Humble Pie is the subject of a comprehensive 8-CD collection that spans the illustrious early-1970s career of one of rock’s most beloved and influential British bands. Humble Pie: The A&M CD Box Set (1970-1975) was released on Dec. 2, 2022, via A&M/UMe.
The collection is an expanded version of the comparable 9-LP vinyl edition that was released in 2017, albeit now containing newly remastered versions of seven classic Humble Pie albums. The CD set also comes with an additional, eighth bonus disc consisting of 14 B-sides and other rarities, including five previously unreleased tracks (see below). Also featured in the new collection are a hardback book with an all-new essay, rare photos, and other memorabilia.
From the Oct. 7 announcement: Humble Pie was an early rock supergroup forged in the county of Essex in England in the autumn of 1968 by Peter Frampton, the lead singer and lead guitarist with The Herd, along with drummer Jerry Shirley. Steve Marriott, the legendary lead singer of The Small Faces, then joined in January 1969, along with bassist Greg Ridley from Spooky Tooth. When Frampton left in 1971 to pursue a successful solo career, guitarist Clem Clempson stepped in, and the band carried on through 1975 before going their separate ways.
Listen to “Big Black Dog,” the band’s very first A&M single that was also a non-album track
Each of the seven Humble Pie albums released on A&M Records built upon the collective DNA each seasoned bandmember brought to the table following their first two albums on the Immediate Records label in the U.K. 1970’s Humble Pie opened the door with the likes of Frampton’s gentle “Earth And Water Song” and a thunderous cover of Willie Dixon’s “I’m Ready.” 1971’s Rock On continued with signature tracks like “Shine On” and “Stone Cold Fever.” 1971’s double-live Performance: Rockin’ The Fillmore is generally acknowledged as being one of the greatest live albums of all time, featuring the barn-burning, album-closing nine-minute version of “I Don’t Need No Doctor” that became an instant FM radio classic.
Listen to the edit of the performance
1972’s Smokin’ was the band’s first album to feature Clempson on guitar, highlighted by Marriott’s classic rock favorite, “30 Days In the Hole.”
1973’s Eat It was an ambitious double album with a different feel for each of its four sides, shifting from straight-ahead rock (“Get Down To It”) to R&B (Ike & Tina Turner’s “Black Coffee”) and then acoustic numbers (“Summer Song”), ultimately followed by a live side to close things out (“Up Our Sleeve”). 1974’s Thunderbox is flush with a mixture of originals (the title track) and covers (Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand The Rain”). Finally, the band’s A&M Records swan song, 1975’s Street Rats, balanced rough-hewn originals (Marriott’s “Road Hogs”) with gritty covers (Chuck Berry’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll Music”).
Related: Our interview with Marriott, who died in 1991 at just 44
Bonus Tracks (B-Sides & Rarities)
Big Black Dog (First A&M Single)
Mister Ring (German B-side)
I Don’t Need No Doctor (Edit)
Chopper (With The Blackberries)
You’ve Been In Love Too Soon (With The Blackberries)
Twist And Shout (With The Blackberries)
Don’t Change On Me (With The Blackberries)
The Outcrowd (B-Side)
Funky To The Bone (From UK Version Of Street Rats)
Tell Me The Truth (previously unreleased)
Gimme Some Lovin’ (previously unreleased)
Illegal Smile (previously unreleased)
Hurts So Good (previously unreleased)
She Belongs To Me (instrumental/vocal/final vocal)
Listen to “Twist and Shout,” “The Outcrowd,” and “Gimme Some Lovin'”
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4 Comments
Steve Marriott was one of a kind, he had a unique singing voice. The first time seeing them at the Fillmore (later The Palladium) I was totally blown away. That was one of the shows that became Rocking The Fillmore.
Saw the Pie at Hyde Park. In 1970 they opened for Grand Funk. Note to Grand Funk: never follow the Pie
Saw them @ Shea Stadium. They opened for Grand Funk!! And Rockin the Filmore is very underated!
I got to see Humble Pie at the Boston Music Hall on September 17, 1972, with Slade as the opening act, then on April 10, 1973, with the “unbilled” and on their first U.S. tour, Foghat as the opening act and on March 11, 1974, with Spooky Tooth (with Mike Patto on vocals) and Black Sheep (with Lou Gramm on vocals), as the opening acts. Humble Pie was, and still is, one of my favorite bands of all-time!