CD Review: Very 'eavy, Very 'umble...Humble Pie Live! (2026)

Humble Pie, in my…ahem…‘humble’ opinion, are one of the great lost bands of the 1970s. To my knowledge, they’ve never even been considered for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (for what that’s worth), much less ‘snubbed’ even if Pie frontman Steve Marriott was honored as part of an oddly unsatisfying dual induction for the Small Faces and the Faces. Although Humble Pie’s oversized influence on later outfits like the Black Crowes, the Georgia Satellites, and Badlands, to name but a few, is out of proportion to the band’s modest commercial returns, there’s no denying frontman Marriott’s impact on generations of artists to follow in his wake.

Although Marriott tragically died in a house fire in Essex, England in April 1991, his work lives on through regular reissues of Humble Pie’s ten studio albums circa 1969 and 1981, as well as the band’s stellar live release, 1971’s Performance: Rockin’ The Fillmore (no, I don’t count 2002’s Back On Track…). Marriott’s Small Faces albums remain more-or-less eternally in print and are an essential addition to any British rock fan’s collection, while various solo projects like 1976’s solo Marriott album or The Legendary Majik Mijits (recorded in 1981 with Small Faces bandmate Ronnie Lane and finally released in 2001) showcase different facets of Marriott’s talents.

Humble Pie’s Sunset Blvd 1969

Jerry Shirley, the band’s original drummer, Humble Pie archivist, and “keeper of the flame” for his former mates has ensured that the band’s legacy carries on through a series of unreleased live albums, some of which should have definitely remained in the can collecting dust and cobwebs. For better than a decade, a number of these semi-bootleg albums have been released by Cleopatra Records (or their Deadline Records subsidiary). There’s a lot of chaff to sort through among these 21st century archival releases, but Cleo has found a real winner in the recently-released Sunset Blvd 1969 album.

As you may have glommed from my comments above, Humble Pie was formed when singer, songwriter, and guitarist Steve Marriott left his popular 1960s-era teen-beat outfit the Small Faces to hook up with fellow teen idol Peter Frampton (from The Herd), a fine guitarist in his own right, bassist Greg Ridley (from Spooky Tooth), and drummer Shirley (ex-Apostolic Intervention, which enjoyed a 1967 hit single in the U.K.). Signing with former Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate Records imprint, Humble Pie released a pair of exquisite records – As Safe As Yesterday Is and Town and Country – both in 1969.

Sunset Blvd 1969 features a dynamic performance by the original band line-up at the legendary Whisky A Go Go club in Los Angeles in December 1969, during Humble Pie’s first U.S. tour. Although the album’s scant five songs may seem to short-change the diehard Pie fanatic, they nevertheless stretch across fifty minutes of playtime. The party starts with a brilliant cover of the 1965 Yardbirds hit “For Your Love,” with Shirley’s tribal drum patterns setting the stage for Frampton’s graceful, almost jazzy guitar lines to introduce Marriott’s soulful vocals. Although bluesier, of sorts, than the Yardbirds’ version (which featured Eric Clapton on guitar), Marriott and Frampton and the gang take the song through unexpected sonic detours, fleshing out the single from its original 2:38 length to a staggering nine-minute-plus, dancing across esoteric soundscapes in the creation of a mesmerizing listening experience.

A cover of Johnny Kidd’s classic “Shakin’ All Over” – a 1960 U.K. hit for Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, and later covered by the Who on Live At Leeds – is provided plenty of room to breathe, a bluesy hippie jam with every flavor of guitar, bass, and drums available in a busy, albeit fascinating performance that clocks in at an impressive 12 minutes but could have seemingly played on forever, given the band’s energy level. A pair of songs that would later grace Performance: Rockin’ The Fillmore are included here: a swinging reading of Ray Charles’ “Hallelujah, I Love Her So,” which captures the magic of the song’s R&B roots while Dr. John’s “I Walk On Gilded Splinters” is provided an airy instrumental romp gradually extending to over 20 minutes of stunning and soaring instrumentation. Marriott’s “The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake,” off Town and Country, growls like a hungry wolf, raw-boned and semi-metallic with wiry guitar solos and an overall menacing blues-metal vibe that would later spawn bands like Badlands.

