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 -- or, to use a term that's become popular in the 21st century -- "monetize" their library of tapes on
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, 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, a bunch of album tracks, and some unissued tracks from the tail end of their history, presumably intended for the never-finished third Immediate LP. It was the first (and, for over 20 years, the best) overview of the group's work and history, depicting its transition from a white British Invasion-era soul band to a more laid-back and experimental psychedelic outfit. And it still holds up reasonably well, even in the face of more ambitious and comprehensive compilations such as Sanctuary's Ultimate Collection. ~ Bruce Eder