'FIVE GUYS' BOX SET - Post discussion here

by **oscar** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 11:21 pm

Bought Five guys walk into a bar yesterday in Amsterdam. Excellent. Great outtakes and live-stuff. Listened last night. Will do it all weekend

by **Holiday Finn** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 3:26 am

got mine yesterday from Texas, I'm very happy to have it, it sounds good and looks great!

by **naess** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 11:52 am

Holiday Finn wrote:got mine yesterday from Texas, I'm very happy to have it, it sounds good and looks great!

What state was it going to?

by **ruby** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:36 pm

It's here!! It's here!! It's here!!

me=======>

<========me

by **ruby** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 5:04 pm

The very first note almost killed me.

How will I survive 4 whole discs?....

Thank you so much Mr.McLagan, and all involved in making my ears ring true.

It is lovely, layered, and sublime.

by **ruby** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 5:08 pm

I AM NOT WORTHY!!!!!! Oh it's all so wonderful.....

by **mcnarie** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 5:59 am

at least you didn't opt for the "it's all too beautiful" line.

Will you at least enter the 5 Guys Photo Contest?

Happy Ears

by **ruby** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 10:56 am

Will I win 5 guys?

I'm sorry... that was uncalled for. ...heh.

by **mcnarie** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 8:59 pm

Actually, we havesn't decided on prizes for the photo contest yet. However, the Creem contest will be a rip-snorter of killer prizes. Incwedible stuff there.

by **naess** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 1:15 am

I just got mine in the mail (thanks to Mac for actually writing what I asked him to). The big suprise came when I heard "You can make me dance...", did MFSB stop by the studio? Switch Teddy Pendergrass for Rod Stewart and you have the Blue Notes. I love it though. The unreleased stuff is so damn good it hurts to think of what else they have in the vaults. Hopefully someday we'll get some serial archival releases. Until then I'll make do with the best box set I've bought in a long time.

by **mcnarie** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 10:51 am

and a big thanks to the two guys that won the contest on Mac's site to give it a proper name. Speaking of proper names, I've forgotten their's. Damn me, I thought it was on an old "what's new" page, but it's not. the closest I can come to is an entry from 5 May 2002:

"When Mac announced the Faces box set title was amongst the jumble of suggestions listed on his site, I took the time to thin that list down to six titles I thought were the best suggestions. They are listed below.

Rhythm and Booze
We're Leaving the Group
Debris
Pulling Birds and Downing Pints
Five Guys Walk Into A Bar...
All Over Bar the Shouting"

As the Village Voice said, it's the best-ever name for any box set in the history of box sets.

by **Lynney** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 11:05 am

Jason Bell & David Greenberger came up with the title. We owe them a few pints.

Mine were horrible. I did submit 'Debris' which I thought would be simple and a nice tribute to Ronnie Lane. I also came up with 'First Step and Beyond' or something to that effect. I'll have to look up the list of the others.

by **mcnarie** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 11:58 am

To quote Viv Stanshall, "Thankee, mum... I already did that up 'gainst a tree afore I came in 'ere"

Yes, MAJOR PINTS to the lads with the brilliant naming process!

:5stout:

Jason and David, please chime in! And take a photo with the Box Set Mac sent you as a prize... you just may win again!

by **Holiday Finn** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 11:30 pm

naess wrote:
Holiday Finn wrote:got mine yesterday from Texas, I'm very happy to have it, it sounds good and looks great!

What state was it going to?

Conan O'Brien's favourite country, Finland

by **Lynney** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 5:50 pm

Just sent out Mac's Mailing List announcement for the July 20th release of the Box Set including 'Five guys' contests, Bump gigs, and more. Check it out here:
http://www.ianmclagan.com/mailing/jul20-04

For those who are registered on the mailing list, you'll receive a copy by email. Complete this form if you'd like to receive periodic notices of Mac's news, tour dates, CD releases, etc.
http://www.ianmclagan.com/mailinglist

by **deepjoy** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 12:47 am

A 'woo' and most definitely a 'yay' - my Box Set came through the door this morning, all nicely signed in gold pen by Mr M!

I hadn't seen any pix of it other than the cover so what a lovely little package you get when you open it all up. And I've got a nice long drive today so I should be able to get the first two or three discs down me by the time I'm back.

by **Ronnie Would** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 4:35 am

Got mine acouple of days ago too!! Great set! Fantastic booklet with loads of great pics. I've only managed to take in Disc 1 so far, but the highlight for me was/is WYNDLESHAM BAY (JODIE)! Just fantastic!!

Mad props and beers MUST go to Mac for doing this, though I'm guessing it was a labour of love. A grand job very well done, sir!

You have all of our humble thanks!

