Ogden's Nut Gone Flake

Very much a demonstration of how you should always ignore mono versions of albums unless you're a music historian. Stereo versions here are infinitely more listeneable. The quirky spoken word segments are really annoying after a bit. Besides that, enjoyable.

"Layyyzy Sundaayy Arfternoon, I am a professional cockney". Yeah, very irritating indeed. I actually quite wanted to like this, based on them being a bit of a band from my childhood, and the fact that the album title is enjoyably crackers. But really, it's the worst of English music at this time in a way, very smug, and offering little by way of introspection, depth or any other hallmarks that the better bands were doing at this time.

bat shit crazy and brilliant

Earth is fleeeetinnggg. Below the stormmmm (clap clap)

Blah

Reminds me of The Moody Blues a tiny bit instrumentally and they slap. Highlights: Afterglow, Happiness Stan

Interesting story telling style. Did feel a little like a fever dream. Favourites: Rollin over, the hungry intruder

I had no idea what was going on with this album, but damn was it fun! Favs - Lazy Sunday, The Hungry Intruder, Rene

Just a very strange album, not my taste at all!

Hard to describe, but I felt more annoyed than anything by the end of it.

= the Beatles

I had no clue who they were, Rod Stewart is somehow related. But what a nice surprise in between funny talks! The music is quite exciting, it makes me think of a mix of the Toy Dolls and The Who, a few tracks really hit hard for that time. Without major hits, it still really puts the whole British scene of that era into perspective again. Loved it.

I think it's been a while since I had to listen to psychedelic rock so my patience level has reset a bit, but that 20 minute track certainly depleted it.

Sounded old and cool

Well it certainly is an album! Was expecting better given it’s their ‘famous one’ and I’m pretty sure I’ve had another of theirs on the 1001 already which was better than this. Still, quite the experience.

This one was fun. If you were to ask me what an English band in the 70’s would sound like, this is what I’d suggest because their sound is so emblematic of both of those things. It was middle of the road for me in terms of my personal taste but it was an interesting listen

Man. It has been a weirdly long time since my last 60s psychedelic rock album. There was a time where I felt like I was getting one of these things every other day, but now I'm kind of surprised to get one! The last album I got that's definitively 60s psychedelia was the Zombies' Odessey and Oracle, which was nearly 2 months ago at this point! Wow! Sorry to all the Small Faces fans out there, but this album is not nearly as great as that one. It's still quite good though! I enjoyed this album. It's pretty interesting. Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake is actually a bit of a concept album, largely in the second half, so that's cool. The first half is better though. Side A is a fairly standard psych rock affair. It's a really good psych rock affair, but it's nothing revolutionary. Still, songs like "Afterglow" and "Lazy Sunday" are quite enjoyable, with solid instrumentation, fun vocals, and good writing to back them up. The second half is the more interesting, albeit somewhat weaker half. It's a bit of a fairy tale, complete with narration from a guy named Stanley Unwin. It's unique, I'll give it that. The musical contents here are still quite good, particularly in the instrumentation. I think the narration is kind of goofy, but I think that's the point. It's kind of Monty Python-esque in a way, which is not something I'm complaining about. Overall, this is a neat album right here. It's not my favorite 60s psych rock concept album. I do prefer albums like The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society and (if it counts) Sgt. Pepper, but I would still call this album good by just about every stretch of the word. Light 4/5.

3/5

Different sounds than what I've used to, didn't care much for the spoken word parts, but outside of that, enjoyable and easy to listen with a short duration.

Strange listening experience, but I didn't hate it. There were a few songs I liked (Song of a Baker, Rollin Over), most likely because of the more rock-based sound. Others I didn't care for, even if nothing really stood out as bad. The shift to a narrative on the last half was interesting, though I'm not sure it did much for me. I feel like I'd need to give this one another try at some point, and maybe I'd appreciate it more. Based on just this listening, I'll give it an OK. Overall: 3/5

What a fantastic, quirky album. I must admit that I only really knew a couple of Small Faces tracks before this, and I'm a bit surprised that I'd not delved deeper previously as I have a lot of Faces in my collection and there are very well-known, strong links between the two bands.

The first half is fairly straightforward, some good songs some pretty forgettable, but the second half is an absolutely wild ride and I'm not sure whether I love it or don't get it; perhaps a bit of both.

Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake - 2/4 Afterglow - 3/4 Long Agos and Worlds Apart - 3/4 Rene - 3/4 Song of a Baker - 3/4 Lazy Sunday - 3/4 Happiness Stan - 3/4 Rollin’ Over - 3/4 The Hungry Intruder - 3/4 The Journey - 3/4 Mad John - 3/4 HappyDaysToyTown - 3/4

Didn't hate it but in no rush to listen again.

Of all the amazing music that came out of this era this album is below par

Fell asleep listening to it on a plane but liked what I can remember

3.0 Kinda listened to it in passing but The Journey caught my attention. Seemed to have a bit more going on than the Faces album we had a while back

The last song got really weird. Overall not terrible, but largely forgettable.

drei bis vier Lazy Sunday

(I uh, like them more than the Beetles. By like, a lot.)

Great album. I didn't listen to it back then and I don't know why. Probably because it wasn’t given much airplay in the U.S. I was too lazy back then. What a shame.

Tastes and smells like not as good Beatles with what sounds like the audiobook for The Hobbit thrown in.

1.5/what is so special about this one dawg

Peter Quill would love this album.

I have 2 accounts going and have somehow got this album 2x in 30 days. Anyway. I gave it a 3 before but upon relistening I am downgrading that to a 1.

Absolutely bonkers - proper old school english experimental madness. Love it in very small quantities.

Odd and never really got to good.

Ogden's Nuts is one of the albums where a song appears that's decent and catches your ears, so you perk em up, listen a bit more, go through 3 mid songs, forget about the album, only for another decent song to appear. Rinse and repeat. ⭐⭐1/2

Not for me…couldn’t finish a single song

Can't believe i never heard of this

Nice surprise to hear the opening song the same as the GTAV trailer but all else was not that great; generic late 60s psych rock which I'm not too particularly fond of. Somehow got worse as it went on. 4/10.

I have to admit that there's something kind of charming about hearing someone recite such carefully crafted nonsense that it makes sense. It's like the feeling of learning another language and being surprised to realize that you can follow the conversation, albeit with some difficulty. For a novelty record, it's pretty fun and the second half has an entertaining surrealist story. Although I don't know how much value it has as something to revisit often. Focusing on the first side only, Small Faces seem to want to take psychedelia into a place of pure drug-induced whimsy, separate from the politically charged free love of their counterparts in San Francisco. They're certainly not as easily remembered though, except as a footnote to Rod Stewart's career. But hey, it's still a fun album.

"Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" by the Small Faces begins with an interesting jam-like instrumental introduction. Subsequently, the music and style of the band could have inspired the film Spinal Tap (and that is not a compliment). While the album features several intriguing hooks and shows competent musicianship, it ultimately lacks any memorable or spectacular moments. I give them credit for attempting to produce a concept album, even if it does not really hit the mark. This album will be added to the collection of ones I will not revisit.

The Beatles vibes. Soulful, psychedelic sound. This would be cool to listen to while high. Fun and energetic. Quirky, odd storytelling. Typically British, which I love.

