In the long tail of the Sixties—after the wild-eyed psychedelia of Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake and just before the ashes settled on Immediate Records—there flickered a strange and melancholy light. That light was The Autumn Stone, a cobbled-together swansong of a compilation, originally released in 1969 with more enthusiasm than oversight. Now, over five decades later, Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones returns not only to clean house but to right a few historical wrongs. What emerges is more than a reissue—it’s a resurrection.

This new Autumn Stone—out via Immediate and Jones’ Nice Records—arrives as part of Immediate’s 60th anniversary and sets a very high bar. Offered in deluxe 3CD and 3LP formats (the latter a gold-and-autumn-coloured heavyweight vinyl set, capped at 3000 copies), this edition finally gives the material the sonic treatment, historical context and visual presentation it always deserved. Gone are the errors, mispressed sides, and criminal omission of the band’s name on the sleeve. In their place? Restored audio, unreleased tracks, lavish liner notes, and the first coherent picture of a band in creative transition.

The mythos around The Autumn Stone has always been messy—part best-of, part unfinished album, part contractual salve for a label in financial freefall. Immediate Records, flailing under legal costs and substance-fuelled chaos, had tried to package the birth, spring, summer and autumn of their biggest act into a double LP. But the result, rushed to market and hampered by distribution woes, barely made a ripple. No promotion, no tour, two unfinished sides, and a cover that forgot to name the band—what could go wrong?

Turns out, a lot. But buried within that mess was the embryo of something beautiful: not just a retrospective, but a glimpse at where the Small Faces could have gone had they stayed together.

Kenney Jones, now the last living Small Face, curates this edition with deep affection and rare clarity. He offers previously unreleased tracks, acoustic mixes, corrected live recordings, and a generous helping of alternate takes that showcase the band’s evolution. There’s material here from sessions intended for a new studio album that never was—tentatively titled 1862, inspired by a date Steve Marriott found scrawled on a cottage wall. Songs like ‘Donkey Rides’ and ‘Olympic Jam’ (the latter co-produced by Eddie Kramer) show the band tentatively merging folk and rock & roll, retreating from psychedelia toward something rootsier, warmer.

At the centre of it all stands the title track: The Autumn Stone. Once a forgotten gem—originally dubbed ‘Jenny’s Song’ and written by Marriott for his then-girlfriend Jenny Rylance—it’s now revealed as the band’s true curtain call. Dreamlike, acoustic, with a soul-baring Marriott vocal that feels both intimate and eternal, it has more in common with Nick Drake than the early Mod chaos of ‘Sha-La-La-La-Lee’. There’s no swagger here—just a wistful drift, the gentle brush of a harmonica, and a vocal echo that sounds like it’s slipping into memory.

Jones, in his sleevenotes, describes this period as one of “folk and rock & roll,” and you can hear the pivot. These aren’t the psych-cabaret capers of Ogdens; they’re songs of clarity and comedown, late-summer meditations from a band teetering on the edge of dissolution. And yet, they’re some of the finest things they ever recorded.

The expanded edition’s crown jewel is its sense of completeness. Live tracks from Newcastle (now corrected to the proper speed), acoustic cuts highlighting Marriott’s devastating vocal prowess, and selections from the aborted 1862 sessions add heft and coherence to what was once a scattergun compilation. The 68-page book is gorgeously assembled, featuring unseen images from Tony Gale and Gered Mankowitz, along with sketchbook material from Ian McLagan rediscovered by his son Lee. It feels less like a reissue and more like a long-lost scrapbook returned home.

And it couldn’t come at a better time. With Immediate Records being revived through a licensing deal with BMG, and a whole slate of anniversary releases on the way—Humble Pie, PP Arnold, The Nice and more—this Autumn Stone reissue is more than a standalone triumph. It’s a statement of intent. That the history of this label, and the brilliance of its most iconic band, will no longer be left to gather dust in second-hand racks and YouTube algorithms.

In short, The Autumn Stone now feels like the album it was always meant to be—not a posthumous sweep-up job, but a graceful, autumnal bow. It’s nostalgic, yes, but not morbidly so. It looks back with clarity and no small measure of soul. And it does what the best archival releases do: reframe the past in a way that makes the present richer.