Humble Pie’s Live In Cincinnati 1983

There were a lot of highs and lows for Humble Pie between 1969 and 1983, including fleeting stardom and subsequent obscurity. The band’s self-titled 1970 A&M Records debut and the following year’s Rock On pushed Humble Pie onto the lower rung of rock ‘n’ roll success stateside, and Performance sealed the deal, solidifying the band’s status as mid-card festival performers and occasional headliners. Frampton bolted after the release of Performance to pursue a solo career that would strike gold a half-decade later. Adding second guitarist Clem Clempson (ex- Colosseum), the band hit its stride with 1972’s Smokin’ (peaking at #6 stateside and selling at Gold™ Record levels) and 1973’s Top 20-charting Eat It.

Subsequent releases like Thunderbox (1974) and Street Rats (1975) – a Pie album in name only, really, given Marriott’s lack of involvement – saw diminishing returns on investment and the band broke up. Marriott resurfaced years later with a brand new Humble Pie featuring drummer Shirley, former Jeff Beck Group guitarist Bobby Tench, and American bassist Anthony “Sooty” Jones, the line-up recording two albums, On To Victory (1980), and Go For the Throat (1981), neither of which barely grazed the Billboard album chart. Marriott relocated from the U.K. to Atlanta, Georgia in the early ‘80s and put together yet another version of the Pie featuring Tennessee guitarist Tommy Johnson, Atlanta bassist Keith Christopher (The Brains, The Georgia Satellites), and drummer Fallon Williams III. Johnson was later replaced by Phil Dix, and this is the roster that performed in Cincinnati in December 1983. Touring as “Humble Pie” out of necessity rather than desire – Marriott was trying to launch a new band rather than rest on the laurels of his former outfit as he struggled to find a record deal – this Cincinnati performance is nevertheless a real banger. 

Live In Cincinnati 1983 features a set list mixing Small Faces and Humble Pie songs with favored covers and a splinter of new material. The diminutive frontman with the larger-than-life voice sounds great here, the band well-practiced and ready to rock. The Small Faces’ “Whatcha Gonna Do About It” opens, sounding little like those British pop-rock stalwarts as Marriott and his freshly-baked Pie deliver a scorching take on the song that features Marriott’s powerful vocals, band harmonies, and a grinding instrumental soundtrack. Marriott resurrects “Fool For A Pretty Face” from On To Victory, the medium-strength former FM-radio hit pumped up on ‘roids and rolled out with a rollicking performance that mimics “I Don’t Need No Doctor” later in the set.

The Pie fan favorite “30 Days In the Hole” is raucous recreation of the hit single with introductory drumbeats leading into Marriott’s leather-lunged vox and lusty guitar riff. For those of us who love the song, it’s a welcome reminder of how electrifying Marriott could be on stage, even at this late date. Ditto for “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” an Ashford and Simpson-penned R&B gem that Pie pumped-up and pumped-out into the world on Performance, an edited version of that nine-minute jam achieving mid-level chart success when released as a single back in the day. This 1983 version doesn’t lack in enthusiasm or energy, Marriot belting out his vocals like it was his first day on the job. Marriott’s “Big Train Stops At Memphis” appropriately bleeds into a cover of Rufus Thomas’s Southern soul classic “Walkin’ the Dog,” both songs delivered by the band with reckless abandon, shimmering guitars and wailing vocals matched by a deep instrumental groove that infects both songs with joy.   