Barely two stars. That second side is an abomination.

Crazy album title, thought this was gonna be another Beatles clone but pleasantly surprised, 3/5

The first thing I noticed: The instruments' placement in the stereo mix is strange, to say the least. And it got worse from there. 2/5

The lows are LOW the highs are fantastic.

The outros were weird and removed some momentum the album had. I didn't hate it, but I doubt I'll listen again

☀︎j’aime pas Afterglow, Rene, Happiness Stan (ça sonne trop British), The Journey (me fait peur) ☀︎ça devait être bon pour les années 60, mais maintenant c’est rien de très spécial, et même un peu ennuyeux selon moi ☀︎j’aime pas comment ça sonne dans mes oreilles, genre que des fois y’a juste plus rien dans l’oreille gauche. non je pense pas que c’était un problème d’écouteurs ☀︎british </3 beurk

- late 60's art music ..... -

It’s some okay hippy rock.

Interesting album. Personally, I really liked it. The production was masterful and the narration between the songs really hit it home. Shame the band/album wasn't more successful.

point1.

This definitely was interesting...

Strange, but not in a good way. 2/5

I tried to listen to this in the car, but the thin recording leaves a lot to be desired. Revisiting a few songs in headphones, it’s marginally more appealing. I really enjoyed the kickoff track and some off the Hendrix-esque guitar phasing. This album is many things: quirky, bluesy, aloof, rocking, and strange. I really feel as though it requires attentive listening, but doesn’t necessarily command it. In the end I just really wish it was recorded better. Certainly worth a revisit in the future. Strong 3

what a shame that this was their only concept album, they certainly had a very "interesting" take on the idea

Psychedelic rock. It wasn’t bad. Some songs were better than others. I’ve heard worse.

Nope, not for me. It just sounds like old hippy rock, I don’t know why this is special.

The redeeming quality of this album is how whimsical and silly it gets in its second half. As memorable as the narrated sequences were, it’s still something of a gimmick that only took the record so far. “Rene” was an early peak into how goofy everything would eventually get. Shoutout to the drum full at 1:08 in “Rollin Over” I feel like I’ve heard that as a sample a lot of times. The closing “HappyDaysToyTown” is the best song on here, for how it goes for the full-on parlor chant anthem. Even though I had a lot of fun sitting with this project, I don’t think it deserves a spot on here, nothing about the music itself is unique or exceptional

Not super familiar with the Small Faces. This seems to be some kind of quaint English concept album, not unlike Village Green by the Kinks. There are a few heater tracks on here, scattered throughout. But it's not quite for me. I hate the storytelling voiceovers. It all comes across as dandy fopp-ish, almost like a parody of itself, despite this being released in 1968. It was an okay listen, I only skipped 2-3 tracks part way through. I'd be interested in checking out more of their catalog, albums that are more straight-up rock vs. this one's folk tinged storyline. 2.5/5

Okay, boomer. Ain't nobody got time for this!

The Happiness Stan story on side 2 is unique and mildly intriguing, but doing a concept album on only the second half of the album is weird. And had I not read about it first, I’m not sure I would have understood what it was? These faces were small, but later they became full-sized (I assume?) Faces. Well, yeah, Rod Stewart has a pretty large face (sorry, Rod), so adding him to the lineup you’d have to drop the small bit.

Huh, that was weird. Kind of like when my youngest used to make up songs filled with nonsensical words. Maybe she was speaking “Unwinese”.

OK on the execution but my goodness the last song infuriated me several times because it sounded like it was over and then kept going and going and going and going and going and going and …

A period piece. It would have been something special and different at the time, but it doesn't have legs.

This does not appeal to me at all. Most likely a 1 out of 5.

I wanted to write this off pretty early in my first listen, but I'll be damned if I didn't want to hear what was coming up next. Hell, I was trying to figure who hell is/was John. I can't say this is something I would seek out again and add to a playlist, but I didn't think this was too bad. Well, except Hungry Intruder and all the flute nonsense. Really liked Long Ago and Worlds Apart. My favorite song off the album. And some time in my lifetime, I hope to use the line "Are you all sitting comfly bold two square on your botty?" Part of me thought I was going to find out Lazy Sunday was remake of a song from the 60's too. Another tough rate for this listener, can't see my self returning to this album, but I was entertained throughout most of the listen. 2.5 was the thought. I'm in a good mood, we'll go 3. 3

3 I saw someone describe this as psychedelic rock meets Monty Python, and they were not wrong. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I’m not entirely sure - I felt my opinion flip flop on this multiple times throughout my listenings. Like, my first time through I thought this was goofy, my second time I found it charming, my third time I found it annoying, and by my fourth listen, I found myself feeling all of the above. For the most part, the first half of this album is okay, but mostly unremarkable. I didn’t dislike what I heard, but nothing about it really grabbed me either - with the exception being the closing track of the side, Lazy Sunday. Lazy Sunday (sadly no relation to the Lonely Island song) was the one song on this album my opinion flip flopped on the most. Sitting here now, I’ve gotta say, I think the song has earned my appreciation. It’s silly as all hell, but it is so in a sort of theatrical way that’s catchy in the most British way imaginable. Like, if it was a bit funnier, it’s the sort of thing I could imagine coming from the Monty Python gang. I have a feeling my Dad will hate the song, and if that’s the case, get ready, it’s about to get queued up in future Mario Kart sessions (MK8 - I ain’t shelling out $500+ for World). And now for something completely different. If you didn’t like Lazy Sunday, you are not going to like the rest of this album. Side 2 follows a fairy tale about a young boy named Happiness Stan who seeks out the other half of the moon after seeing it in half-phase and is interspersed with narration providing exposition. Now, I got that information off of Wikipedia - I couldn’t tell you if that’s really true or not because dude is so British that I couldn’t understand a word he said. That to say, I really didn’t hate it. The narration didn’t break up the flow as much as I thought it would, and while I didn’t know what was going on, I still found it kind of a vibe… I think? The jury’s still out on exactly how I feel about this album, but I can certainly say it was a unique experience for sure. It’s the kind of thing I feel like I could enjoy or hate depending on my mood when listening… or perhaps level of sobriety. I’m struggling with a rating because of that, but a 3 feels pretty safe for the time being.

This is so aggravating! Starts off with some good music. Then before I knew it, it turns out this is a concept album full of spoken word fairy tale and its accompanying songs. Turns into almost kids music/ that 60s ren faire mood at times. But the instrumental work is excellent so it’s very frustrating. Based on the instrumental tracks, and the track Afterglow, I know they could make a five star album. Wikipedia says this is their only concept album. I’m going to check out their other stuff. I suspect Small Faces is going to join Beyoncé on my personal list of artists where the wrong album was included in this book.

Pretty Solid 60's rock. sad I never knew about these guys prior really well produced and played and some catchy songs. A little anachronistic but the charm is that it feels like all the best parts of that decade's psychedelic and pop / folk rock

Nut Gone(a) listen to this one again

Day452 - i’m getting a bit worn out on all these weird sixties british rock albums. i like what came out of the small faces just not them together

Väldigt brittiskt, lite rock inslag, lite annat. Helt ok

I'm not gonna lie, the first track had me thinking this was gonna be run of the mill three outta five stuff, but by the third track I knew I was mistaken. The lead vocalist has simply put the bristishest accent, soundin like Pinky almost at points. The bass was funkin. The guitar was rippin. The skits were scattin. Great 60s album.

