The Autumn Stone

The Autumn Stone is a posthumous retrospective double album, and the second compilation album released in the UK by Small Faces in 1969 on the Immediate label.

Album profile
The double album contains most of the Small Faces' Immediate and Decca original 7" single releases, together with live recordings from a concert at Newcastle City Hall and previously unreleased material, some of which was possibly intended for the band's projected but unrealised fourth LP, 1862.

Alongside the title track, the album contained an alternative version of "Afterglow Of Your Love" (which had been released as the Small Faces' final single earlier in the year), covers of two Tim Hardin songs ("If I Were A Carpenter" and "Red Balloon") and the instrumentals "Wide Eyed Girl On The Wall" and "Collibosher" (both of which are claimed to be unfinished backing tracks by the compilers of the Here Comes The Nice: The Immediate Years box set). "Collibosher" was recorded during the sessions for the band's 1968 "Ogden's Nutgone Flake" album. "Call It Something Nice" is the earliest previously unreleased track included, having been recorded in October 1967.

The title track "The Autumn Stone" and "Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am" (its correct title, according to composer Steve Marriott – 'Wham Bam Thank You Man', as it was titled on the Afterglow single where the song first found release in March 1969, was apparently a label misprint) had both originally been recorded on 11 September 1968 as the A and B sides of a projected (but ultimately unreleased) single. This recording session proved to be the band's final studio work together aside from some session work in Paris with Peter Frampton for a Johnny Hallyday album in December.

Release
The Autumn Stone album was released by Immediate Records founder Andrew Loog Oldham in November 1969, more than six months after the band had officially announced their break up, and three months after Steve Marriott's new band Humble Pie had released their own debut LP. In Germany, a single LP version with only the 'new' material was released under the title In Memoriam. On some later repressings of the LP the live version of All Or Nothing is replaced with the 1966 studio version, and the 1969 single version of "Afterglow" is replaced with an edit of the 1968 album version from Ogden's Nut Gone Flake.

A 3LP/2CD 'definitive expanded deluxe edition' of the album, remastered from original sources and including extra material, is scheduled for release at a (so far unspecified) future date.

Track listing
All tracks written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane unless otherwise noted. All lead vocals by Marriott, except where noted. Recording dates for the unreleased tracks are as listed in the recording notes included with the "Here Come The Nice: The Immediate Years" box set.

Note: The 'previously unreleased' tracks and the live tracks (from November 1968 at Newcastle City Hall) were also released separately as "In Memoriam" and included two bonus live tracks, "All Or Nothing" and "Tin Soldier".

Personnel

 * Steve Marriott - vocals, guitar, harmonica
 * Ronnie Lane - vocals, guitar, bass guitar
 * Kenney Jones - drums
 * Ian McLagan - keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, vocals
 * Jimmy Winston - vocals, keyboards

References/Notes
Notes:

References:


 * Paolo Hewitt John Hellier (2004). Steve Marriott - All Too Beautiful.... Helter Skelter Publishing  ISBN 1-900924-44-7.
 * Paolo Hewitt/Kenney Jones (1995) small faces the young mods' forgotten story - Acid Jazz ISBN 0-9523935-0-6