In Memoriam

In Memoriam is the first posthumous album release by East London rock band Small Faces after the announcement of their break-up in early 1969. It was released on 1 May 1969 through Immediate Records in West Germany only. Their second compilation album following 1967's From the Beginning, In Memoriam is a collection of live cuts and unreleased studio tracks. The studio material was recorded during 1967 and the 1968 sessions for Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake, and also included a few tracks possibly intended for their projected but unrealised fourth album 1862. The studio outtakes were complemented by five live tracks recorded on tour in November 1968 (aside from uncredited session work for French pop star Johnny Hallyday in December 1968, these live tracks proved to be the Small Faces final recordings under the group name, and after a final brief tour of Europe in January 1969 the band dissolved). Former band members objected to the request for an English release of the album, and the tracks remained officially unreleased there for another six months until they were finally repackaged along with various other singles, album tracks and B-sides on Immediate's first double album The Autumn Stone on 14 November 1969. Background By mid-1968, the Small Faces had begun to fall apart despite their popular success in the UK. "Lazy Sunday", which was released by Immediate records without the band's knowledge or consent, had reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and according to drummer Kenney Jones this was considered a "nail in the coffin" for the band by lead vocalist and guitarist Steve Marriott. Marriott was by this point eager to distance himself from the band's frivolous image and his own acquired label of 'pop idol' which he had grown to detest, and to be seen as a more serious musician. Marriott's own choice of follow-up to "Lazy Sunday" was "The Universal", which was largely recorded on a portable tape recorder in Marriott's backyard. Small Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan did not play on the recording, as he had lately become exhausted by Marriott's mercurial creative temperament. "The Universal" reached number 16 on the UK chart.