This album was great. It felt like a medieval fantasy twist on Pink Floyd. Guess that's the best way I can describe it. Such a unique sound that I enjoyed a lot. I'm not usually a big fan of dialogue skits in songs, but the ones presented in this album were good. Genuinely don't feel like I could compare this to anything to which I've ever listened. Great experience.

These guys got so close to making good music. For the 1960s, these guys do sound very modern. The story book narrating was really annoying and ruined what could have been a couple good tracks. Love the drums in a few.

Meh

Idk man this album is kind of annoying. It just feels like cheap ripoff of similar music at the time and the interludes make me wanna rip my ears off 3/10 Favourite: None Least Favourite: Happiness Stan

I had no idea what to expect on this one, and I have to say I really liked it. Great listen, and the concept story was certainly something different.

A bit weird but OK

I have never really got this album. On the A-side there are some strong tracks - particularly Afterglow - but then it all gets a bit silly. I really like the organ led rocky bits but find Steve Marriots vocals annoying and the whole concept album a bit tiring.

Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake Despite being a big fan of Small Faces for numerous reasons they never really managed to make one consistently good, solid album and their discography is a bit all over this place with UK and US versions mashing things together. And this one is a funny one too, one side feeling a bit like a collection of r’n’b-blues-psychedelia and music hall odds and sods (albeit with some excellent songs), and then the other side a fairy tale concept album, (again with some great songs). But I always wished they’d either done the whole album around the concept of Happiness Stan and incorporated things like Long Ago and Worlds Apart, Song of a Baker, Lazy Sunday and Afterglow into it, or done an album of standalone tracks with those songs and Rollin’ Over I love Ronnie’s bass sound on the title track and it’s an excellent swirling bluesy psychedelic instrumental. Afterglow is superb, up there with Tin Soldier as a brilliantly strained r’n’b/rock’n’roll song. Long Ago and Worlds Apart is a nicely atmospheric psychedelic jam with some r’n’b touches. Rene takes the cockney knees up of Lazy Sunday too far, it’s not a pleasant listen. Song of a Baker is one of those great punchy, muscularly soulful SF rock songs and surely the template for much of Moseley Shoals. Lazy Sunday I oscillate on, sometimes I find it charming and at other times too trite. I love the Stanley Unwin interlocutions, and the story Happiness Stan is a classic bit of 60s psychedelic concept and it’s nicely told via Stanley Unwin and the suite of songs. Happiness Stan itself is the kind of easily parodied 60s track, but the remaining tracks are great. Rollin’ Over is an excellent, grooving track and The Hungry Intruder is nice in a pseudo-fantastical way with some nice flute. The Journey is fine, but Mad John is excellent in a dramatic semi-folky way before more Cockney knees up on the last track. Overall a bit of a mixed bag, a slightly mismatched collection of songs and themes masquerading as an album, but it has some really excellent songs in Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake, Afterglow, Long Agos and Worlds Apart, Song of a Baker, Rollin’ Over and Mad John and a pleasingly 60s concept on the 2nd side. Between 3 and 4 again, and again I’ll tip into 4, mainly for sentimental reasons. 🔩🔩🔩🔩 Playlist submission: Afterglow Fun fact, I once had an email correspondence with Ian McLagan after he put his email address in the back of his autobiography back in the early 2000s. Simpler times

I'm loathe to give it a middle of the road three. It doesn't deserve that. It deserves something either below or above - cos this is anything but run of the mill. I find it quite a confused attempt at a concept album - Marriott was gravitating to blues rock and the pull here is clear, but he's still trapped in psychedelia. It's crackers. Maybe one day the haphazard charm will dawn on me but for now, not. Except for the cockney knees up numbers which Marriott didn't really like, but are the easy standouts.

60’s band, 60’s music. Only one real hit.

I liked the music, not sure the concept on side 2 really worked though.

2.5 stars, it wasn’t bad, it was totally fine. But nothing memorable for me.

I don’t think so buddy. It’s just odd and not quite what I’m looking for in an album right now.

Unknown band. For me, run of the mill boring Rock and Roll. I didn't connect.

Kinda cool, pretty mid tho

Never heard of this and it was very cool! :) :)

How did this album make it onto the top 1001 albums of all time? I want to see the underlying data.

Wow. Hated this

A few decent songs. A little too derrrpy for me.

Agree with Sean, too much kookiness — I was thinking I would give this a two, but then a few good sixties songs changed my mind. The voiced lines and recordings talks (like a lot of those 90s rap albums) were silly and annoying

Tough one to rate. On the one hand, I really do enjoy the music, especially the first half. On the other, the “storybook” portion of the album felt very half-baked. Conceptually, I like the storybook concept a lot. However, I was pretty confused when the story portion started as it seemingly came out of nowhere. However, having looked into the original track listing, I see that it was side B of the record, so I guess it’s more of a modern issue of streaming. That said, I still think that to properly accomplish what they were going for, the Happiness Stan story should have been it’s own (probably more fleshed out) project. To that point, the story itself doesn’t really make any sense. There isn’t much impetus, the action doesn’t ever really rise, and the resolution is hardly satisfying. This is all compounded by the fact that the narrator is hardly intelligible, even when reading the lyrics. I realize this isn’t an English assignment, but it would be nice to be given a reason to care about the story. The music throughout is definitely the star of the show. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half and we were well on our way to 4land, or day I say even 5ville, before the break. Some fun early psych rock mixed with that classic 60s British sound almost in the vein of Sgt Pepper himself. The music on its own I think would have made for a great album although I guess some of it wouldn’t have made much sense without the narration. Overall, I think I would give this a 2.5. Strangely enough, if the two sides had been split, I might just rate both of them more highly than the sum. For sure the first half. I just don’t think it comes across as a cohesive album. This is definitely the most I’ve thought about one of these albums in awhile so I suppose it does belong on the list.

huh, ok these boys swung for the fences. Lot a respect and a fair amount of enjoyment. Love the experiments and the jabberwocky ass made up language fairy tail b-side. This one will likely need a bit more exploration before it clicks much, but I'm glad I heard it.

You know what these fellas ain't too bad

Fun concept, but alright over all.

Pretty good for a lazy Sunday afternon

The Small Faces' "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" is an example of how a concept can become confusing in the worst way. The attempt to intertwine stories and sounds results in a messy, uncohesive work that gets lost in its own ambitions. In the end, the album reveals itself to be pure shit, leaving a feeling of frustration rather than entertainment.

This was weird, but somehow I recognized some songs?

Actually really enjoyed this!

Surprisingly enjoyable. 7/10

Good, liked it.

