Ian McLagan

If the Rolling Stones inspired the Faces, the Faces ravaged the same gritty, grimy rock-and-roll turf with more good-time abandon. Whether or not it was because Jagger and company had more of a bad-boy image to tow around, the Faces' fare always restated rock's primary purpose of bashing-good fun. The band's lack of weightiness made it easy, on tunes such as "Cindy Incidentally," for a dash of pop to season the rowdy stew.

If anything, the pop side of the mix is more accented in Faces alum Ian McLagan's contemporary persona. While his old singer Rod Stewart transforms himself into the ultimate lounge act, the former Faces keyboard man laces well-crafted pop with the same rock-solid piano work and distinctive organ play found at the core of tracks such as "Stay With Me" and "You Can Make Me Dance," or Stewart's solo hit "Maggie May." On Rise & Shine!, McLagan's fifth and most recent solo release, he pursues a bittersweet lyrical path that takes the occasional Ray Davies-like melodic turn. His backup crew, the Bump Band, is a worthy pack that's a tad more polished than the Faces, and it recently added another rocker of yore -- former Spirit/Jo Jo Gunne/Heart bassist Mark Andes.