Face to Face: A Live Recording

Face to Face: A Live Recording
Live album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
Released	July 1977
Recorded	Dec 1976-Jan 1977
Genre	Pop rock
Length	73:11
Label	EMI
Producer	Steve Harley, Tony Clark
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel chronology
Love's a Prima Donna (1976) Face to Face: A Live Recording (1977) Hobo with a Grin (1978)

Face to Face: A Live Recording is a live album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released in 1977.

Background

Following the release of the 1976 studio album Love's a Prima Donna, the band embarked on a UK tour to promote it. This tour featured the same second line-up of Cockney Rebel as since their formation in late 1974, with the exception of guitarist Jim Cregan, who had left the band to join Rod Stewart's touring band. The tour featured Jo Partridge on guitar in his place.^[1] From the tour Harley recorded a number of concerts between December 1976 and January 1977, using the Rak Mobile and La Maison Rouge as the live mobile recording studios. Tony Clark was hired as the album's engineer and co-producer. The best tracks were then sorted for a live album. The mixing was completed at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, and Air Studios in London, before being mastered by Ken Perry at Capitol Studios, Los Angeles.^[1]

On the eve of the day the album was to reach the shops, the announcement was made that the band were splitting up.^[2] The double LP live album titled Face to Face: A Live Recording was released to coincide with this.^[3] The album reached #40 on the UK chart, lasting four weeks within the Top 100.^[4] As part of the album's promotion, the live recording of "The Best Years of Our Lives" with its B side "Tumbling Down" was released in July 1977, however it failed to make a chart appearance.^[5] The single did not make a chart appearance in the UK.

In the Record Mirror, dated 26 March 1977, it was announced that Harley was listening to the tapes of recently recorded concert performances for a possible live release. It was also noted that Be-Bop Deluxe and Black Sabbath were working on live albums at the same time too. In an article on Harley within the same issue, written by Ray Fox-Cumming, Harley commented: "Quite frankly, I've always been much bigger as a live performer than I have on plastic." When speaking on the upcoming live album: "It will probably be my next album release. I can only say probably because I'm also just about to start on a new studio album and if that gets finished fairly quick, it could come out first. Basically it will be the whole of the one-and-a-half hour show I did on the last tour. We recorded the concerts at Glasgow, Birmingham, Newcastle, Hammersmith and The Rainbow, so there are plenty of versions of each song to choose from and make a good album. The results of what has been mixed so far have turned out excellently."^[6]

When discussing the mixing and sorting of the live album Harley revealed: "I have cheated a little bit, though I think quite justifiably so. I altered the running order a bit, although I don't think that most people who went to the concerts will even notice. The reason for the change is that a running order which seems right for a show can be nonsense on plastic. Each side of each of the two records has to have a beginning and an end, which in all means eight ends-and-beginnings. In concert you don't have that problem. You just go smack, smack, smack from one song into the next. I've also cheated a tiny amount by erasing the odd bum note. Out of five versions of a song that I've got to choose from, there will always be one where the vocal's in tune, the guitar solo sounds great and everything else is just about perfect, but even then there's always some little thing that's off and I'm not going to spoil a good track by allowing an obvious bum note on it when that can be avoided." In comparison to studio versions, Harley felt that the live versions "knock spots off them. In most cases they're 10 times better." However Harley did also reveal that he had not enjoyed the process of mixing the tracks: "To me, it's a very uncreative operation. It's only, after all, engineering and engineering is evil, and not particularly exciting, necessity."^[7]

Release

The album was originally released by EMI as a double LP gatefold vinyl, which included the countries: the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, as well as the US and Canada.^[8] In 1997 the album received its first CD release in the Netherlands via EMI.^[9] In 2000, BGO Records released a remastered version of the album on CD across the UK and Europe. Aside from being remastered from the original master tapes, the album featured additional sleeve notes and faithfully restored artwork. It is now out-of-print.^[10]

Track listing

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[11]
Record Mirror	(sides 1+2) (sides 3+4)[12]
Sounds	[13]

