An album that could truly be heralded as something of a lost '60s classic, THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP'S 1968 album "With Their New Face On" has lain undiscovered by the mass populace for over 30 years since its' original release.
Thanks to RPM'S lavish new package, though, "...New Face" can now be enjoyed afresh, along with a second CDRom disc documentary about the making of the album and life on the road in the late '60s.
A little more of that later, but first let's concentrate on "With Their New Face On". One of the reasons its' reputation has remained unenhanced for so long is probably that the band's then youthful prodigy STEVE WINWOOD had recently quit the group and Spencer had drafted in new vocalist EDDIE HARDIN and guitarist PHIL SAWYER (soon to be himself replaced by RAY FENWICK) for the making of the album.
Winwood has cast a long and impressive shadow over the UK rock scene (with TRAFFIC, BLIND FAITH and solo) since, but frankly Hardin doesn't sound outclassed and while hindsight would prove THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP would not again trouble the charts' upper echelons, "With Their New Face On" sounds like an album all the participants ought to be proud of three decades on.
Clocking in at an economic 35 minutes, "...New Face"'s soundscapes fall broadly into two categories. Firstly there's the tough, gritty R'N'B that was always the band's trademark and approximately 50% of the album is taken up with the pursuit of this. Indeed, songs like the laid back groove of "Feel Your Way", the dramatic, organ-imbued rough'n'tumble of "Morning Sun" and the tight "Don't Want You No More" - with a typically arrogant vocal from Hardin - all anticipate the UK blues boom that was actually just coming around the corner as "...New Face" was initially released.
Meanwhile, the (yes!) hit single, "Mr.Second Class" quietly builds into a tough, swirling anthem reminiscent of THE SMALL FACES and the jazzy instrumental "Alec In Transit Land" (yeah, very funny) doesn't stray too far from the source either. This latter finds Pete York indulging on one of rock's few non-tedious drum solos. Actually, it reminds more of the early drum-heavy rock'n'roll instrumentals previously laid down by the likes of SANDY NELSON.
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However, the album's alter-ego (comprising the title track, "Time Seller", "The Sanity Inspector" and "Stop Me, I'm Falling") represent the inevitable attempt to touch the hem of "SGT.PEPPER"s garment - this was late 1967 remember - with the band actually pulling off several relatively successful stabs at psychedelia.
Of these tracks, perhaps the best are "Time Seller" (The Lp's second hit single), where cellos, harpsichords and the strangely obligatory references to watches/ time contained in Brit psych are present, correct and weirdly invigorating. "Stop Me, I'm Falling", meantime, throws THE ROLLING STONES' hopeless attempts at music hall into the shade where they belong.
This superb gatefold package also includes an hour-long documentary concerning the group's transitional '67/'68 phase. Bear in mind you need QUICK TIME compatibility, but once installed, you can enjoy vintage footage of the band at work and play, including knockout live footage from The Marquee and, er...Stockport.
THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP will probably always be most fondly remembered for the STEVE WINWOOD years and "Keep On Running" rather than "Mr.Second Class" will no doubt be representing them on '60s compilations forever. However, "With Their New Face On" (enhanced edition) gives a true lost Psych-Pop classic much-deserved fresh air to breathe 35 years on.
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