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Before embarking on what would be the last Humble Pie tour (disillusioned by the record business, and with his marriage on the rocks, Marriott returned to England at the end of 1983 and played with various short-lived and mostly unremarkable bands until his death), the singer/songwriter had taken his 1982 version of Humble Pie into Pyramid Eye Studios in Chattanooga, Tennessee (where the Allman Brothers Band recorded Reach For the Sky), to record three demo tracks after a deal with the beleaguered Capricorn Records label fell through. Two of those (previously-unreleased?) studio tracks are tacked onto the end of Live In Cincinnati 1983, proving that the battle-scarred rock ‘n’ roll veteran was still firing on all cylinders. “Trouble You Can’t Fool Me” is a smoldering, mid-tempo R&B tinged number with a funky groove and blazing horns while “Lonely No More” is a gorgeous ballad with a rockin’ undercurrent, Marriott’s emotional vocals, band harmonies, and a subtle, soulful backing soundtrack.      
   
The quality and brilliance of these studio tracks – both Marriott originals – present the eternal question of “what if?” the band could have gotten a record deal and further explored Marriott’s new musical fascinations. Of the two live releases, Sunset Blvd 1969 offers the better sound quality, remarkably so for a recording of its vintage, while Live In Cincinnati 1983 is noisier, muddier, and closer to a soundboard bootleg (but still quite listenable…turn it up!). Both albums offer high-octane performances from different versions of the band, and the Cincinnati set includes lengthy, insightful liner notes from music historian Dave Thompson (a former editor of mine). Both albums will thrill Humble Pie fans, a legion that continues to grow 40+ years after the band’s unfortunate demise. (Cleopatra Records, released November 2025 & March 2026)

Buy the CDs from Amazon:
Humble Pie’s Sunset Blvd 1969
Humble Pie’s Live In Cincinnati 1983

Also on That Devil Music: Humble Pie’s On To Victory/Go For the Throat CD reviews 

Rock ‘n’ Roll Farm Report: The Alarm MMVI, Darkbuster, Peter Frampton, Motörhead, Ty Tabor (September 2006)

September 2006

The “Rock ‘n’ Roll Farm Report” was a short-lived review column that ran on our Alt.Culture.Guide™ website for almost a year until we closed the site, not due to lack of readers, but from lack of time and money to continue the project. Still, as these columns show, we reviewed a diverse range of music...

THE ALARM MMVI – Under Attack
Nothing reminds me more of the ‘80s than MTV, Lester Bangs and, well, the Alarm. Of course, the “music television” network is anything but these days, Lester wrote his final earthly record review over two decades ago and the Alarm, well…ahem…actually, they’re alive and well. Going under the name the Alarm MMVI (for their 26th year?), the band has released Under Attack, its first U.S. album in 15 years. Don’t mistake this for some sort of faux reunion and blatant attempt at a fast cash grab, folks. A few years back, frontman Mike Peters assembled a brand-new version of the Alarm that includes U.K. rock veterans like guitarist James Stevenson (Generation X), bassist Craig Adams (The Cult) and drummer Steve Grantley (Stiff Little Fingers).
    With this crew backing Peters’ tunes, Under Attack is a fully-realized album that rocks hard and takes no prisoners. Peters has delivered some of his strongest lyrics ever, the guitars ring loud and proud – with just the right amounts of fuzz and feedback – and a building falling on yer head wouldn’t hit as hard as Grantley’s explosive, punk-styled drumming. This isn’t throwback ‘80s rock, but rather a lean-and-mean collection of classic rock songs that are timeless, ringing true in any decade. (Eleven-Thirty Records)            

DARKBUSTER – A Weakness For Spirits
The Reverend has to admit a soft spot in his heart for old-school punk bands like Darkbuster that mosh up their jams with some Celtic flavor, a dash of ska, and more than a few Clash influences worn on their collective sleeves. A Weakness For Spirits blows through your stereo speakers like a tornado ripping through the Kansas countryside. Vocalist/guitarist Lenny Lashley delivers intelligent tunes that boot you in the ass and leave you asking for more while the band props up every song with a delightful recklessness that makes you want to scream “Oi! Oi! Oi!” If too much sugary pop-punk has begun to rot your dentures and petrify the brain, check out Darkbuster for some high-octane, ultra-energetic punk rawk tunes like Grandma used to jam to. Oi! (I Scream Records)
     

