Tie On A Grin

Without Ronnie Lane, the Faces could have easily been another Humble Pie, or Bad Company: plenty of sweaty, weighty groove, but with little more than groin for guiding light. Ron Wood and Rod Stewart specialized in the combustive strut that made a signature of “Stay With Me,” but in the end what makes the Faces the Faces isn’t their boozy bluster but the sweetness in songs like Lane’s “Oh La La.”

Even though Kenney Jones and Ian McLagan are not present, this 1971 Top of the Pops performance is still the best snapshot of the Faces because of how closely it brings us to Lane’s personality. It's pathetic how rare smiles are in rock music; the stage is a horribly vulnerable place, and many performers feel a scowl is their last vestige of protection against a peering mob. Few achieve the self-possession of Lane, whose ever-present grin projects generosity and fellowship. Eager, even cherubic, his face is a constant affirmation that the tiresome demands of rock’n’roll will never outweigh the joy he gets from playing it. He emits an energy that puts everything around him at ease. When a stream of toilet paper falls over him mid-song, Lane reacts like a giddy kid in the drizzle.

Who but Lane could have relegated Rod Stewart’s scarecrow centerpiece to side stage? Surely there are those who feel it isn’t the Faces unless Stewart is out front dancing with the mic stand, but there’s something even more special in having him contribute one-note upright bass from the shadows. Could you imagine Robert Plant doing the same? Or Mick Jagger? In an era of egomania, Lane brought the Faces the humility that is their saving grace.