:cheers:

by **naess** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 12:14 pm

Ronnie Would wrote: I've only managed to take in Disc 1 so far, but the highlight for me was/is WYNDLESHAM BAY (JODIE)! Just fantastic!!

Isn't this the exact same song that's on the Reason to Believe set? I haven't listened to them back to back yet.

by **Lynney** » Fri Jul 23, 2004 6:34 am

Mac's Mailing List - Attn: AOL users!

Several new members have signed up for Mac's Mailing List this week. I just wanted to notify you that AOL is rejecting and bouncing the emails. If you're registered, but have not received an email, you may need to contact your ISP or email service to resolve the problem. Let them know it's a subscriber-based newsletter that you opted to receive.

For those who are registered on the mailing list, you should have received a copy of the email by now. If you haven't, try the above or re-register on the mailing list with a different email other than AOL.

To join Mac's Mailing List, complete this form. (If you are changing your email address, let me know what the previous email was and I'll remove it from the list.)
http://www.ianmclagan.com/mailinglist

Feel free to send me a private message here or contact me via http://www.ianmclagan.com if you have any questions.

by **TheSavageYoungXyzzy** » Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:16 am

Oh, man. Just... oh, man.

This is fantastic. All the singles, which means all the great studio songs - plus all the crazy halfhazard B-sides!

But the highlights are the live performances and the outtakes. That's such high-high-octane stuff it's no wonder everyone in the liner notes says "There would've been no Sex Pistols, no Replacements and no Black Crowes without the Faces."

Oh, by the way, the allmusic.com review is up, and it calls it "the best box set... ever." No joke. Check it out.

Two questions:

1) Who's playing the second guitar on the live cut of "Bad 'n' Ruin" on the second disc? Is it prerecorded or is it Rod?
2)Is that *Woody* singing "Hi-Heel Sneakers/Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" on the third disc? If it is, damn, he really lost his voice fast - compare that to Gimme Some Neck just four years later... it's so different I'm tempted to say it's not him at all - is it Mac?

Best cuts I've never heard so far:

-I Came Looking For You
-I Can Feel The Fire (Live '75)
-Tonight's Number
-You're My Girl (I Don't Want To Discuss It)
-Shake, Shudder, Shiver (Rehearsal)
-Rear Wheel Skid
-(I Know) I'm Losing You (Live BBC)
-I'd Rather Go Blind (Live '75[?])
-Hi-Heel Sneakers/Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
-Rock Me
-The Stealer (Live BBC)
-My Fault (Live BBC)
-I Feel So Good (Rehearsal)

Wow. This stuff's just... out of the blue good. Kudos to Mac and to the Faces!

by **mcnarie** » Fri Jul 23, 2004 10:20 am

Good god, the new allmusic site had me looking. You cannot find 5 Guys on the Faces link, but you can find a perfect rant about it here:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=am ... 82l052a~T1

by **mcnarie** » Fri Jul 23, 2004 10:21 am

Here's the article:

There has never been a better box set than the Faces' Five Guys Walk into a Bar.... There has never been a box that captures an artist so perfectly, nor has a box set taken greater advantage of unreleased and rare material, to the point where it seems as essential and vital as the released recordings. Simply put, there's never been a box set as necessary as this, since it tells the band's entire tale and explains exactly what the fuss is all about. Unfortunately, some explanations are in order, since the Faces never made it big, resigned to cult status in America and Britain alike. Nevertheless, if you love rock & roll with an all-consuming passion, you may consider the Faces the greatest rock & roll band ever. And you'd be right. Other bands were certainly bigger and plenty wielded a stronger influence, but the Faces were something unique, an endearingly ragged quintet that played raw, big-hearted rock & roll as hard as the Rolling Stones, but with a warm, friendly vibe that would have sounded utterly foreign coming from the Stones. At the turn of the '60s, that warmth was unusual in rock & roll, since most of the big bands were larger than life; even the Kinks, the quaintest and quietest of the titans of the late '60s, had a theatrical bent that lent them a mystique.

In contrast, the Faces were utterly without mystique. They were unpretentious to a fault, coming across like the lovable lads from the neighborhood who were always out for a good time, whether it was before, during, or after a gig. They were unassuming and mischievous, with their raggedness camouflaging a sweetness that flowed throughout their music; they were charming rogues, so endearing that even the infamously cranky, trendsetting British DJ John Peel had a soft spot a mile wide for them. That raggedness resulted in exhilarating music, but also made the Faces inconsistent on-stage and in the studio. At their peak, nobody could touch them, but even their greatest albums were sloppy, never maintaining their momentum. They would also throw away great songs on non-LP singles, and their live performances including BBC sessions for Peel often had a raucous energy not quite captured on their albums. All of these elements taken as a whole add up to a great band, but no single album, not even the first-rate 1999 compilation Good Boys When They're Asleep, captured each of these elements.

