The man behind the Faces

[An English Boy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/474382p-399028c.html

The man behind the Faces

A new look at Ronnie Lane,
who helped give the Mod sound expression

He helped created the sound and character of two seminal British bands: the 
Small Faces and the Faces.

He set the mood, and penned half the material, for one of the greatest 
collaborative albums of all time, "Rough Mix."

And stars like Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend regularly sing his praises.

Yet you'll never hear the name of late singer-songwriter Ronnie Lane without 
the words "underrated" and "underrecognized" right behind.

"Hopefully that situation is temporary," says James Mackie, co-director of a 
new documentary about Lane, "The Passing Show." "Ronnie should be seen on 
the list with guys like Townshend, Clapton or Ray Davies."

Not only do we have ample evidence in the documentary, now out on DVD, 
there's also a newly remastered version of Lane's 1977 touchstone album with 
Townshend, "Rough Mix," and a fresh compilation of the singer's solo 
recordings, "Just for a Moment."

In all these pieces, Lane's particular appeal shines through: His scruffy, 
diminutive voice spoke of modesty, care and reason. His melodies flowed with 
a folksy charm. But if much of his work exuded a small-scale intimacy, 
Lane's personal story holds great drama, leading to a torturously long death 
from multiple sclerosis nearly 10 years ago.

Lane's first musical forays were as brash as his later ones were 
understated. In 1965, he formed the nattily attired band the Small Faces 
with singer Steve Marriott, drummer Kenny Jones, and keyboardist Ian 
McLagan. Though they scored just one minor hit in the U.S. (the drug ode 
"Itchycoo Park"), they were huge enough in the U.K. to help provide the 
soundtrack for the whole Mod movement, along with the early Who and 
Yardbirds. One of the documentary's main strengths is its wealth of rare, 
colorful footage from the Small Faces' early days.

When Marriott dumped the group in 1969 to form Humble Pie, the three 
surviving members recruited guitarist Ron Wood and a promising new singer 
named Rod Stewart to create the Faces.

Oddly, neither Wood nor Stewart granted interviews for "The Passing Show." 
(There's plenty of talk, however, from Townshend, Clapton and others). 
Director Mackie blames "scheduling difficulties." But he admits they didn't 
try that hard to snare Stewart.

"We wanted the movie to have the same low-key, everyday feel we think 
Ronnie's songs have," he says. "And we wanted Ronnie's own words to drive 
the story."

The DVD includes plenty of stoked footage of the Faces and Stewart in their 
prime. For Lane, that era didn't last long. Though he co-penned much of 
their best material (including classics like "Ooh La La") and sang the odd 
lead (on "Richmond" and the gorgeous "Debris"), he quit the band in 1973, 
two years before their final demise. Stewart's solo career was on fire then, 
and the Faces had to play second fiddle. "It wasn't that [Ronnie] wanted to 
be out front," Mackie says. "It just wasn't a supportive band anymore."

Lane did a risky thing and went off to form his own band, aptly dubbed Slim 
Chance. The singer struggled financially for the rest of his life, even if 
he himself often exacerbated the problem. He insisted on touring with an 
entire circus of performers, creating a mix of hippie commune and low-rent 
Barnum & Bailey. His approach to casting his band was just as eccentric.

"He picked people because he liked them, not necessarily because they were 
great musicians," Mackie explains. "He felt he could get something 
interesting out of them ... a freshness and looseness."

That approach created some joyous sounds and. perhaps more than anything, 
defined the purity of Lane's ragamuffin character. But the practicalities of 
the thing were lacking. To help pay some bills in the later '70s, Townshend 
initiated the "Rough Mix" project, which yielded some of Lane's best-loved 
songs, including "Nowhere to Run" and the heartbreaking "Annie," co-written 
with Clapton.

The album was only a cult hit, however, and soon Lane began to become aware 
of growing physical problems - a weakness and a lack of control over his 
body. His mother had died of MS. He was finally diagnosed with it by the end 
of the '70s. Friends rallied around, staging famous concerts here and in 
England in 1983 to raise money for the singer and for research into MS. 
Everyone from Jimmy Page to Clapton to Jeff Beck took part.

In the early '80s, Lane moved to Texas, where he could get healing 
treatments from a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Fitfully, he managed to make 
music over the next 15 years. In 1997, he finally succumbed to the disease.

The sadness of this presented a challenge to Mackie. "We didn't want this to 
be about a long, slow, painful decline," he says. "But that's what it was."

Without ignoring Lane's pain, or the more prickly aspects of his 
personality, "The Passing Show" manages to focus on his scamp of a spirit 
and on the rough-hewn pleasure of his sound. "It's only 10 years since he 
died," Mackie says. "History takes time to shake itself out. Maybe when it 
has been 20 years, it will be Ronnie's time."

Originally published on November 26, 2006

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