Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
Small Faces
1968
Album Summary
Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake is the third studio album, and only concept album by the English rock band Small Faces. Released on 24 May 1968, the LP peaked at number one on the UK Album Charts on 29 June, where it remained for a total of six weeks. It ultimately became the group's final studio album during their original incarnation (and the last album to contain solely new material until the release of reunion album Playmates in 1977). The album title and distinctive packaging design was a parody of Ogden's Nut-brown Flake, a brand of tinned loose tobacco that was produced in Liverpool from 1899 onwards by Thomas Ogden.
WikipediaThe front half (or the first side of the album) stands up as some really great psychedelia from the 60s and the second half delves into a more progressive rock format with several songs coming together to make a long "medley" and tell a story. Using a bit of backwards logic, the front half has a bit of a Tame Impala sound, only except some of the mix isn't as perfect as other contemporary artists and artists of the 60s. Personally, I think there's a lot of heart to this album, and I will be coming back to this on a regular basis. Highlights: 1, 2, 5, and 6 (and 7-12 for those who want a combination of Yes and 13th Floor Elevators). Right after I wrote this, I went into the stereo versions. I should have started with them in hindsight, but sometimes mono can be cool for older stuff. I was already going to rate this a five, but I can't wait to listen through it again.
Reminded me a lot of The Beatles in that quirky way. Very British sounding. Perfectly pleasant, if a bit odd, background music.
Surprisingly good. Definitely not something I would have searched out on my own.
I really enjoyed the album. I'm a sucker for weird psychedelic experimentation. However, this album is probably one of the weaker psychedelic albums I've heard. I got strong AiW vibes from the album, especially with the narrator coming in and out on the second side. It opened strongly with the title track. Nice transition from Afterglow to Long Agos and Worlds Apart. My favorite tracks are Long Agos and Worlds Apart, Lazy Sunday, and Journey. Would definitely trip to this.
This is my fucking shit Such s fun concept for the second half; incredibly both vocally and instrumentally; timeless classic
Probably not something I'll revisit, but also surprised at how much I'm enjoying it.
What a deeply weird record! This was a really fun album to listen to, especially following a fairly safe outing like Urban Hymns. I have to admire an artist that goes out of their way to make something so strange with such commitment. And it wouldn't work if they didn't have the songs and musicianship to match. Lost half a point because I found the narration on side two kind of grating as it wore on. 3.5/5 Favourite tracks: "Afterglow" and "Lazy Afternoon"
Really enjoyed this one! Definitely on the ‘to buy’ list now! Love a bit of psychedelic rock! Mad for it!
Good... It was a bit much at times though. I think the wackiness sometimes surpassed the actual quality of the music, and relied too heavily on Unwin's unintelligible narration for the second half. Enjoyable and fun - just not great
The album starts off okay, a reasonably decent instrumental to kick us off followed by Afterglow (Of Your Love) which is great. The next track is filler, feels a lot longer than two and a half minutes (partially because it does that thing where it fades out and fades back in again). Then Rene, a song about a prostitute at the docks which if you'd told me was from a Monty Python sketch I would've 100% believed you... at least until it spends a couple of minutes at the end in a long, drawn out, instrumental finish. Song of a Baker is better, great guitar in this. Lazy Sunday is next, this is the one that is miles ahead in the Spotify listening numbers, but it's like Madness trying to do prog rock. Kinda catchy, but not great. Then we change tack completely. I had a quick google and this is the other side of the album, which I guess gives them an excuse for a stylistic change. Lots of narration, and the worst of prog rock weirdness. It's a gibberish fairy tale about someone looking for the other half of the moon, consulting a fly and a tramp. There's the odd interesting instrumental bit, but it's 50% narrative and just strange. Just about squeaks a 2 for me on the strength of the first couple of tracks.
I cannot believe this band has existed for 50 years and I never heard them. This belongs up there with any of the baroque pop that was being produced in the 60s.
Never listened to this in its entirety before. I should have done. It's brilliant.
So good, could've been released yesterday and I wouldn't have known the difference (except for the wild stereo mix which I love to hear in albums of this time). Heaps of comedic writing, doesn't take it's self too seriously and the loose concept is engaging.