Five Guys Walk into a Bar... does. Produced and sequenced by their keyboardist, Ian McLagan, the set throws all conventional rules of box sets out the window. It's not assembled in a chronological order. A grand 43 of its 67 tracks are non-LP cuts and rarities, including a whopping 31 previously unreleased tracks. It has all the B-sides never released on CD. Several songs are repeated in alternate live or studio versions. Such a preponderance of rarities would usually mean that a box set is only for the devoted, but that's not the case here these rarities are the very reason why Five Guys Walk into a Bar... succeeds in a way none of their original albums do, since they fill in the gaps left behind on their four studio albums. This does mean that it features several Rod Stewart solo cuts that worked their way into the Faces' repertoire (partially because the band backed him on his solo albums, too), but that was an important part of their history (plus, the BBC version of "You're My Girl [I Don't Want to Discuss It]" is blistering hot), and while this showcases Stewart at his best he never was better than he was in the early '70s, whether it was fronting the Faces or on his solo records he never overshadows his mates on this box.

The focus is on the band as a whole, which means that the spotlight is shone on the late, perpetually underappreciated Ronnie Lane numerous times on each of the four discs, and that Ronnie Wood has his turn at the microphone on a wonderful live "Take a Look at the Guy." McLagan's song sequencing may appear to have no logic behind it, since it doesn't group recordings together by either era or scarcity, yet his seemingly haphazard approach makes musical and emotional sense, flowing like a set list yet remarkably maintaining momentum through its four lengthy discs. While it may sound like hyperbole, there's never a dull moment here, not a bad track among these 67 songs it's consistent in a way the Faces never were when they were together. It's a joyous, addictive listen, too. It sounds like a party, one where everybody's invited and where the music doesn't stop playing until the break of dawn. That makes a perfect tribute for a band that never got the respect they were due, and never made the great album they should have made. With Five Guys Walk into a Bar..., the Faces finally have that great album and not just that, they have a box set that's as infectious and satisfying as any classic rock & roll album and a box set that's quite possibly the greatest box set ever made. Plus, it's just one hell of a good time.

by **mcnarie** » Fri Jul 23, 2004 10:25 am

good fucking god damn, that's the one. Naess, I yet again apologize. My answer is above. It tells the story of why Ronnie Lane was the first guy I ever wanted to interview. It tells the story of seeing these guys go from Small Faces pop fame into an eager conglomerate of pure pop potential, which they eagerly squandered.

They were mates first, and as you pull off the layers, you see the band died because the heart was gone. Tetsu's a great guy, alive and well, kicking ass on his Zemaitis, and I won't speak ill of good Tetsu. I'm a Free fan, after all. But, once Ronnie left the band, so did the will to act like brothers. Watch a band disentigrate before your eyes. That's the Faces post 73. Big post. Yes, the box is the box of all times.

by **Tel the Riff** » Sun Jul 25, 2004 3:33 am

I have just received the Box Set I ordered from Mac's part of the webness. So, with the volume up, tears rolling down my cheeks :cry:

hairs standing up on the back of my neck, I tapped a hole in the Shag Pile with my right foot and thouht..'Bloody hell, ive missed the Faces'!

For those in two minds, this is a must, it is nothing short of superb. All though it may seem 'Arse about Face' in it's track lay out, once you listen to it, you realise, it doesn't matter, as it flows just like their gigs use too.

This album as underpinned why the Band have for 35 years, been my favorite band of all time. Their was a chemistry between them that if bottled would be worth a fortune. Woody's 'dirty' guitar riffs, backing Rod's 'gritty' soulful voice. Ronnie Lanes melodic bass lines, and emotional BV's against Kenny Jones rock solid and toe tapping beats, with Mac's blend of honkey tonk piano and awsome hammond playing made them what they were...The Best.

The most exciting album I have bought since the bands split in '75..Superb.

Cheers

Tel :wink:

by **Paul** » Sun Jul 25, 2004 10:57 am

"I can't top this. It's the best review of the Faces ever put on paper, and it judiciously dismisses the use of "sloppy" journalism. I'm so tired of hearing congresses of critics decide the Faces were sloppy, all based on an early 70s review. Everybody calls the Faces sloppy. Well, to be blunt, fuck 'em. They are followers, not thinkers. Here is the critique I want to put plasma lights on"

Hey Mc, howcome you rate the the Allmusic review so highly? I'm confused at your enthusiasm for an article that uses the word 'ragged' (more than once) and describes their albums as sloppy!

So the Faces were ragged and sloppy then?

'FIVE GUYS' BOX SET - Post discussion here

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Five Guys Walk In to a Bar and Rock it to the floor!

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