We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
For awhile in the late 60’s and early 70’s you were hard pressed to find a better blues-rock band than Humble Pie. In a landscape filled with young British guys singing and playing the blues with that rock edge pioneered by names like John Mayall and Alexis Korner, Humble Pie could bring it with anybody. They seemed to be a perfect rock combination of raw and sweet. Steve Marriot brought the grit with both his guitar and his voice. Peter Frampton offered the sugar with his more pop oriented vocals and fretwork. Aided by a solid rhythm section of Greg Ridley on bass and a teenage Jerry Shirley on drums, the Pie offered up their fourth LP in 1971 called “Rock On”.
The album was a perfect snapshot of what the band could do. It ranged from the classic blues-rock of Stone Cold Fever (although the middle part sounds almost jazzy) and Sour Grain…a nice cover of Muddy Waters Rolling Stone…an Marriot penned acoustic piece for his girlfriend Jenny Rylance…even a fifties inspired romp called Red Neck Jump to close the record. It also included a Ridley composed and sung tune called ‘Big George” that’s fun, a longer piece called Strange Days that uses some echo to achieve an experimental sound…and Frampton’s Shine On, which would become a staple of his future live show’s including earning a spot on Frampton Comes Alive…
This would be the last Humble Pie LP for Frampton as he wanted to move on to more pop oriented solo efforts. But, his work here is really tasty.
Marriot was a rock & roll lifer. He continued to tour with various versions of Humble Pie for years…including the early 80’s when they made a stop in Wausau. I remember walking down the hallway of WIFC back in the day and a guy comes out of the studio, dressed like Captain Jack Sparrow. He comes up to me and says in a deep British accent….”Hallo, I’m Steve “f***ing Marriot of Humble f***ing Pie”. I didnt know what to say. LOL. He passed on in 1991…rocking til the end.
If you’ve never listened to Humble Pie, this is a good start. They were a different band without Frampton. Maybe better, maybe worse depending on your taste for Blues-Rock…but this LP has a little something for everyone…enjoy.
Comments