1.5

The LSD has already hit. That’s what I do every morning (at work) while I write reviews. Extreme quantities of psychedelics. I have now hallucinated a band that is actually a chewing tobacco company. This is a world where tobacco companies are not evil. Or are they? The album name is just a bunch of words placed in a nonsense order. Far out. Pretty cool start. The vocals are always the scariest part of any new album, so we await their arrival, but this was lush, odd and pretty fun. And they’ve arrived. They’re fine. This was fine. Interesting and psychedelic, but nothing to start penning a letter home about. The inkwell beckons. Pretty cool stuff. I don’t know why the lyrics are being explained by Spotify. Apparently this is a song about a dockyard sex worker. It’s so weird that I like it. This one is a little less fiery but it’s by no means bad. This is veering more towards the bad. This sounds like Geddy Lee in hospice care after frying his brain with a bad batch of acid. Gone the way of Syd Barrett, may he rest in peace. Interesting to be sure, but not something I’d return to. Bewildered octopi dance upon a spooned custard crème. Unbeknownst to their choreographer (hog in a scuba suit) is the looming tablecloth taking shape as a deity behind their makeshift studio. Awaken to tea and crumpets, always time for tea, always time for tea. The tea is the ocean that we all imagine in the gable of the hog and the octopi. Oh fabulous day. Kind of a boring rock song. I don’t think I speak English. Either that or I’ve had a stroke. I am banned from several McDonald’s establishments and I am also known as the Hungry Intruder. I am spoken of in hushed tones by frightened fry cooks. Look to the skies oh stoned teenagers, and guard those fries with your life. This is so cool. The lyrics are great when decipherable. The tones are so cool. I’m not mad at John’s I mean this story is giving me a run for my money in nonsense. In fact, it’s blowing me out of the water. I would have to be blitzed out of my mind and English. I shudder to think. Oh. Well. Not the greatest closer. A strange way to end in that it wasn’t all that strange. My eyes expand into blooming orchids opening and closing as the cycle of life and death. Over and over with each blink. Kaleidoscopic spiralling, rods and cones palpable with tactility. The full embodiment of human feeling. Yeah this thing was weird and I really like that. It was fun, innocent, bizarre, and ultimately extremely interesting. Musically it didn’t blow me away or anything, but the ambition and likability throw this one into replay territory. Close your eyes and embrace the fly. Shout out to Mad John and Happiness Stan. The true OG’s of spiked chewing tobacco. 3.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Long Agos and Worlds Apart, Rene, Happiness Stan, The Journey

9/10

Um bom álbum de rock. Começa muito bem com Ogdens Nut Gone Flake e mantem boa parte do inicio do album. Mas no meio para o final vai me perdendo. Acho que termina bem em Happydaystoytown. Cheguei a ouvir mais algumas faixas bonus e são bem legais.

eu AMO descobrir música boa. que álbum legal!!!! a primeira parte mais focada em diversos gêneros tem uma vibe muito boa e a segunda parte, com a narração intercalada com as músicas, é EXCEPCIONAL!!! É psicodélico, é divertido e é até meio Beatles na fase pós-rubber soul (pode ser a razão pelo qual eu gostei tanto desse aqui) eu adoro álbuns conceituais e esse não seria a exceção. Eu vou dar 4, mas é na intenção de dar 4,5!!!!!

Well that was…um…something.

This sounds like a parody of a 60’d Brit rock album.

Great, just what this list needed, more British music. I liked a couple songs enough until they would do a spoken part and that accent is so grating and annoyingly whimsical to me I had to dock it a star. I was familiar with the song Get Yourself Together by this band. Why can't whatever album that is on be on this list instead? This ended up sounding like a children's story turned into an album. Had to dock it another star after the last song, which sounded like a kid's commercial. What the hell did I just listen to.

Cool experience.

The first half was great. I've never taken psychadelics, but if I did I think the world would sound like the narrator on the second half of the album. Very interesting.

Why, why. Half your album is the last talky song. Should not be on this list.

Talking can be useful in songs or an album but it wasn’t here

As I quite like psychedelic rock, I liked this album quite a bit. It was quite the adventure and was certainly unique. Sure the 19 minute song is an odyssey, but it was a fun and unique story. Loved the instruments and the way they played. There was one small part in the “Happiness Stan” song where the dude singing sounded like John Fogerty which I thought was funky.

opening track was good & I felt optimistic about rest of album.... then the weird spoken word/story started....and continued through rest of album. shame since the music was ok

Banging opener track, everything else is weaker

Nice one, maybe not super-essential, but nice.

Annoying, neurotic, quirky, boring, unrelentingly British

Hammer Album. Ich hab mich ab dem ersten Song darin verliebt. Man merkt den Geist der Zeit. Dreckige Gitarren Sounds, das Experimentieren mit starken Stereo Effekten, schäppernde Drums und kraftvolle Gesänge. Das ganze gemischt mit dem hippi-trippy Zeitgeist, der sich bei Mad John oder The Journey in Form eines Narrators zeigt. Dieses Album werde ich mir bestimmt auf Platte kaufen.

Wieder ein Gute-Laune-Album. Definitiv trippy und psychedelisch mit einer witzigen Geschichte als Konzept. Die Sounds laden zum Tagträumen ein. Die Musik erinnert mich an einen schönen Sommertag, wenn man Urlaub hat und absolut nichts zu tun. Man kann einfach in den Tag hinein leben. Genau dann sollte man dieses Album hören! „Afterglow of your love“ ist mein Favorit, aber die Wahl war schwierig! „Song of a Baker“ ist auch großartig. :) verdiente 5/5

Odd and engaging. Particularly loved the little storybook stings between songs. It was fine.

60s rock and concept albums, man... Why? The band would go on a near 10 year hiatus after this so it doesn't really bode well, does it? So this led to 3/4 of the band joining Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood for some seriously dirty rock and roll via the Faces band, so not all bad.

Never heard of this band or album (or even the product the title is referencing) until now, but I'm glad it's in the 1001 albums list/project so I could experience it. I like the songs, the spoken word parts amused me, and my lack of expectations benefitted it. It's clearly a late 1960s record, and I mean that in a complimentary way. I'll be listening to it again, and will likely dig into their other albums soon.

Solid psychedelia. I enjoyed Lazy Sunday the most

2.7 2x

I wish all my audiobooks were translated into something more likewikey this’ll dum

-this was an interesting experience… the concept album / spoken word aspects were a bit corny and kinda took away from the experience at times but ig that’s the point -quite a few great songs in here though. the guitar sound and vocals compliment each other VERY well -Favorites are Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake, Song of a Baker, and Rollin’ Over

I am forever changed.

The first half of this I thought was pretty good. The second half is such absolute shite that I can’t even consider giving this album above a 2. Concept albums aren’t for everyone guys and that’s ok. Favorites were Afterglow, Song Of A Baker, and Lazy Sunday.

Why Lazy Sunday kinda GOAT'ed tho

As a big fan of psychedelic rock, I thought I'd be all over Ogden's Nut Gone Flake—but nah. This one just didn’t hit for me. The concept is weird in a not-fun way, and the whole thing felt more gimmicky than groovy. That spoken-word fairy tale stuff in the second half? Borderline unbearable. I get that the Small Faces were trying something different here, but it didn’t land. It has a few cool musical moments, but most of the time I felt like I was waiting for it to be over. One of the few psychedelic rock albums I don’t see myself revisiting.

2.5 rounded up

Thoughts before listening: I don't know much about the Small Faces. My understanding is that they are somehow related to the Faces, which is a band I really like, but I am not sure what the connection is. If they are Faces adjacent I'd assume this will be fun, raucous, bluesy rock music. Review: This is not what I expected. This isn't bluesy pub rock, but instead reminds me more of the Kinks or maybe the Who. Whimsical pop rock ditties is how I would describe this...and very British sounding. It's interesting for sure and a few songs definitely stand out ("Afterglow", "Song of a Baker", and "Lazy Sunday"), but there is a lot of filler including some spoken word storytelling that is pretty annoying. 3-stars

Weird at times. Mediocre Brit rock at best.

