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Playmates
Playmates
Studio album by Small Faces
Released	August 1977
Recorded	1977
Studio	Grange Sound Studios, Chigwell, Essex
Genre	Blues rock
Length	41:28
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Kemastri (Acronym for Ke = Kenny Jones, Ma = Ian McLagan, St = Steve Marriott, Ri = Rick Wills); Shel Talmy on "Lookin' for a Love"
Small Faces chronology

Playmates is the fourth studio album, and the first during their reunion, by English rock band the Small Faces. The album was created by Steve Marriott, Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones and Rick Wills when they reformed in the late 1970s and recorded it along with the album 78 in the Shade. Ronnie Lane left before the album was recorded.

Reunion: 1975–1978

Following the break-up of Faces in 1975, the original Small Faces line-up reformed briefly to film videos miming to the reissued "Itchycoo Park", which hit the charts again. The group tried recording together again but Lane left after the first rehearsal due to an argument. Unbeknownst to the others, he was just beginning to show the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, and his behaviour was misinterpreted by Marriott and the others as a drunken tantrum. Lane subsequently began recording Rough Mix with the Who's Pete Townshend shortly after the argument.

Nevertheless, McLagan, Jones and Marriott decided to stay together as Small Faces, recruiting ex-Peter Frampton and Roxy Music bassist Rick Wills to take Lane's place. This iteration of Small Faces recorded two albums: Playmates (1977) and 78 in the Shade (1978), released on Atlantic Records. Both albums were later reissued on Wounded Bird Records. Guitarist Jimmy McCulloch also briefly joined this line-up after leaving Wings. When McCulloch phoned Paul McCartney, who had found him increasingly difficult to work with, to announce he was joining Marriott, McCartney reportedly said "I was a little put out at first, but, well, what can you say to that?" McCulloch's tenure with the band lasted only for a few months in late 1977. He recorded only one album, 78 in the Shade, in 1978 with the band. The reunion albums were commercial failures. Small Faces broke up again in 1978.^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

The New York Times called the album "decently entertaining blues-rock," and noted that "the playing is a lot tighter than the more sloppily rambunctious days of the Faces."^[2]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"High and Happy"	Steve Marriott	2:42
2.	"Never Too Late"	Marriott Ian McLagan	3:50
3.	"Tonight"	McLagan John Pidgeon	2:47
4.	"Saylarvee"	Marriott	2:17
5.	"Find It"	Marriott McLagan Kenney Jones	6:01

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Lookin' for a Love"	J. W. Alexander Zelda Samuels	3:13
7.	"Playmates"	Marriott	3:37
8.	"This Song's Just For You"	Marriott McLagan	4:06
9.	"Drive-In Romance"	McLagan Pidgeon	5:11
10.	"Smilin' in Tune"	Marriott McLagan	4:44

In popular culture

Ringo Starr covered the song "Tonight" on his studio album Bad Boy, in 1978.

Personnel

Small Faces

Steve Marriott – guitar, harmonica, vocals
Ian McLagan – keyboards, vocals
Rick Wills – bass guitar, vocals
Kenney Jones – drums, vocals

with:

Dave Hynes - backing vocals
Greg Ridley - backing vocals
P.P. Arnold - backing vocals
Vicki Brown - backing vocals
Joe Brown - mandolin, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Mel Collins - saxophone

References

^ ^a ^b "Small Faces - Playmates Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
^ Rockwell, John (25 September 1977). "Reunion Time for British Rock-and-Roll". Arts & Leisure. The New York Times. p. 87.