The “stinking, rotten album” that disappointed Rod Stewart: “I put down the group’s album”
By 1973, Rod Stewart had achieved success with albums such as Every Picture Tells a Story and Never a Dull Moment, propelling his individual stardom to eclipse that of The Faces.
Originally emerging from the classic mod ensemble The Small Faces, the Faces had transformed into a more streamlined and formidable rock and roll unit. They were, for a short time, perhaps the ultimate British band.
Despite band members like Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan, and Kenney Jones establishing themselves as premier musicians in England, however, they later found themselves relegated to the role of Stewart’s supporting players. They had style and panache that left a whole generation of Brits inspired, including Paul Weller, who routinely labelled the group as perhaps his biggest inspiration.
For Stewart, live performances became a sort of euphoric experience, one that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “I’m really wrapped up in being on that stage,” the singer once admitted. “That 90 minutes. I really live for that. Phew. What a buzz. Yeah, it is a sexual outlet for me.”
A startling realisation came during Faces’ tenure when live shows started to be billed as ‘Rod Stewart and Faces’ to attract larger audiences. Although he continued to profess his loyalty to the band, Stewart consistently commanded the spotlight with his flamboyant stage persona. Moreover, his solo hit ‘Maggie May’ found its way into the Faces’ setlist, much to the dismay of band member Lane.
As the band gathered in the studio to commence work on their 1973 album Ooh La La, simmering discontentment escalated into overt conflict and resentment. Discussing his heightened fame compared to the group, Stewart wasn’t uncertain about his own personal feelings toward the situation. “I’m pretty useless without them four, and it probably goes the same way,” he told Rolling Stone. “You gotta be honest, lead singers and lead guitar players always get more attention. I think the boys are willing to accept that.”
He added: “We still split everything five ways, literally everything, even our girlfriends. It’s not like some bands I used to play with where you collected a salary decided upon by the bandleader; where I could go on tour for two weeks and come back with $158 in me pocket.”
Stewart also mentioned slipping up in a previous interview when dismissing the album Ooh La La, which he later regretted. “We went through a bad stage about a week ago after I was interviewed by Melody Maker and I put down the group’s album,” he explained. The world of musical journalism can have a detrimental effect on the longevity of a band, especially one as delicately balanced as the Faces, and here it would seem that Stewart put his foot in his mouth expertly enough to gather some irritation from his bandmates.
“I said Ooh La La was a stinking rotten album,” Stewart confessed. But, in his defence, the singer suggested that he had been somewhat misquoted, but still saw the need to retract it, “Actually, I’ll take that back. That’s what was in the paper. What I actually said was I think the band is capable of doing a better album than what they’ve done. I just don’t think we’ve found the right studio or the right formulas. The misquote really pissed the band off.”
Elsewhere in the same interview, Stewart discussed his appeal in attracting a largely queer audience, admitting that “I always want to be attractive to men” before adding, “That’s half the people who buy our records, men. Sometimes there are no women in the audience at all. Not true really.”
The truth is, you could never stop a charismatic figure like Rod Stewart from saying anything he likes. The singer was more than happy being interviewed but clearly let his mouth run a little too easily.