One of the best albums ever. One of the best intros ever and Stanley Unwin's narration makes the whole second half a joy. Every track is a summery classic, and Steve Marriott is an amazing frontman - I love singing in a natural accent. I loved it before, and listening today I love it even more.
holy shit, every song is a 10/10 honestly, this album is too good for this 5 star scale, jesus christ, I love this
When I’d listened to this before I’d thought it was unbearably twee but it’s actually pretty rough around the edges Works brilliantly as a cohesive body and was fantastic start to finish
This is very much my shit and I don't know why I hadn't heard it before (beyond a couple of well-known tracks).
Enjoyed the second half more than the first. Really weird spoken word portions but enjoyable
Tres bon ! J’aime le style et les chansons sont diversife en gardant une bonne ligne directrice 4*
This is actually a very playful and lovely record. First disc is just ok 60s rock, but Big fan of Disc 2 and the Tale of Happiness Stan.
The album has genuine moments of grandeur and inventiveness; however, it is held back by the random asides of the story it is trying to tell. Also, every now and then the cockney accents are a bit too much to stomach. All of these issues though are overshadowed by the overshadowing of the Stereo mix and creativity of the actual songs.
Prog rock and then some. A step below the Pink Floyd's and Who's of the world.
Title track fucking rocks This album has some dull spots but it is psychedelic as hell, too much narration though :/
Was a bit weird, but near the end there were these stories that I really liked hearing! The diction and rhetoric they used were crazy and it seemed to have some flow but I didn't track it all that well. I'll have to listen again to understand!
Rock psicodélico sesentero. En algunas canciones recuerda a los Beatles.
Fun album from a band I've never heard before. Psychedelic Hobbiton folk rock? Why not.
Surprisingly good, extremely British. Some jams in here! Too many sketches for my liking.
Really enjoyed this one, especially the first side and the first track. 4*
Ok, it was a good album. It’s was mellow and felt. I could listen to some of these songs again.
A playful and warm psychedelic journey. I really enjoy this sort of thing.
I like the general vibe, the basslines are tasty. I like the concept album format. The songs that veered into psychedelia were my favorite, in particular "The Journey."
Such a great sound, the drums, the bass, its so cool. A psychedelic experimentation, but sonically not as polished as others of the time. 4/5 - Already have it on vinyl (mainly due to the cool cover)
Very good and way ahead of its time, though the whole fairy tale/nonsense dialog elements of the last half just muddled the B side for me.
Dobra psihodelija (prva strana albuma) u kombinaciji pozitive i spoken worda (cijela druga strana albuma) - jako simpatična priča, bajka, to mi je i presudilo za ocjenu. Volim kad u albumima ima nekakav koncept - kao ovdje u drugom dijelu albuma, ali naravno ne smijem izostaviti prvi dio jer je također isto dobar. Glas koji priča, taj govornik ima dobar glas, kao da slušam nekakvu priču iz crtića kad sam bio mali na kazeti, ali je na engleskom.
Really fun and heartfelt rock/spoken word stuff. The opening track was the perfect start to this album, I loved it!
Funky title, funky band. A bit special really. Bet deep down Blur would have swapped everything they ever did to have released something this original.
Brilliant opening track. There's strong work on the rest of the album. Many reviews here suggest Python connections with the narration and themes of the music - we should realise that this album was recorded (should one say compiled?) well over a year before Python was first broadcast. Python were Oxbridge - small faces came from East London and the language and cadence of the narration are, while clearly not being Polari, are very much Polari-esque and steeped in music halls the Pythons would absolutely not have known, except by academic interest. The album is definitely worth a listen, and whilst undeniably a concept album, has enough great music to be worth dipping into again. Not faultless, the novelty aspect of it won't reward repeat plays in full, nonetheless I'd say a solid 4/5.
Nut indeed… also a fairly eclectic range of psychedelia covered on this LP. This week’s word is ”eclectic”
I haven't listened to this album in many years. I bought it in my late teens, during a psychedelic phase. I preferred (then) side 2, with its interstitial tale of Happiness Stan and more whimsical songs. Listening to it now, I prefer the tougher side 1, which is (I think) a more transitional piece between the Small Faces and the bands to follow (Faces, and Humble Pie). This will definitely be getting more play from me.
Crazy album! I actually really liked it. Very cool psychedelic rock experience. The narration between tracks is a bit bizarre, but that only adds to the wild experience.
En tant qu’amateur de rock progressif et de psychédélique, je ne peux que me réjouir de découvrir cet album. On entend bien, par exemple, ce que « Supper’s Ready » doit à « Happiness Stan ». Les Petites Faces n’ont pas la finesse de Genesis, mais c’est bien correct comme ça.