PETER FRAMPTON – Fingerprints
Everybody but his mother gave up on Petey a long, long time ago and the one-time wunderkind became just another dino-rock flash ‘n’ the-pan whose greatest hit sits on your grocer’s shelf collecting dust while awaiting rediscovery. Well, the Reverend sez that the time is now and the album is Fingerprints! Since nobody expected Frampton to come alive again anytime during our lifetime, Fingerprints hits like a minor revelation. Getting his instrumental groove on, Frampton kicks it with a dash of funky strutting on “Boot It Up,” waxes Latino on “Ida Y Vuelta,” and goes all Belew on us with “Grab A Chicken (Put It Back).”
    He even breaks out his rusty old vocoder for a run at Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” with pals Mike McCready and Matt Cameron from Pearl Jam. Petey invited some other friends, as well, with Warren Haynes kicking in on the roots-rock cut “Blooze” and childhood idols Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett from the Shadows joining Pete for the jazzy “My Cup of Tea.” This is the instrumental album that we always knew that Frampton had in him, and it smokes the house with rockin’ soul, dirty blues, and jazzbo flourish, sounding fresh and vital and ready to roll. Forget all about mopes like Vai and Satriani and plug into the original six-string prodigy, Peter Frampton. (New Door Records/Universal)
 

MOTÖRHEAD – Kiss of Death
That used car you just bought lost half of its book value five minutes after you drove it off the shyster’s lot…and it broke down a week later. Motörhead, on the other hand, has been kicking your ass solidly for better than a quarter-century. The great thing about Lemmy and his hand-picked roster of instrumental madmen is that although no single album that Motorhead has ever released is GROUND-BREAKING or even varies much from a simple amps-stuck-on-eleven FORMULA, they’re always consistently ENTERTAINING. Motörhead’s latest disc, Kiss of Death, doesn’t fail the smell test, every song choking on musical mayhem, screaming guitars, and Lemmy’s acid-drenched, drunken-geezer vocals. Steroid-dusted cuts like “Sucker,” “Devil I Know” and “Christine” follow the band’s tried-and-true sonic blueprint, fitting comfortably into the Motörhead milieu.
    Just because they consistently rock harder than pups half their ages, however, doesn’t mean that Lemmy can’t conjure up a SURPRISE every now and then to spice up the mix. On Kiss of Death it’s the social commentary of “God Was Never On Your Side,” an almost bluesy acoustic ballad that explodes into a wicked guitar solo, blistering lyrics attacking religious hypocrisy. The punky rave-up “Ramones” closes out Kiss of Death with a gabba, gabba hey! Lemmy has always remembered who his friends are, and, being the consummate showman that he is, he never forgets his audience, either. Nobody mixes heavy metal thunder and punk rock fury better than Motörhead, Kiss of Death just another reason why Lemmy K and his leather-clad thugs deserve a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, whether the hall is ready or not… (Sanctuary Records)