2.5

Album 681 of 1001 Small Faces - Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (1968) Rating : 3 / 5 A psychedelic rock concept album that tells the story of a character named Happiness Stan. I wanted to like this more than I did. Perhaps another listen in the future.

...

VERY DANK

60s psycho rock

The parts where they actually played music were ok.

Nice slice of 60s pop. Well-loved album, which makes a lot of good moves in the right places. Plus! Sir Stanley Unwin! How can you not love it...?

++: Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake, Rene, Lazy Sunday, Rollin' Over +: Afterglow, Long Agos and Worlds Apart, The Hungry Intruder, The Journey, Mad John, HappyDaysToyTown +-: Song of A Baker, Happiness Stan 6,0/10

My reaction on the first listen through was that it was a bit hit and miss. A weird amalgamation of psychedelia and comedy. On the second listen through I realised that it isn't, it's just that I have been conditioned to hear that accent as comedy through consuming British media.

A classic rock band Quality musicianship And soaring vocals

This was a really fun and quirky kinda album. Doesn't overstay it's welcome. I enjoyed it, solid 3.5

Starts ok with some promise but soon runs out of steam

Nah not the bits of the 60’s I like 2/5

2/10 Si porta malissimo questi 57 anni sto album, per quanto capisco che per l'epoca potesse essere considerato avanguardia o interessante

More English guys who think they're so clever and charming but really are just irritants.

Good solid rock, could do without the spoken word parts. A great bolshy banda, but slooshing to too much of those warbles reminds me too much of Nadsat. Too bezoomny for me.

Had I lived in the UK in 1968, I probably would’ve found this a side-splitting parody of commercialism and the cynical downplaying of the health effects of tobacco or some such thing. Without that context, though, I only found it mildly amusing. The music was good with several elements that can be heard in other bands of the era including Cream, The Who, and the Stones.

They had me with their psychedelic rock right up until the last song, and then they completely lost me.

I don't know what to do with this.

Aggressively British album. It was OK.

You lost it from the cover

narrating the album is the olden day's SZA voice notes

it’s giving Monty Python: the silly british-isms, the narrator, the lyric “life is just a bowl of all-bran”

After a real knock-out of an opening track, the band reveal themselves to be a troop of jolly gnomes with a real affinity for psychedelics, folk tales and the Kinks. The unabashed whimsy that follows has the potential to kindle even the most jaded of hearts.

Huge fan of obnoxiously British concept albums that are stacked with drumfills and quick changes. A breeze to get through so I will need to listen again

I get the feeling it is on the list only for its origin piece for many musicians. It sounds very pub drinking songs.

There are some great tracks on this album, several of which, in my view, place it ahead of its time. Unfortunately the Leywin Unstan nonfasticle storyloring ruined it for me, otherwise it may well have been a five-stardangly additional in my libricle Tidalyprick.

Well that sure was weird. Some interesting sounds here, but also some weird mixing decisions—I often felt like the melody was way too low in the mix. And then the last song was more tedious than anything. Best song: Lazy Sunday

Did not click at all with this one. IMO, it drags some of the worst features on the "post Sgt. Peppers" trend in classic rock.

Enjoyable 60s nonsense

Enjoyed this album that I never heard before. Many really nice songs.

meh

Classic

2 stars for a very dated '60's album that I've not heard in many a long year & another for the incomparable Professor Unley Stanwin

Mediocre hippie stuff that doesn‘t belong on the list

Trevlig 60-talsmusik med lite Beatles-känsla.

Great, upbeat album. Loved the vocals and how well suited the different singing styles were to each song. Guitars and drums on this record were great

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 Rating: ☆ ☆ Stand Out Songs: 6. Lazy Sunday Wasn't into this album at all.. like at all. The thought of listening to it actually annoyed me. Come to find out this album is kind of the grandfather to Park Life by Blur it makes sense because I was noooot into that album either. Maybe I have something major against British mild rock but I probably won't give this another listen.

Ok I’m alittle biased because I adore psychedelic rock/metal, those are probably my favorite genres. And while this is a very early psychedelic rock album, it genuinely holds up today. It is not very heavy or dark, but it’s whimsical and free sounding. Obviously with psychedelic rock you get a healthy dose of crazy good instrumentation and that is no different here. Overall I thought the album was a great hidden gem that I had never heard of before and now I have a brand new artist for myself to look into. Idk if there were enough like “hits” on this album to give it a perfect 5 but this is definitely an above average 4.

Meh, i did not care for this album

There’s maybe one great psych rock song on here, followed by some not great psych rock songs, followed by an obnoxiously narrated fairytale supported by some more not great psych rock songs. Maybe play this for your kids if they’re having trouble sleeping.

I knew Ian so it’s a solid5

Terrible

Great blend of different 60 rock styles. Quite adventurous for the time. Really started a trend of "concept albums" (no sgt pepper does not count as a concept album). Ambitious and executed quite well, especially considering their previous output was a bit more unspectacular.

Never heard of this band, never heard of this album, really gave it a chance because I love psychedelia... this one's not it. If I were to only listen to the A-side I would say it's decent, but the B-side just strangles all of the momentum the album had built up to that point. The album just decides to have a concept halfway and the concept is presented poorly; the spoken word parts made me cringe pretty hard and the music, while solid, is definitely not good enough for me to forgive them. This album tries to be way too quirky for its own good. Best: Afterglow (Of Your Love), Song Of A Baker, Lazy Sunday; Worst: B-side 2/5

Very nice!

2/5

Never heard it before. It’s ok

Well now, THAT was blooming’ weird. I’m not saying that I’m mad with the album but I’m also not mad for it, either. It did feel like two halves of an album shotgunned together - Dr Jekyll was a psychedelic trip with an R&B filter and Mr Hyde was a concept album featuring a mod comic with a whackadoodle fake language. It’s not one star but it’s not much better and since I can’t score it one and a half, I shall be cruel.

Not good, not bad.

On the weird side but a concept album should be. May not reach for it again but there's good tracks and a good idea here

Peak 60s British psychedlic rock. Slightly mad but an enjoyable listen

One thing this project has done is made me appreciate clean and clear lyrics. I dug the music but couldn’t understand a word. And the narration was no help at all.

Beetje "middle of the road" muziek. Lekker relaxt en prima voor de achtergrond tijdens werkuren. Melodie en zang zijn goed en het is lekker vrolijk. Toch blinkt er geen nummer echt uit voor mij. ***

This is not my favorite era of rock, but I really liked it. The band and their music is quite charismatic.

This is pretty fantastic, can't believe I've never heard of it before.

Delightfully silly. like he best soundtrack ever for a children's show. Still catchy and pretty.

Fun but nothing overly exciting

Probably between the walnut and the peanut in the hierarchy of nuts

Is it possible to be too British and too whimsical? Yes. Yes it is.

You have to embrace unreasonable amounts of Britishness to make it through this record. Luckily for me I accepted it right away and rode with it. I guess you either find it hilarious and brilliant or incredibly stupid.