The first disc was forgettable. Nothing special, just regular psychedelic-ish rock. The only good song on that half was "Lazy Sunday". The second disc absolutely saves the entire album and carries it to a 4/5 for me. I love stupid concepts and a guy riding a giant fly to locate the other half of the moon is something I can get behind. It was strangely nostalgic and reminded me of old fairy tales (something they were probably going for). Best songs: "Lazy Sunday", "Happiness Stan", "Mad John", "HappyDaysToyTown".
was a bit annoyed with the voicing at first but towards the ongoing album it became quite endearing including the narration elements
Ah, the psychedelic 60s. An extra star for the poetic ballad on side 2
Very modern sounding for the sixties, the recordings are good and jolly. A nice album by the Small Faces.
So 60s it would sound like a parody if it came out now. The whole second half, with weird narration and short songs, showed a whole different way of making an album.
The first half of the album felt like store-brand Kinks to me, but I warmed up to it once the "Unwinese" narration started. Quite enjoyable overall! Fave track - apart from the narration bits, "Lazy Sunday" is quite fun.
That was a pretty fun listen, the opening track was impressive by just how 'big' the sound was. For an album recorded in 1968 it had a feel of something more (relatively) modern but with a good dose of swinging 60s spirit
it's been a while since i've listened to this so i got the mild fear about it being really shit and i lose another (half) album that i once loved. luckily this was better than i remembered. The first half of this album is really fucking good and it's really nice of them to put all the good songs on the first side so once that fucking weird storytelling shite starts you can just fuck it off and not have to suffer. imagine if they hadn't bothered with that wank and just ploughed on with a full album like the first half. we could have had a world where steve marriot never left, the small faces continued and we would never have had to put up with that smug grottbags looking cunt who fronted the faces.
It really is a shame that the small faces decided to align themselves with the 'Mods'. This had the unfortunate effect of meaning that they had almost no fan base outside of the UK as the Mods were a very UK centric group. Had they stayed unaligned (and found a better manager earlier) they would have been a much bigger success than they were. Musically they were easily as good as The Who, and probably more inventive - certainly more varied in style. This album is worth listening to, even though the storytelling part towards the end really doesn't work that well. If you ignore the spoken word passages and just pay attention to the music it is high quality throughout.
Fun psychedelic rock concept album. Great group filled with great musicians.
Psicodèlia anglesa en el seu punt més refinat. Dos grans clàssics a la cara A com 'Lazy Sunday' i 'After Glow' i una segona cara espatarrant, una volada psicodèlica influenciada pel recent 'Sgt. Peppers', però amb la qualitat que tenia la banda, la cosa funciona
This album is not for headphones. The stereo image is very weird. The songs are great. This band is underrated. When talking about 60s British rock, people mention the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, maybe the Kinks and the Who. This record is on par with them. Favorite song: the Journey.
fantastic! the concept section is so well done. Doesn’t sound like it’s from 1968. The mixing is exquisite!! Best tracks: ogdens nut gone flake, lazy Sunday, Rene
2 half-albums. The first side is a stone classic; the second side is a spoken-word psych mess. Maybe there's good stuff in there, but it is hiding behind all the other fluff.
Quite an interesting record. The first song really captivated me, and I liked that the band decided to really tell a story throughout the album. However, towards the end, I wasn't into it sonically...as much anyway. 3.5.
Psychedelic, poppy, very whimsical. Not really a strong opinion on this one other than "it was fine". The skits in between were a little weird, but I didn't hate them. Favorite tracks: "HappyDaysToyTown", "Rollin' Over"
Pretty fun, catchy tunes. Sounds of the era. Last track (B-side) is epic.
This album had some really cool, psychedelic songs! The title track could be straight from a Tame Impala record. Some of the later tracks weren't quite as good, but a fun listen for a band I never heard of.
Ein typisches Psychedelic-Album, wie man es in den 60'ern so gemacht hat. Wenig störendes, ein paar ganz interessante harmonische Wendungen, die man noch mal studieren könnte. Gute 3 Sterne.
Definitely an unusual album with a bit of spoken word. Sounds like it came from the 1960s, so it sounds very period. Being unfamiliar with Small Faces, I didn’t know any of the songs, but my three favorites were Rene, Afterglow, and Song of a Baker.
Very eccentric album. There is some interesting story being told in between the songs(admittedly, I don't understand some of it but it is a neat way to portray an album) the songs themselves are pretty good. Nice light/folk-y rock/psychedelic rock. It was an enjoyable listen and the story that came in between the songs was weird but fun.