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Biography
Infobox album | Name = Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake| Type = Studio album | Artist = Small Faces | Cover = ogden's.jpg|Album cover.jpg | Released = 24 May 1968 | Recorded = 1968 Olympic Studios , London, England | Genre = Psychedelic rock , Rock music|Rock Length = 38:27 | Label = Immediate Records|Immediate | Producer = Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Engineer: Glyn Johns |
| Last album = Small Faces (1967 album)|Small Faces (1967) | This album = ''Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake (1968) | Next album = The Autumn Stone (album)|The Autumn Stone (1969) | Misc = Singles | Name = Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake | Type = studio | single 1 = Lazy Sunday (song)|Lazy Sunday | single 1 date = 5 April 1968 | single 2 = Afterglow of Your Love | single 2 date = 7 March 1969 | single 3 = Mad John | single 3 date = 1969 (USA only) | single 4 = | single 4 date =
'Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake was a successful concept album by the English rock band Small Faces . Released on 24 May 1968 the LP album|LP became a number one hit in the UK Album Charts on 29 June where it remained for a total of six weeks. cite web| title = Official UK Album Charts | publisher = The Official UK Charts Company | url = http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_albums.php? show=2 | accessdate = 2007-09-04 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070814021224/ http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_albums.php? show=2 |archivedate = 2007-08-14
The title and the design of the distinctive packaging was a parody of ''Ogdens' Nut-brown Flake , a brand of tobacco which was produced in Liverpool from 1899. cite web| title = New homes plan for tobacco factory | publisher = Liverpool Daily Post | first = Tony | last = McDonough | url = http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/business/business-local/2007/08/29/new-homes-plan-for-tobacco-factory-64375-19701261/ | accessdate = 2007-09-04 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070927225823/ http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/business/business-local/2007/08/29/new-homes-plan-for-tobacco-factory-64375-19701261/ |archivedate = 2007-09-27 cite web| title = Small Faces, Ogden's Nut Gone Flake | publisher = BBC | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/b3jw/ | accessdate = 2007-08-17
Album profile
The A-side is a mix of early heavy rock with "Song of a Baker"; psychedelic music|psychedelic cockney Knees Up Mother Brown|knees-up songs " Lazy Sunday (song)|Lazy Sunday " and "Rene", the opening instrumental title track (which resembles their second single "I've Got Mine", which was a flop in 1965), and the soul music|soul influenced ballad " Afterglow (Of Your Love) ".
The B-side is based on an original fairy tale about a boy called Happiness Stan, narrated in his unique ‘Unwinese’ gobbledegook by Stanley Unwin (comedian)|Stanley Unwin , who picked up modern slang from the band and incorporated it into the surreal narrative.
The plot of the fairy tale is that Stan looks up in the sky and sees only half the moon, he sets out on a quest to search for the missing half. Along the way he saves a fly from starvation, and in gratitude the insect tells him of someone who can answer his question and also tell him the philosophy of life itself. With his magic power Stan intones, "If all the flies were one fly, what a great enormous fly-follolloper that would bold," and the fly grows to gigantic proportions. Seated on the giant fly's back Stan takes a psychedelic journey to the cave of Mad John the hermit, who explains that the moon's disappearance is only temporary, and demonstrates by pointing out that Stan has spent so long on his quest that the moon is now full again. He then sings Stan a cheerful song about the meaning of life.
Due to the album's complexities, Ogdens' was never performed live; it was performed as a whole once on the BBC's television programme Colour Me Pop on Friday 21 June 1968. Songs featured were "Song of a Baker", "Happiness Stan", "Rollin' Over", "The Hungry Intruder", "The Journey", "Mad John" and "Happydaystoytown". Although the band mimed to the studio recordings, their microphones were left on to capture little ad libs. cite book| last = Hewitt | first = Paulo | last2 = Hellier | first2 = John | title = Steve Marriott - All Too Beautiful... | publisher = Helter Skelter | location = London | date = 2004 | isbn = 1-900924-44-7 | oclc = 56205257 | edition = 1st | pages = 171
Packaging
The album was originally released on vinyl in a circular novelty package of a metal replica of a giant tobacco tin inside which was a poster created with 5 connected paper circles with pictures of the band members. This proved too expensive and was quickly followed by a paper/card replica with a gatefold cover. Two limited-edition CD releases (including a three-disc deluxe edition in 2006 that included the original mono mix of the album on CD for the first time) went even further by packaging the disc(s) in a circular tin (as the original vinyl release had). However, most CD releases use conventional packaging, superimposing the circular artwork on a square booklet.