What a strange ride. The second half of the album reminded me of Monty Python but not in a humorous way - just offbeat. Very weird but I kind of like it. I’ll never listen to it again but I am glad I heard it.

Okay album, pretty relaxing and fun music. Few nice guitar solos, interesting themes, overall good record.

Gear: Abyss DIANA MR Artwork: 🚬🌞🌻 Production: 🔊🥴🔊 Music: 🌈🌀🥴 Rating: 🌞🌞🌞/5

This was kinda fun.

My prayers were answered with this album appearing on my list after a long period of mediocre ones been served up. The first thing I’ll say about this album is that I will be forever regretful that I never bought it on release when it was offered in the round tin box format. In fact I never bought it all until recently on CD when I decided that it was a must have album of significant historical music value. Despite not having the album myself for many years I liked and was familiar with its contents. Importantly the Small Faces in this configuration were made up of four very talented musicians who were in the late 60’s were pushing the boundaries of music. Sadly two of these died very young. Ronnie Lane died of MS like my own brother so I know what he went through and feel a connection there. Steve Marriot was to me the UK’s Roger McGuinn super cool looking and someone a young lad like me would idolise. As for the music on this album I can understand how it divides people. Whilst there some big hits on it and well known the second side in particular throws up a lot of challenges. The album deserves a lot of repeated listening to discover a lot of its beauty. I think I might have been influenced in liking this album due to the appearance of Stanley Unwin on it. My dad loved Stanley who was one of his favourite comics and I can still see him now, laughing at his comical use of the English language. I think you need to be of a certain age to understand and appreciate this but I’m so glad for my dads sake that Stanley is immortalised on this album and because of this he will come to the attention of future generations. This album included my favourite track Song of a Baker and I remember them playing this on a BBC2 programme called Colour Me Pop. This was such a strong performance of that song. So much so that it is often repeated as an example of what was so good about UK rock in the late 60’s. A great album by a great group who showed their greatness by morphing into the supergroup Humble Pie and of course been at the start of Rod Sewart’s career. 5/5 18/12/24

First half of pretty standard 60s rock n roll tunes, then the second half turns into a psychadelia story-tale with The Secret Service man. Still pretty good though.

I was all set to groove to Rod Stewart’s iconic raspy voice when I hit play on this album, but turns out I had The Faces and The Small Faces mixed up! The album is packed with guitar riffs and jams, which might be a bit much for those who prefer a bit more substance (in general, I do). However, “Lazy Sunday” was a delightful surprise, and it’s the only track I’d heard before. If you’re into guitar-heavy tunes, this might be your jam, but for me, it’s a one-time listen.

first listen good music broken up by too much spoken word and a terrible mix in both mono and stereo

I've heard of Small Faces before, but I've never heard any of their music. I know a couple of Faces songs, but from what I've read, Faces' work is a bit different than this album, so I'm not sure what I'm about to be in for. Sixties psychedelic music has been pretty hit-or-miss with me over the course of the 660-plus albums I've reviewed so far, so it's anyone's guess as to how this will go! As a note, I'll be listening to the stereo version of this album. I thought this album started off with a bang. I loved the instrumentals of the title track, especially the hammond organ playing. The string section was great too, and it felt like this song was really building up to something with a sense of urgency. The rest of the first side of the album was good too. While I enjoyed the psychedelic-infused sound, I didn't find anything incredibly noteworthy about it, and I missed the richness of the opening track. I wasn't a big fan of the vocals either, but the album definitely had a very British feel to it. The piano and organ playing were definitely highlights of the first side of the album. The second side of the album was quite an adventure. The story of Happiness Stan was interesting, and definitely quite different. Having narration of this story that spanned the second side of the album was an interesting choice, and I was surprised that I wasn't completely put off by the narrator's use of nonsensical words. Somehow, it managed to fit in pretty well. The instrumentation was pretty good on the second side of the album, and I enjoyed the more upbeat sound. Nothing really stood out, but it was nice enough to listen to. Overall, I'd have to say that this album was fine. It's definitely a different slice of sixties psychedelic music, but while it's not really my cup of tea, I applaud the band's vision and willingness to push boundaries.

This feels like a bit of a strange one. It's competent enough, but I didn't really find it that engaging. It just kind of floated along. From a production point of view it sounds really wishy-washy and kind of far away which doesn't help. I'm not massively on-board with the comedy and twee elements. That's always a turn-off. And then side note: I realise I knew Lazy Sunday already, so that's always nice to connect the dots with something from my past. 2.5 rounded up.

Maybe it's because the only version I could find was in Mono, but this really felt like a very bland album

Probably fun to listen to if you really listen, but I was too distracted for it to be a background thing.

Jumping back into this after a long time out. I don't see a place to rate this album...maybe that part of this has changed? This album is okay, but not something I'd come back to.

A bit of a curiosity this album; one of a number of concept albums released around the late 60s. Not sure it hangs together that well, and the Stanley Unwin bits are just odd. it's also a very English album in the sense that, as with the Kinks, it mixes whimsical and music hall type tunes with psychedelia. Lazy Sunday is a classic but otherwise it has not dated that well.

60s psych rock done right. The organ in the title track is INCREDIBLE, and it perfectly sets the stage for the show to come. There are some psychedelic jams here that fly up and away, but unlike, say, Pink Floyd's debut, there's seems to be more of a deep grounding in pop. This defines the first half. Now, when I first listened through the second half of the album, I found it a bit irritating. But listening to it again, I embraced the whimsy and the jabberwocky, and I actually found the narration stops juuuust before the line of being excessive. Excellent, and something I'll listen to again. Fav tracks: Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake, Afterglow, Long Agos and Worlds Apart

Droplets of fun scattered in the pond of tedium

New to me - very solid late 60's rock. Enjoyable not necessarily memorable.

This was fun, but a little one-note for me and I was a little tired of the vibe by the end. Four stars.

If it rocks out more, it would have been passable. But the interludes that were trying to be funny fall flat. Monty Python they are not.

p148. 1968. 1 star. Self indulgent, pretentious, drug-addled crap. I cannot be doing with the bloody awful Cockernee music hall numbers or Stanley Unwin's gibberish. "I'll sing you a song with no words and no tune (twiddly-bey)/To sing on your khazi while you suss out the moon, oh yeah". FFS

This was definitely different. I think this was interesting because of the narrator aspect along with story telling, but as a completely opinion based pov I just didn’t like it. The music style is not something I find interesting and it was just silly.

I always thought I'd been familiar with this but apparently I've just heard *of* it .... because I'd have remembered. This is some weird shit. Someone here before me said this is like Monty Python meets early Pink Floyd which is brilliant and I don't disagree but ... I kind of like it...? That's probably more descriptive of the 2nd side/half which is the "conceptual" part - the first half is a bit more straightforward (at least up until "Lazy Sunday) if late-60s almost-psychedelic but a bit more rock-oriented. But that 2nd part becomes almost meta-1960s British whimsical rock. Cockney narration...a bit more Kinks and Beatles-lite with a dash of mod-Who without the violence. Thinking halfway between 3 and 4 but it kinda made me happy this morning so giving it the generous 4 bc why not - I could listen to this again. 7/10 4 stars.

what did you just call me

Uno de los LPs más decepcionantes que he escuchado de esta lista. Si bien Small Faces parte de buena forma este trabajo, con guitarras sumamente potentes y baterías energéticas, hacia poco menos de la mitad del trabajo, "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" se transforma en una obra de teatro radial con altas y bajos (más bajos que altos). Si bien el trabajo dura poco más de 40 minutos, se siente mucho más largo, algo que es inaceptable, ya que esto se traduce a que el disco es simplemente aburrido. No lo escuche, no sé por qué esto está en la lista.

