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Martin <M.VAN.DER.GAAG@ppsw.rug.nl> (17.09.99)

At the time it was released, OOH LA LA was regarded by almost anybody as quite a letdown, indeed forecasting the Faces' demise. But together with A NOD'S AS GOOD AS A WINK TO A BLIND HORSE, their third album, this is the one you will play repeatedly if you like what the Faces stand for: boozy rock&roll-ish fun with a touching, heartfelt edge here and there (FIRST STEPS is merely a try-out, LONG PLAYER separates in 50% very good and 50% unmemorable, and OVERTURE AND BEGINNERS is boring and only for completists). 'Cindy incidentally' is exemplary for an amalgam of this description: there's a mid-tempo rocking guitar, and a friendly melody, its feel somewhere near the verge of sentimentality. 'Silicone grown' and 'Borstal boys' represent the tougher Faces side and they actually make me thirsty, they're so full of energy! 'Ooh la la' works just like you say of other songs here, that one tends to forget is has no melody; it's cute, but not sissy. And it's actually sung by Ron Wood and not Ronnie Lane, as far as I know it's a Wood/Stewart song for which at the time the recording commenced Rod failed to show up - he was working on his own album instead - and Ron got so pissed off he sang it himself and released the album immediately afterwards. 'Fly in the ointment' is strange 5/4 rock, and 'Glad and sorry' is a bit too tired, but the real bummer here is 'My fault', it goes nowhere melodically and the lyrics are hopeless posing; it sounds like somebody defending himself here while there is no evidence of anybody accusing him of anything - hopeless people in general who do this in everyday life, let alone on records. OOH LA LA is a good record, perhaps more boozy than rocking compared to the reverse on A NOD.. which is a bit better and certainly longer, hence more for your money (OOH LA LA clocks in at little more than 30'). Don't spend too much time finding this, it's pleasant, but not essential, especially compared to the recently released greatest hits collection featuring 'Pool hall Richard' for the first time on CD - a forgotten Faces classic.

<Ogdensgoneflake@aol.com> (17.01.2001)

If you like some good boozy rockers you'll like side one and if you like Ronnie Lane sap you'll side two. I like both so this album is pretty good if you ask me. None of the songs are awful, but none of them make me scream how great they are. An average album overall. My personal favorite here is 'Just Another Honky', the perfect mixture of Lane's lyric and Rod's voice. The only disappointment here is 'Fly In The Ointment' which doesn't go anywhere and I'm not to fond of 'Glad And Sorry', but nothing here is offensive to my ears. By the way 'OOh La La' is a Wood/Lane composition and I'm pretty positive its Wood singing (though it would become a live favorite for Lane so its closely related to him).