I find it's a fantastic album! It doesn't have a hit like Fantasy, Shining Star or Boogie Wonderland... but almost every song is great!

I especially like "Win Or Lose". Philip Baily is god!!!

...

I think that if it pales, it's only in comparison to the incredibly high standards they set with their earlier albums-- for most other groups it'd be a masterpiece....

It's funny though, I really love Faces now, much more than when it was initially released!

My favorites are Share Your Love, Turn It Into Something Good, Sailaway, Take It To The Sky, and You....





...
[Edited 9/21/08 13:38pm]

paligap said:

It's okay,but I think too many tracks sound alike.Since it's a 2-record set,there should be more variety and styles.But when it's good,it's very good.My favorites are...

"Back On The Road"
"Song In My Heart"
"And Love Goes On"
"Sailaway"
"Win Or Lose"
"Share Your Love"
"Faces"

SoulAlive said:

The only song I really don't like on the album is "Back On The Road"...what, they forgot that Chicago already did "Saturday In The Park"?????,







...

I think the reason why its underrated is because it came @ a time when there was a STRONG anti-disco movement going on.

Not that they're a "disco group",,,they're just label as such among stupid ass mainstream critics.

It was a great effort never the less.

Faces had a few okay songs on it but for a double album
it should have been better. Sure Let me talk, you, pride, sailaway
kind of stood out but a lot of the other tracks were just
so so. There is a reason why if you go to a used vinyl store
you probably won't have a hard time finding faces. I know of some
EWF fans that thought this album was a slight misstep for them
before rebounding with the Raise album. I compare EWF Faces similar
to the Commodores misstep with Heroes during their run.

Yeah I agree.For a 2-record set,this should have been amazing! Instead,it's just merely decent.The guys had alot of room to stretch out and try some new things.You have to wait until the very last song (the title track) to hear something truly interesting.

paligap said:

Now that you mentioned it,that song does resemble "Saturday In The Park"!

Harlepolis said:

Plus,in 1980 we were going through a "music recession".Record sales were slowing down and the music industry was suffering for a while.Releasing a 2-record set in 1980 was a risky move.I think the album might have done better if they took the strongest tunes and released it as a single album...

SIDE 1---
Pride
Back On The Road
Song In My Heart
You
Win Or Lose

SIDE 2---
And Love Goes On
Share Your Love
Sailaway
Faces

Release these songs as the singles: "And Love Goes On","Pride" and "Sailaway".

SoulAlive said:

Sailaway I'd say is not as commercial than Win Or Lose!! And intersting choices. I NEVER would let out the "You Can Choose not to Lose" song out!!!

graecophilos said:

"Sailaway" is heavenly....such a beautiful song with soaring vocals and a mesmerizing arrangement and melody.I think it could have been a huge slow jam hit for them.

SoulAlive said:

No love for let me talk?
I thought it was a great uptempo song with a political message.
Maybe that's why it was slept on.

I never really liked "Let Me Talk",despite its' positive message I don't think it's one of their better singles.

SoulAlive said:

I think the song is okay, I would include it on the single album as well! What I like best is the surprising middle that sounds completely different than the rest,

graecophilos said:

I think "Pride" is a stronger,better song.It should have been the first song on the album and the first single too.

SoulAlive said:

Yes...Pride was the quintessential EWF song.....Funk, vocals, kalimba, etc....

And interestingly enough, one of the few that featured many of the actual group as composers, only.....

Allnall said:

paligap said:

I researched chicago's saturday in the park and EWF's back on the road does
sound like it but it also sounds like EWF's Can't let go on the I Am Lp.

Has this CD been remastered yet? All of their major albums from the 70s have been remastered with bonus tracks...it's time to remaster the 80s albums!

Huge EW&F fan, not too big on this one but there are at least 6 songs on here I dig a lot.My favorite is "and love goes on" on here.

SoulAlive said:

I would love for this one to be remastered. One of my favorite EWF albums.

Yes, maybe a little too polished, and "too" perfect in places...not as gritty as Open Our Eyes, but the precision and instrumentation is unparalleled and it definitely is a true EWF sounding album.

I always skip over this one
when on vinyl digs
I couldn't tell you why

aren't members of The Emotions
found on the album cover somewhere?

No,The Emotions appear on the album that came before it ('I Am') and the album that came after it ('Raise')

SoulAlive said:

no, I meant the
"faces" on the album cover
I coulda sworn I saw one of them
on there... but then again

DirtyChris said:

It's not surprising because i often see copies but 3 dollars
for a double album you can't go wrong but it's far from their
best albums. Even powerlight puts this album to shame imo.

DirtyChris said:

phunkdaddy said:

'Powerlight' has its share of problems but I think the two singles are excellent ("Fall In Love With Me" and "Side By Side").'Faces' suffered from a lack of truly good singles."And Love Goes On" is the only great single that was released.

Allnall said:

My main problem with 'Faces' is that it's too safe,too polished.When artists/bands make double albums,it gives them alot of room to branch out,experiment and try some new things.Unfortunately,'Faces' offers nothing new.Most songs follow the same predictable formula.Much of it sounds alike.By the time you get to "In Time",you've become weary of it.The final song (title track) is excellent....it's exactly what I would have liked to have heard more of! An entire side of this album should have been some jazzy,instrumental stuff.