Fun start! Not bad, but dated.

This is an odd mixture of great psychedelic rock and garden gnome tales… I like the psychedelic rock type songs the most.

I liked the sounds in this. I will need to listen again to hear the concept album portion where he befriends a horsefly.

I love The Small Faces and they should be included on the 1001 list, but this is not the album. It's got a couple good tracks, but is not a must listen. I feel some albums are here just to bring attention to the artist and not necessarily for the record. Go listen to their self titled first album.

The first half was better than I was hoping. The back half was interesting, but a lot of narration for a rock album.

This was a bit weird, but I liked the music, and bonus points for seeming like they had a great time making this album. Great album name.

There is a weird nonsensical story in the back half of the album that I found annoying at first. But it kind of grew on me and brought this up from a middling 3 star to a low 4 star for me.

Good, enjoyable, of the time. Nothing new to tell but fine for in the background. I guess I did like the monologue snippets

Some frankly incredible psychedelic songs and some unimpressive ones. These highs and lows balances out to an album that's not bad, not great, just fairly good. Highlights are the opening title track, the Journey, and Lazy Sunday. Didn't care much for the storybook spoken word parts either.

So sure, the narrative as well as the "over the top Britishness" of the whole thing are a black mark of course. But musically, and lyrically, this is as good as 60s British psych gets

It's pretty versatile and that's a pro. A con is I was driving when I listened to it and I almost fell asleep. That's a con.

Classic album of a great band despite the spoken word passages.

I appreciated the musical quality, but wasn't enjoying this as much as a concept album. Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for this style, in either of the two listens I gave it.

The songs are largely of high quality but I don't like the cheesy story-telling in the second half.

Wasn't particularly impressed.

Jaha..helt ok. Första låten är ju väldigt känslomässigt kopplad till första trailern för gta v. Minns det som igår! I övrigt. Samma lull som många andra 60-talsskivor. Lite tjatigt med berättelsen som ligger insprängd mot slutet av skivan. De tyckte säkert det var asfräckt och lattjo. Men det blir vansinnigt tjatigt snabbt.

Nja. Några okej låtar men för mycket trams och tönterier. I synnerhet andra halvan drog ned betyget.

The first half is a pretty solid psych rock / pop album, and the second half is an absurd fairy tale concept album with narrated sections full of nonsense words. I love a bit of dumb fun and really enjoyed this, although I don't think I will listen to it again.

Ok. Not great. Happy if I didn't hear this clown show again. Not worth the effort of a decent opinion. Two stars.

Meh

Starts out fine but the gets weird

Typical late 60's Brit pop with an extra awful vocalist.

I had heard one of these songs before - Brian May covered Rollin' Over and apparently Smile did too in the early days before Queen - which was a nice surprise but otherwise I guess it's fine? A historical curiosity but to me nothing more.

How could they ruin that brilliant first half of swaggering late-60s psych rock with the frankly ridiculous story concept on the second half?! I kept coming back though, as the music itself is so good. Thankfully Spotify has a massive deluxe version with a superb stereo mix and some alternative takes, so you can virtually piece together everything that is awesome about this record without the nonsense mockney narration. On the one hand, what a shame they didn't just make that, take their 5⭐s and move on. But on the other hand, they clearly had this quirky idea, took a load of drugs and made something a bit different. Is it mad genius? Maybe. I have to take off a star as it's just so hard to enjoy side 2 in its original form. I'm really glad to have discovered it though; the title track, Afterglow and the single versions of The Journey and Mad John are all damn fine songs.

Rating: 2/10 First half is meh at best, second half is legitimately a 0/10. The narrator makes this unlistenable.

Het begint best veelbelovend, maar al vrij gauw merk je een bepaalde schijtlolligheid en dan is het de vraag hoeveel het in de weg gaat staan van de muziek. We hebben orgeltjes, wah-wah pedalen, de wonderlijke jaren '60, mensen die hun instrumenten prima beheersen, smaakvolle drumfills, een liefdevolle dwarsfluit... Alle ingrediënten voor een lekkere plaat zijn dus aanwezig. Maar dat hele 'we hebben drie keer geblowd en nu vinden we onszelf tering grappig' vind ik wel nadelig. Ik merk dat ze ermee wegkomen omdat de muziek tot aan het einde enorm interessant blijft. 'Song of a Baker' heeft een lekkere gitaarsolo en ook bij 'Happiness Stan' kun je buiten het gelul om enorm genieten van een stukje muzikaal geweld. En zo gebeuren er wel meer toffe muzikale dingen. Het helpt ook dat het qua productie enorm lekker klinkt, met name de instrumenten. Gelukkig gaan ze qua lolligheid niet veel verder dan een soort Monty Python modus en wordt het dus geen totale Zappaesque shitshow waar je totaal uitgeput raakt door de vele effecten. Een stukje Beatles hoor ik er als niet-Beatles-expert ook wel in terug, evenals een vleugje Led en een vleugje Zeppelin. Helemaal op het einde een soort Young Ones Living Doll prototype. Ik ga een bizarre keuze maken: Ik vind de muziek zo tof dat ik ondanks het schijtlollige gelul toch een 5 ga uitdelen. Ik kan er op één of andere manier tegen vandaag, ondanks of dankzij het gebrek aan slaap vannacht.

i like it. it's a bit weird and fun and fresh.

could i write poetry to this? n

A mostly solid album from what could be considered a British supergroup. Unfortunately, the record suffers from a hokey narrative concept. As with many concept albums of the time, the intermittent, more "theatrical" songs used as exposition are a waste of valuable vinyl space.

Probably a 2, but I'm feeling generous

That was pretty decent. I liked the first half better than when the way too British guy started being way too British.

Tried multiple listens, but couldn’t wrap my mind around this one. It probably would have had a higher rating on a different day.

What a strange album. I didn’t hate it, some tracks sounded like very early Bowie. Comically stupid and fun.

This was a weird one! Not quite good/funny enough to get me out of my post Trump funk, but ok! The spoken bits reminded me of the Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden

I feel like I could have guessed the year of this release first-try. "Default" 60's prog record. Like everybody else here says, first half is good but there is no excuse for the second half. As an album in whole, this is the rating it deserves. Had it been only the first half it would have been a 3 no doubt.

Sick

Didn't get to this on Friday so listening now. Spotify says they are the best English band ever to hit it big in America. Funny album name. The first track was instrumental so didn't really know what kind of music to expect here. The second track is cool. This album is 2hrs long! We'll see if I last that long. Yeah I can't do this for 2 hrs. I think I made it throuh 5/30 tracks lol 3 stars.

Started strong then wandered away. Everybody during this time, especially British bands, were trying to do a Sgt. Pepper.

Sort of a mix of led Zepplin and the Beatles 3.5 / 5.0

Remind me of the Kinks, very English. Not a lot of replayability value but good to have heard. Like it says on the cover of the book!

