The success of Rhino’s 1998 Nuggets boxset justified a follow-up. The sequel covers the rest of the world since the first volume only chronicled the USA.
Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969 emerged in 2001. It features music from countries such as Iceland, Uruguay, and Japan. I’m profiling and rating each of the 109 tracks, working backwards.
Track 108 – Here Come The Nice by The Small Faces
From: London, United Kingdom
9
Credits
4/26. HERE COME THE NICE – The Small Faces
(Steve Marriott/Ronnie Lane)
PERSONNEL/STEVE MARRIOTT: vocals, guitar * IAN MacLAGEN: keyboards, vocals * RONNIE LANE: bass, vocals * KENNEY JONES: drums
Produced by STEVE MARRIOTT & RONNIE LANE
Recorded in London, England
Immediate single #IMO-50 (1967)
The Small Faces
The Small Faces rank among the best-known bands on the Nuggets II box set. The group formed after Ronnie Lane bought a bass guitar from the music bar where Steve Marriott worked. They recruited drummer Kenney Jones and organist Jimmy Winston. Ian MacLagan replaced Winston in time for the band’s first top-ten hit, 1966’s ‘Sha-La-La-La-Lee’.
The band started as mods but switched to psychedelia as musical fashions changed. Beatles manager Brian Epstein and Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge introduced the group to psychedelic drugs, feeding them LSD-laced orange slices.
Here Come the Nice
‘Here Come the Nice’ was the first single from the newly psychedelic Small Faces. The title was taken from Lord Buckley’s monologue ‘Here Comes Da Nazz’.
The song’s psychedelic due to its drug references rather than its music. The music’s soulful rather than swirling, with MacLagan playing a Hammond M102 organ, the same model Booker T Jones played on ‘Green Onions’.
Released June 1967, “Here Come The Nice” was The Small Faces’ first single for Immediate Records. The song showed their growing maturity both as songwriters and musicians. With its blatant reference to a drug dealer who’s “always there when I need some speed,” the song was something of an in-joke between the band and their fans, and they were delighted when it sailed right over the heads of the censors to reach #12 on the charts.
Mike Stax, Nuggets II liner notes
‘Here Come the Nice’ signalled the band’s reinvention and their most successful era. The song peaked at #12. Their next three singles – ‘Itchycoo Park’, ‘Lazy Sunday’, and ‘Little Tin Soldier’ – all made the top ten.
The Small Faces broke up in 1969. Steve Marriott formed Humble Pie with Peter Frampton. The other three members formed The Faces with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood.
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I didn’t know that song by The Small Faces – sounds pretty good to me! And quite a bit different from ‘Sha-La-La-La-Lee’ – that said, I’ve always loved the latter!
Yeah, I hadn’t heard it before either – I enjoyed Nuggets bringing it to my attention.
I had no idea they were on this Nugget set… I like this song as well as most of their songs. I think they had the best singer of that generation… bad management killed their chances of being more international.
There’s another Small Faces song coming up – ‘My Mind’s Eye’, another one I don’t know.
They’re perhaps as much as a blueprint for 1990s Britpop as much as any other 1960s band.
I think the Jam looked at them as well…. but yes I agree on the Britpop and that era.
One of my favorites by a legendary group. But do you think the Small Faces were too prolific and important to be on a Nuggets comp? Nuggets was more for bands that had one or two great singles. (Speaking of which, I think you’ll like my next longitudes post.)
I didn’t mind too much. They probably are the most famous band on Nuggets II, but I’d never heard the song before. But they’re one of the few bands where they have albums that people still listen to – Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake is pretty famous.