Rhino Records – R2 727956 / 603497812868 (2025)

Format: CD, Album, Stereo/Mono

Country: Worldwide

Year: 2025

Notes:

- Only confirmed edition listed on Discogs

- Standard jewel case with booklet

🔘 Context & Notes

Personnel (1969 Era)

Rod Stewart — vocals

Ronnie Wood — guitar

Ronnie Lane — bass, vocals

Ian McLagan — keyboards

Kenney Jones — drums

Recording Notes

The Barnes and Bermondsey sessions capture the band shortly after forming from the remnants of the Small Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. These recordings reveal the early development of songs that would later appear on *First Step*, showcasing the band’s blues‑rock foundation and improvisational energy.

Press Reception

Early Steps was praised by collectors and rock historians for its archival value, offering a rare window into the band’s earliest months. The rough mixes and rehearsal tapes highlight the raw chemistry that would soon define the Faces’ signature sound.

Legacy

Faces remain one of the most influential British rock bands of the early ’70s. Early Steps documents the moment before their rise — a snapshot of a band discovering its identity through loose jams, soulful vocals, and gritty musicianship.

🔘 Visual Archive

The 2025 Rhino edition features period‑styled artwork and archival photography, reflecting the band’s late‑’60s aesthetic.

Caption: 2025 Rhino Records CD release of Early Steps — rare 1969 recordings from the formative Faces lineup.

🔘 Related Material

Previous Archival Release

Faces – You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything (1970–1975)

Next Archival Release

Faces – (future Rhino archival titles)

🔘 Discography (Selected, Chronological)

First Step — 1970

Long Player — 1971

A Nod Is as Good as a Wink… — 1971

Ooh La La — 1973

Early Steps — 2025

🔘 Mini‑Timeline

Summer 1969 — Bermondsey rehearsals recorded

Autumn 1969 — Barnes rough mixes recorded

1970 — First Step released

Oct. 31, 2025 — Early Steps released worldwide

🔘 Glam Flashback

Before the swagger, before the hits — Early Steps captures the Faces in their rawest, most unpolished form, laying the groundwork for one of rock’s most charismatic bands.

🔘 Closing Notes

A vital archival release, Early Steps offers an intimate look at the Faces’ earliest recordings, preserving the roots of a band whose influence continues to echo through rock history.

🔘 Sources

Discogs

Rhino Records

Wikipedia

Faces archival documentationEarly Steps Album Take early steps back to 1960s London with the Faces!

with this 1xCD and 1xLP release featuring the band’s first, previously unheard recordings, out on October 31 2025 as a commercial release on CD

Take early steps back to 1960s London with Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Kenney Jones, Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan to the Faces’ first and previously unheard recording session at Olympic Studios in Barnes. Walk by the River Thames to Bermondsey to hear rehearsals in The Rolling Stones’ warehouse, the earliest recordings of the Faces captured in all their raucous glory on the band’s own cassette tapes.

Track listing

Shake, Shudder, Shiver (Take 1 Rough Mix, Olympic Studios, Autumn 1969)

Devotion (Take 1 Rough Mix, Olympic Studios, Autumn 1969)

Train (Take 4 Rough Mix, Olympic Studios, Autumn 1969)

Flying (Take 1 Rough Mix, Olympic Studios, Autumn 1969)

I Feel So Good (Rehearsal, Rolling Stones Rehearsal Space, Summer 1969)

Evil (Rehearsal, Rolling Stones Rehearsal

Space, Summer 1969)

Shake, Shudder, Shiver (Rehearsal, Rolling Stones Rehearsal Space, Summer

1969)

Pineapple and the Monkey (Rehearsal, Rolling Stones Rehearsal Space, Summer

1969)

Stone (Rehearsal)

Devotion (Rehearsal)