Amazingly enough this 1974 recording was shelved by the record label at the time, and it has only now been released for the first time, so it truly is a lost album. The title was given to the project early on to reflect the collaboration between Humble Pie founders Steve Marriott and Greg Ridley. In some ways this was a reunion album of sorts in that Marriott had recently walked out of the group but after failing to get Mick Taylor’s spot in The Rolling Stones plus renewed interest in the band Stateside coaxed Marriott back alongside guitarist Dave Clempson and drummer Jerry Shirley. Like many others my age, I remember the seminal live album ‘Eat It’ which had the same line-up, and although many look to the original line-up (which of course featured Peter Frampton), it was always this line-up which felt like the true one to me.
Here was a band who were rooted in the blues, and back in 1974 they were very much at their peak with both ‘Eat It’ and ‘Smokin’” hitting the Top Ten in the States, which in retrospect makes it seems very strange indeed that this album was shelved, as this is a great release from start to end. A combination of originals and covers of James Brown (“Think”), The Beatles (“Rain”) and soul icon Betty Wright (“Let Me Be Your Lovemaker”), here is a blues-based rock band showing just how it should be done. The production has been allowed to stand as it must have sounded back in the day, there has been no effort whatsoever to bring into a modern state. Clem Clempson will always be fondly remembered for his years in Colosseum, but here he is putting his guitar into overdrive and sweating the blues out of it like no tomorrow.
They may have had their biggest successes in America, but let no-one forget this was an English rock band showing everyone how it should be done, and this is an important addition to their canon which any fan of the band will need to have not only for its rarity but for the bloody great music it contains.
Rating: 9/10
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/humblepiemusic/
https://cleorecs.com/
