"The Universal" is a UK single released by English R&B influenced group

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The b ...

on 28 June 1968 and reached number 16, staying in the top 40 for a total of 10 weeks.

Song profile

"The Universal" was originally titled by composer

Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted p ...

as "Hello the Universal", but because of an error early in the single's production and manufacture the title was instead printed as the shorter "The Universal". Due to the costs involved in doing so, the error was never corrected. A densely-lyrical song largely performed in an acoustic 'busking' style, the basic track of Marriott alone with an acoustic guitar was originally recorded by him 'on-the-fly' onto a portable tape machine, outdoors in the garden of his

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

home, Beehive Cottage. The lo-fi recording also picked up various ambient background noise such as birdsong, distant voices and car horns, and even the sound of the wind rumbling through the microphone. Marriott's dogs can also clearly be heard barking in the background (one of Marriott's dogs, Seamus, was also recorded howling in the studio for the

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

track of the same name, from their 1971 album '' Meddle''). The Universal's lyrics involved complex wordplay and the vocal were delivered by Marriott in an uncharacteristically offhand but still tuneful singing style. The basic track was enhanced later in the recording studio with various overdubbed instruments that slowly gain prominence as the song progresses, particularly a loud bass drum and percussion whose persistent thud and crash during the latter half of the song add to the recording's '

one-man-band A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical or electronic contraptions. One-man bands also often sing while they perform. The simplest type of "one-man ban ...

' atmosphere. Unusually for a Small Faces song of the period, keyboardist

Ian McLagan Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...

was absent from the recording, having briefly fallen out with Marriott before the session. Following the success of the Small Faces' previous chart-topping single " Lazy Sunday", a song Marriott himself was dismissive of, he was especially disappointed that The Universal only reached number 16 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, Marriott was quoted at the time as saying that he thought "The Universal" was the best song he had ever written. He said of the song: "The Universal" was the final authorized single released by

before they disbanded in 1969. Almost a year later, their record label Immediate would release a version of " Afterglow of Your Love" as the unauthorized final single by the group. It has been suggested that Britpop band Blur's song of the same name was so titled in homage to this track. The band were said to also have been influenced by the Small Faces " Lazy Sunday" with their song, " Parklife", further adding to the speculation.

Personnel

Small Faces *

– acoustic and electric guitars, lead vocals *

Ronnie Lane Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73). Lane formed Small Faces i ...

– bass guitar *

Kenney Jones Kenneth Thomas "Kenney" Jones (born 16 September 1948) is an English drummer best known for his work in the groups Small Faces, Faces, and the Who. Jones was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Small Faces/Face ...

– drums, spoons, percussion Other musicians * Don Fay – clarinet * Derek Wadsworth – trombone

References

External links

The Small Faces Official website

The Official Steve Marriott websiteThe Official Ronnie Lane website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Universal, The 1968 singles Small Faces songs Songs written by Ronnie Lane Songs written by Steve Marriott 1968 songs Immediate Records singles

Song profile

Personnel

See also

References

External links