Ogdon's Nut Gone Flake

The Autumn Stone was the only double LP in the history of Immediate Records, and it came out as the company was entering its death throes, a desperate effort to cash in on the library of tapes of the Small Faces. When lead singer Steve Marriott quit in the waning days of 1968, the group had been midway into recording a new album that would have been its third for the label and a follow-up to 1968's popular Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. Left high and dry by Marriott's departure, and with an uncertain future ahead for the group, the company elected to release the first anthology of the Small Faces' work. The result was The Autumn Stone, a mix of hit singles (going all the way back to their Decca Records years, with "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" and "All or Nothing") and up through their final 45, "The Universal," plus three songs recorded live at Newcastle Town Hall in early 1968…

Somewhat overshadowed by Decca's rush-released From the Beginning, appearing just weeks before this 1967 LP, and often confused with their 1966 debut by virtue of its sharing an identical title, the Small Faces' eponymous debut for Immediate Records is one of the great British pop albums of the '60s. The Small Faces were breaking away from their R&B roots, dabbling with LSD and psychedelia, and tightening up their songwriting, emphasizing pop melodies in a way they never did on their debut. Sonically, The Small Faces doesn't get as far out as the abandoned Decca cuts that surfaced on From the Beginning - there may be some harpsichords but no outright psychedelia - but it is bright, colorful, and concentrated, its very brevity playing like snappy pop art…

Since 1995, the Squirrel Nut Zippers have sacked and plundered the old, weird America then sailed off to further distant lands. They have used New Orleans as their hideout and base of operations. Jean-Lafitte-like the hide in the lee side of the barrier island, receiving goods and masking dark back-channel deals; hiding in cellars or in plain view. On September 25th, fans will be able to gaze into the tea leaves that make up their brand new album: Lost Songs of Doc Souchon to see if they can discern their own destiny.