TY TABOR – Rock Garden
For almost twenty years now, King’s X has been one of rock music’s best-kept secrets. ‘Tis a damn shame, too, ‘cause the three guys behind the King’s X name – Doug Pinnick, Ty Tabor, and Jerry Gaskill – have consistently produced music more daring, progressive, and hard rocking than just about any other band that comes to mind. The band members seemingly pay no mind to fleeting commercial considerations, however, each one of them readily diving headfirst into various side projects and solo endeavors even while working together to keep the music of King’s X vital, original, and entertaining.
    Tabor’s Rock Garden is the talented guitarist’s third solo album and his fourth major musical project in three years (behind King’s X’s excellent Ogre Tones album, solo efforts from bandmates Pinnick and Gaskill, and the cool Jelly Jam disc). One might think that behind all this studio work and the recent King’s X tours, Tabor might be suffering from artistic burnout. No way, Jose! Behind the inspired guest vocals of Pinnick and Wally Farkas of the Galactic Cowboys, Tabor has created a veritable tapestry of sound and energy. Drawing upon his love of Beatlesque melodies, psychedelic instrumentation, heavy metal muscle and the musical freedom that rock ‘n’ roll provides, Tabor has gone into his sonic kitchen and whipped up eleven perfect examples of his enormous talent.
    Tabor’s innovative guitar style and mastery of the instrument allows him great latitude in the type of material he composes, from the cosmic space-rock of “Play” to the staggered metallic-soul of “Ride,” or the rootsy, riff-driven “Take It Back.” Any one of these cuts would sound better on the radio than the latest dreck from Godsmack or Buckcherry. King’s X might be rock’s best-kept secret, tho’ it’s not for lack of effort – there seems to be no end to the exciting and entertaining music being created by Ty Tabor and his erstwhile bandmates, Rock Garden included. The Rev sez “check it out!” (Inside Out Music)

CD Preview: Leslie West’s Soundcheck

Guitar God Leslie West will be roaring once again come on November 20th, 2015 when Provogue Records releases his 16th solo album, titled Soundcheck. The follow-up to West’s critically-acclaimed 2013 set Still Climbing, the new disc seems to be a mix of new material and previously-unreleased performances that have been pulled from the archives, given a new coat of attitude, and unleashed on the public on Soundcheck.

Among the guests joining West in making music for the new album are guitarists Peter Frampton and Brian May of Queen, former Jeff Beck keyboardist Max Middleton, singer Bonnie Bramlett, and West’s old West, Bruce & Laing bandmate, bassist Jack Bruce. Soundcheck was co-produced by West and engineer Mike “Metal” Goldberg and features West wielding his instrument on an inspired mix of original material and often-unusual cover songs.

West tackles the blues standard “Goin’ Down” with the ferocity of Freddie King. Joined by Queen’s May on guitar, pianist Middleton, legendary Muscle Shoals session bassist David Hood, Bobby Whitlock on keyboards, and Bramlett on backing vocals, West tears through the song like a hungry dog into a t-bone, sharing solos with May, the two guitarist’s differing styles oddly complimentary. Soundcheck also features a reverent, haunting cover of Curtis Mayfield’s soul classic “People Get Ready,” which offers some incredible guitarwork; a reading of Tracy Chapman’s hit “Give Me Just One Reason,” performed in a soaring blues style; and a raucous live version of Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful,” recorded in 1988 with Jack Bruce on bass and vocals, and Joe Franco on drums.

West’s sizzling slide-guitar playing is punctuated by Frampton’s fretwork on a minor-key cover of “You Are My Sunshine” that represents another odd musical choice. “I watch the television show, Sons of Anarchy,” says West in a press release for Soundcheck, “and during one episode, a minor-key version of this song was playing in the background. I thought, Whoa…that sounds so different! I recorded it and sent it to Peter, and we trade solos and then play harmony lines together at the end. Also, I’m playing slide while he’s playing conventionally. His tone is phenomenal on this, with a warm sound and a really nice vibrato, and he loved the arrangement. To take a song you’ve heard all of your life and change it around like this is very cool.”

Considering a career that dates back to the Vagrants in the late 1960s, hard rock titans Mountain during the 1970s, and a legendary solo career that has spanned five decades, West muses “you know, when it comes to talent, we don’t all move at the same rate of speed. Some people start at the top of their game and after 10 or 20 years you wonder what the hell happened to them. I like to joke that the older I get, the better I used to be, but after giving up drugs and smoking, my voice can hit notes that I never could reach before. I’m thankful for that.” Listening to Soundcheck, it just might be West’s best of a long and accomplished career.

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Leslie West's Soundcheck