SMALL FACES: They might seem like unlikely...

SMALL FACES: They might seem like unlikely bedfellows, the pairing of alternative faves Mary’s Danish and renowned middle-of-the-road producer Peter Asher. A bit less unlikely, though, if you know that Asher has held down the band’s managerial slot for quite a while and is just now hopping over to their producer’s chair. Look for a new album--co-produced by the band, engineered by Neil Young veteran Niko Bolas and said by insiders to be “more rock” and less eclectic--around late August. . . .

We don’t have new installments of “Club MTV” to look forward to after school anymore, but at least “MTV Unplugged” is back in production. The all-acoustic live series taped two new episodes in Hollywood recently, with John Mellencamp and Queensryche. The shows are expected to air on the cable network (with simultaneous FM broadcasts) in June. . . .

Another Bruce is making a go without his old band: Bruce Hornsby is recording for the first time without the Range, the band that backed him on his three previous albums. Hornsby is at work in a new studio at his rural Virginia home, staying close to his newborn twin sons. . . . While Love and Rockets works on its next album, singer David J is putting out another solo album, which features a duet with his former Bauhaus mate Peter Murphy. . . .