Commercial or pop success was all very well, and it certainly delivered substantial fringe benefits apart from the money and the lifestyle, something the Faces, with the shared house at 22 Westmoreland Terrace, Pimlico and an eye on the latest Carnaby Street threads were only too happy to accept. Being pursued by hordes of screaming teenage girls might have been a major pain but there were certain side benefits when it came to getting a shot away.
There was, on the other hand, the question of peer group recognition, and a desire to avoid being labelled a teenybopper pop outfit, the sort of thing that delivered what I'm inclined to label the prog rock impulse, that point where you set out to amaze and impress your peer group with the quality of your writing, your instrumental chops and vocal dynamics and your (or rather your producer and sound engineer's) mastery of the recording studio,
One short cut to peer group approval and a rise above common or garden pop sensibility was the nod and a wink substance reference, the reference to the dealer in Here Comes the Nice, or the I got high bit in Itchycoo Park. Naughty schoolboy see what we can get away with, perhaps, but when you're looking for peer group recognition every bit of added credibility helps, doesn't it?
You can see the quality of writing side of things emerging on the Immediate Small Faces, along with the little musical bits that'll attract nods and a nice from the cognoscenti. The start of Feeling Lonely, Up the Wooden Hills to Bedfordshire (the title gets the nod for a start, and the When you're slipping into sleep/That's the time to unwind) and Eddie's Dreaming (named for Georgie Fame's trumpeter, who appears on the track) being prime examples.
But in the wake of Revolver, Sgt Pepper, Pet Sounds, The Who Sell Out, Are You Experienced and Disraeli Gears delivering hit singles with a nod and a wink was all very well, but you needed to demonstrate the ability to deliver over an album. In an environment where experimentation was a key element in delivering a killer album anything that helps your effort stand out from the crowd was going to be helpful.