The award-winning artwork for the album cover was done by Mick Swan who was a product of the sixties art school scene. Any other work by him is unknown but he is known to have worked as a fine arts tutor at Lowestoft F.E. College in 1974. cite book| last = Hewitt | first = Paulo | coauthors = Jones, Kenney | title = Small Faces: The Young Mods' Forgotten Story | publisher = Acid Jazz | location = London | date = 1995 | pages = 125 | month = | isbn = 0-9523935-0-6 | oclc = 34676493
Track listing
tracklist| headline = Side one | writing_credits = yes | title1 = Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake | writer1 = Steve Marriott|Marriott , Ronnie Lane|Lane , Ian McLagan|McLagan , Kenney Jones|Jones | length1 = 2:26 | title2 = Afterglow (Of Your Love) | writer2 = Marriott, Lane | length2 = 3:31 | title3 = Long Agos and Worlds Apart | writer3 = McLagan | length3 = 2:35 | title4 = Rene | writer4 = Marriott, Lane | length4 = 4:29 | title5 = Song of a Baker | writer5 = Marriott, Lane | length5 = 3:15 | title6 = Lazy Sunday (song)|Lazy Sunday | writer6 = Marriott, Lane | length6 = 3:05
tracklist| headline = Side two (titled "Happiness Stan") | writing_credits = yes | title1 = Happiness Stan | writer1 = Marriott, Lane | length1 = 2:35 | title2 = Rollin' Over | writer2 = Marriott, Lane | length2 = 2:50 | title3 = The Hungry Intruder | writer3 = Marriott, Lane, McLagan | length3 = 2:15 | title4 = The Journey | writer4 = Marriott, Lane, McLagan, Jones | length4 = 4:12 | title5 = Mad John | writer5 = Marriott, Lane | length5 = 2:48 | title6 = Happy Days Toy Town | writer6 = Marriott, Lane, McLagan | length6 = 4:17
Chart positions
Chart
Year
Peak position
UK Albums Chart cite web
1968
1
S-startS-bef|before = The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding s-ttl|title = UK Albums Chart List of number-one albums from the 1960s (UK)|number-one album | years = 29 June 1968 - 10 August 1968S-aft|after = Delilah (album)|Delilah by Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones S-end
Controversy
To promote the album Immediate Records|Immediate issued an advertisement that parodied The Lord's Prayer . It caused uproar in the British press and outraged readers wrote in and complained.
Give us thy album in a round cover as we give thee £sd|37/9d . ,
Lead us into the record stores .
''And deliver us Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
For nice is the music
The sleeve and the story
For ever and ever, Immediate
"We didn't know a thing about the ad. until we saw it in the music papers. And frankly we got the horrors at first. We realise that it could be taken as a serious knock against religion. But on thinking it over, we don't feel it is particularly good or bad. It's just another form of advertising. We're not all that concerned about it. We're more concerned in writing our music and producing our records"
- Steve Marriott on the advert for Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake that parodied the Lord's Prayer.
Vinyl and CD versions
The original vinyl album includes a segue between the end of "Afterglow" and the beginning of "Long Agos And Worlds Apart". Most CD editions have a different stereo mix, and use the single version of "Afterglow" without the segue. There is also a segue between "Long Agos and Worlds Apart" and "Rene", and this is retained on the CD. Some CD editions also include one or more bonus tracks.
The 2005 3-disc "tobacco tin" Special Edition includes fully remastered mono and stereo mixes complete with segue, plus an episode of the BBC Radio documentary series Classic Albums in which the band discuss the making of the album.
On many reissues, the cover design still spells the title as ''Ogdens' , but the label and sleeve copy gives it as Ogden's .
Reception
In 2000 Q magazine| Q magazine placed ''Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake at number 59 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. cite web| title = Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake - The Reviews | publisher = Q Magazine, February 1990 | url = http://www.makingtime.co.uk/rfr/revogd.htm | accessdate = 2007-08-17
The album was featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die .
Rolling Stone gave the album a positive review. url= http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/smallfaces/albums/album/122531/review/6067661/ogdens_nut_gone_flake |title=Small Faces: Ogden's Nut Gone Flake |first=James |last=Pomeroy |date=date|Oct 12, 1968 |magazine= Rolling Stone |issue=RS 19 |publisher=Straight Arrow |issn=0035-791X archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070313194338/ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/smallfaces/albums/album/122531/review/6067661/ogdens_nut_gone_flake |archivedate=date|2007-03-13
Allmusic gave the album a 5 out of 5 star review. Allmusic |class=album |id=r18273|tab=review |label="The Small Faces: ''Ogden's Nut Gone Flake Castle > Review" |first=Bruce |last=Eder |accessdate=date|2011-10-06
Appearances in other media
The title song was played during the debut trailer for the video game Grand Theft Auto V .Cite web|url= http://kotaku.com/5855634/the-gta-v-trailer-song-is-a-1968-tune-by-small-faces|title=The GTA V Trailer Song is a 1968 Tune by The Small Faces|publisher= Kotaku |first=Stephen|last=Totilo|date=2011-11-02
Personnel
: Steve Marriott - vocals, guitar : Ronnie Lane - backing vocals, bass guitar : Kenney Jones - drums : Ian McLagan - keyboards
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=rm4klQeCbsM YouTube: Small Faces - "Song of a Baker"
http://www.makingtime.co.uk/rfr/revogd.htm Q Magazine, February 1990 Review of ''Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
Small Faces Category:1968 albums Category:Psychedelic rock albums Category:Concept albums Category:Small Faces albums Category:Immediate Records albums Category:English-language albums