Dave Thompson of Allmusic wrote: "It was one of the most grotesque decapitations in history. One moment, Steve Harley was swaying sleek and sinister, oozing absinthe and decay, the head of a hydra of unimaginable potential... and the next he was trilling old Beatles songs and defusing even the last limping hang-overs of the glory that was once his for the taking. By 1977, he scarcely seemed to even remember the songs, so the audience sung half of them for him. Here his voice simply sounds affected... either that, or the poor lad has hiccups. And they don't go away. No complaints about the actual set list. Across four sides of vinyl, Harley has always been well aware of his own worth and delivers a show which is half greatest hits, half greatest bits. But the pale apologies for the epics, the perfunctory trawls through the classics, and the "gee-it's-so-wonderful-to-be-here" simper which now passes for stage presence aren't simply inexcusable. They are embarrassing and, no matter how lustily the audience sings along with their favorites, you know that they won't be calling him Sebastian ever again. Judy Teen has left the building."^[11]

In the Record Mirror magazine of 10 September 1977, a review of "The Best Years of Our Lives" single was published, which stated: "Note - Cockney Rebel have now vanished forever. This one is live and it's a cracker. Just listen to the way he controls the audience - amazing. It's easily the best track on "Face to Face" and though I don't know how valid it is as a single, it's a worthwhile buy for any hard-up fans who can't afford the fancy double album package."^[14]

In the Record Mirror magazine, Sheila Prophet reviewed the album, noting: "Whatever you might think of Harley and his ego, there's no doubt that onstage, it makes him into a magnificent, riveting performer. Every time I've seen him live, the effect was the same - total involvement. But does this involvement come over on record? Well, side one starts off pretty unpromisingly, with Harley's worst ever misjudgment, "Here Comes The Sun". It picks up a bit, but it's still fairly routine stuff. Where is Harley the Presence? Well, he's there on side two, but in his least acceptable form. Without his dramatic stage appearance, his vocals sound ridiculously overwrought. Oh dear. But wait - between side two and three, something magic has happened. Harley has taken over and suddenly, his whole ego trip seems almost justified. He's the central figure, with the audience as his backing band - Rebel are reduced to mere bit players onstage musical decorations. The two inevitable songs, "Tumbling Down", and of course, "Make Me Smile" - predictable, maybe, but none the less magnificent for that and that's the lot. As the anthem fades out, the crowd are still chanting in unison, as though they can't bear to let it end. Celebrating just being there."^[15]

Geoff Barton reviewed the album for Sounds magazine during 1977, and stated: "Although his career at the moment appears to be at its 'lowest ebb', Harley can still fill halls to capacity. I count several Rebel concerts to be amongst the most emotional and enjoyable I've ever seen. Side one gets off to a slow start, non-atmospheric and yawn-prompting, the production not too upfront, Cockney Rebel sounding curiously leaden. Things pick up for the closing cut, however, "Red is a Mean Mean Colour". Side two suffers from the same kind of problems. Not until the final track does the side truly come to life. By contrast, side three and four are magnificent, compulsive. The involvement builds and builds until, towards the end, everyone sings along in fine football chorus tradition. Highly charged, sincere, spine-tingling stuff. Side four has the encores. A performer who can inspire such an incredible amount of audience involvement can't be ignored, can't be all bad, can't be forgotten, can't have blown it... at least, I hope not. After all, the latter half of "Face To Face" is quite magical, strikes a deep emotional chord. And I can't think of many albums that do that, can you?"^[16]

Chart performance

Personnel

Band

• Steve Harley - vocals
• Jo Partridge - guitar
• George Ford - bass guitar
• Duncan Mackay - keyboards
• Stuart Elliott - drums

Additional musicians

• Lindsey Elliott - percussion
• Stuart Calver - backing vocals
• John G. Perry - backing vocals
• Tony Rivers - backing vocals

Production

• Steve Harley - producer
• Tony Clark - engineer, co-producer
• Davis Jacobson - live sound
• Ken Perry - mastering
• Hipgnosis - original sleeve design
• CLE - reprographics
• Garrod & Lofthouse - printing
• Alan Clayson - BGO CD remaster liner notes (July 2000)

References