SMALL FACES – ‘THE AUTUMN STONE’ 2025 TRACKLISTINGS;

3LP COLLECTORS’ EDITION BOX-SET

SIDE 1

Here Come the Nice (stereo)

The Autumn Stone (stereo)

Collibosher (stereo)
All Or Nothing (mono)

Red Balloon (stereo)

Lazy Sunday (stereo)

SIDE 2

Call It Something Nice (stereo)

I Can’t Make It (mono)

Afterglow (stereo)
Sha La La La Lee (mono)

The Universal (stereo)
I’m Only Dreaming (stereo)
Donkey Rides, A Penny A Glass (mono)

SIDE 3

Me You And Us Too (mono)
I Feel Much Better (stereo)
Olympic Jam (“one more!”) (stereo) Previously unreleased
Green Circles (mono)
My Mind’s Eye (mono)
Tin Soldier (mono)
Just Passing (mono)

SIDE 4

Itchycoo Park (stereo)
Don’t Burst My Bubble (stereo)
Get Yourself Together (stereo)
Hey Girl (mono)
Wide-Eyed Girl On The Wall (stereo)

Whatcha Gonna Do About It? (mono)

Wham, Bam, Thank You, Mam (mono)

SIDE 5
The Autumn Stone (stereo) * Previously unreleased version
Red Balloon (stereo) * Previously unreleased version
Things Are Going To Get Better (stereo) *

Show Me The Way (stereo) *
I Can’t Make It (stereo) *
Donkey Rides, A Penny A Glass (stereo) *

* Stripped-down acoustic mixes, previously unreleased on vinyl

SIDE 6
Rollin’ Over (Live) (stereo) **
If I Were a Carpenter (Live) (stereo) **
Every Little Bit Hurts (Live) (stereo) **
All Or Nothing (Live) (stereo) **
Tin Soldier (Live) (stereo) **

** Recorded live Newcastle City Hall 18 November 1968

3CD

CD 1

Here Come the Nice (stereo)

The Autumn Stone (stereo)

Collibosher (stereo)
All Or Nothing (mono)

Red Balloon (stereo)
Lazy Sunday (stereo)
Call It Something Nice (stereo)
I Can’t Make It (mono)
Afterglow (stereo)
Sha La La La Lee (mono)
The Universal (stereo)
I’m Only Dreaming (stereo)
Donkey Rides, A Penny A Glass (mono)

Me You And Us Too (mono)
I Feel Much Better (stereo)
Olympic Jam (“one more!”) (stereo) Previously unreleased
Green Circles (mono)
My Mind’s Eye (mono)
Tin Soldier (mono)
Just Passing (mono

CD 2

Itchycoo Park (stereo)

Don’t Burst My Bubble (stereo)

Get Yourself Together (stereo)

Hey Girl (mono)

Wide-Eyed Girl On The Wall (stereo)

Whatcha Gonna Do About It? (mono)

Wham, Bam, Thank You, Mam (mono)

The Autumn Stone (stereo) * Previously unreleased version

Red Balloon (stereo) * Previously unreleased version

Things Are Going To Get Better (stereo) *

Show Me The Way (stereo) *
I Can’t Make It (stereo) *
Donkey Rides, A Penny A Glass (stereo) *

* Stripped-down acoustic mixes, previously only available on ‘Here Come The Nice – The Immediate Years’ limited edition CD boxset (except tracks 8 & 9, previously unreleased)

Rollin’ Over (Live) **

If I Were a Carpenter (Live) **

Every Little Bit Hurts (Live) **

All Or Nothing (Live) **

Tin Soldier (Live) **

** Recorded live at Newcastle City Hall 18 November 1968

CD 3 – THE AUTUMN STONE 1969

Here Come the Nice (stereo)
The Autumn Stone (stereo)
Collibosher (stereo)
All Or Nothing (The Autumn Stone 1969 version) (mono)

Red Balloon (stereo)

Lazy Sunday (stereo)
Call It Something Nice (stereo)
I Can’t Make It (The Autumn Stone 1969 version) (mono)
Afterglow (stereo)
Sha La La La Lee (mono)
The Universal (stereo)
Rollin’ Over (Live) (stereo) **
If I Were a Carpenter (Live) (stereo) **
Every Little Bit Hurts (Live) (stereo) **
My Mind’s Eye (The Autumn Stone 1969 version) (mono)
Tin Soldier (mono)
Just Passing (The Autumn Stone 1969 version) (mono)

Itchycoo Park (stereo)
Hey Girl (The Autumn Stone 1969 version) (mono)
Wide-Eyed Girl On The Wall (stereo)
Whatcha Gonna Do About It? (The Autumn Stone 1969 version)

Wham, Bam, Thank You, Mam (mono)

www.thesmallfaces.comAvailable for purchase here

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