Lazy Sunday is the one track everybody knows. I knew of the Small Faces but somehow forgot that that track was by them. Oh my. The rest is more or less decent prog/psych rock. Not bad but nothing outstanding.

Man, hearing the title track instantly took me back to my days of playing Grand Theft Auto 5, as it was featured in the game's initial trailer and within the in-game radio itself. That's about the extent of my knowledge when it comes to this group, however. There's a pretty hearty psychedelic rock sound here, even more enhanced when listening to the stereo versions of each track on the album remaster. The album has two very distinct sides, with side one featuring your usual, eclectic psychedelic rock. Thick drums, distorted guitar, extended instrumental breaks, etc. Side two takes on a fairy tale-like concept whilst continuing to incorporate the aforementioned psychedelia. It honestly borders on silly and absurd at this point, with our "hero" embarking on a search for the other half of the moon with the help of a giant fly. I've heard other, equivalently weird prog rock though, so I guess I can't be too surprised. This album would've left a better impression on me if it had just consisted of side one to be honest. The stereo version of the opening track is like sex to your ears, a flagship representative of what instrumental psychedelic rock was all about. "Afterglow" and "Lazy Sunday" were good too. Side two could've probably been extended and made into its own album if the group really wanted to pursue that route.

i actually don't hate this, and i find side b especially whimsical and fun as an experience, but the music doesn't really hold up and i feel no pull toward individual songs. it is also frankly too british

Bland

A rather strange one, I like the Happiness Stan storyline! 4/10

This is #day76 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... this week the list seems to have gone sideways, offering entries from the 1960s to the early 1970s. Today's album could be a fun listen when you're hallucinating. But I am not. This was pretty boring as I was yawning during most of the record. And then, the storytelling started... Anyway, I wouldn't choose to listen to this ever again. Welcome to the company of 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day77.

Am I being generous by giving 3 stars? Or do they deserve better and I’m just biased against them for later recruiting Rod Stewart? I can’t tell but I’m ready to move on. Next!

A couple of good songs in Lazy Sunday and Afterglow but apart from that I really didnt understand the album at all. Lots of nonsense. Favourite song: Lazy Sunday Least favourite: All of the album Album artwork: Cool cover

Meh

Excessive Interludes lost a star.

Interesting beginnings for Small Faces. Very Brit early on

What in the actual f*ck did I just listen to? I kept waiting for Austin Powers to do a cameo. Certainly amusing. 3 stars just for the cheekiness.

Not terrible, but not really convincing either. It has some good songs.

I love when albums have totally nonsensical and ridiculous covers. I initially thought this was cut straight from the front of a cereal box. But the cover and title are actually a spoof on the tinned tobacco called Ogden’s Nut-brown Flake. Definitely a bold and unique move, and I think it sets the stage for the rest of what to expect. This album as a whole is ridiculous in every sense of the word. I’ve never heard of this group, but they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and were a huge part of the modernist subculture in 50s and 60s Great Britain. Now yes, this album is considered apart of the 60s wave of psychedelic music. But I believe it does more than enough to set itself apart from the rest. The two sides of the album are so separate in their own concepts that they really feel like two different projects. Side A explores the varied styles of the band themselves, but it all generally revolves around a 60s neo-psychedelic style. And it’s genuinely great. Pretty much every song is at least decent, and the true highlights are some of the best psych rock I’ve heard in a long time. Full of an energy that few bands were really displaying back then. I listened to the mono version, so I can’t speak for how the stereo version sounds in both channels, but the production felt a little rougher compared to other records around the same time period. Side B on the other hand still has that same psych sound, but delves more into a progressive rock kind of deal. This is where the concept part of the concept album comes through. It’s based around a fairy tale the members of the band created, and has narration done by Stanley Unwin. And this is where my issues with the album begin. This side is less maximally focused than the previous, and doesn’t shine as much. There are decent songs still, but the goofy comedic narration really throws things off. I’m scoring this the way I am because I think the first half is so strong, it’s fortunately not dragged down too much by the latter half. Rating: 6/10

Fuckin British people. Sigh.

Ugh. Didn't like this one at all.

Fine, I guess

It was fun psychedelic rock pop. Some fun stuff like the Kinks and Beatles obviously but I still think they sound distinct enough that I could pick them out. Ended up not saving too many songs but there were usually parts of each song that I enjoyed. Rating: 3.2

good background music

2.5

Nice album but its just that. I dont see anything special in this 1969 album. All that I hear had alredy been done before and they were just copying other bands and juat combining all. A few good songs but not great as an album.

I enjoyed listening to 'Lazy Sunday' again after a long time. Beyond that, I found the album rather boring. I probably won't listen to it again. 3/5

The Album opens with the title track which is a really great instrumental that I kind of wish would be the sound for the whole album. That's not to say the more weird British quirky and whimsical tracks are bad but the more psychedelic rock tracks are definitely better overall. It was SO close to being a 4 but it's just missing that extra something. That standout track or catchy riff or vocal line. Perhaps it's a little TOO weird and the spoken parts at the start of the tracks on the second half of the album spoil the flow. Glad I listened though and some very good songs to be found here.

This is the most English album (and English, not British) probably ever made. Maybe only The Kinks could rival that. I don't expect anyone outside England to understand what the hell is going on with this - from the light pop of Lazy Sunday to the great Stanley Unwin. It's delightful, bonkers and a pleasure to listen to. If you are English.

The front half contains some beautifully played psychedelia, whimsical and sweet. The back half is an oft-clumsy fairytale that still has some enjoyable moments (I already knew “Rollin’ Over” from the Brian May cover).

album tanto generico che l'ho ascoltato ieri mattina e non mi ricordo già più cos'ho ascoltato. però solito innocuo rock simil Beatles anni 60, quindi sempre gradevole.

This brand of 60’s “happy little trip” psychedelic rock just doesn’t do anything for me. I think you had to be there, but I wasn’t born until 24 years after this release.

Would have given it 5 starts if it didnt have all that weird story telling in between songs.

I like to think there are some old mods out there who agree with me that the Small Faces were well ahead of The Who at this point. Not as flashy or gimmicky visually. No smashed instruments, no flailing arms or swinging microphones but a much better singer and much better songs. Even their English psyche whimsy is better. Such a shame they didn't last.

Cool and funky album cover art, and weird name. Had some potential for sure, but felt a bit too quirky in a similar way like Pink Floyd's first album - not that great. Didn't really find any song I liked, most of it just felt like background noise.

Started good then gradually got worse. Some nice tunes at the start but then it became just plain weird. Was not a fan of having stories intertwined with my music. Like a mix of "Pink floyd", "Jimmi Hendrix" and "The Bonzo Dog Band". Still it was interesting but not great. Giving it a strong 2.

Boring tbh

The worse

Well maybe I was in a bad mood or something but the first few seconds of this album made me brace up - but it quickly won me over - besides having a few songs I was familiar with (particularly ‘Lazy Sunday’) I had never heard this one before. Which made the experience all the more enjoyable as while the first half is a bona fide good record section - when the narration starts it’s a delight - on paper it sounds like a bad idea but it actually makes this record special. The songs intertwine an absurdist fairy tale and you’re left actually wanting more. Quite a fun one this album.

yes

Good