Over my Christmas break, I started to really dig deep into the catalog of Britain's monumental supergroup Humble Pie. Like many , I only knew of Humble Pie because of their smash hit "30 Days In the Hole" which is a great song in of itself , but I wanted to dig much deeper . I received their noteworthy live double LP Performance: Rockin The Fillmore for Christmas, and the floodgates bursted open . Chemistry in any band is critical not only for the lead singer and lead guitarist, but for every member of the band (rhythm guitarist, bassist, and drummer). Beloved acts like The Allman Brothers Band, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Band, and Green Day (to name a few) have that perfect chemistry of musicianship and each member brings their craft to create the bands signature sound . Humble Pie without question joins that list. Humble Pie was formed in Moreton, Essex in 1969 and in the footsteps of Cream were one of the founding supergroups in rock . The bands original lineup was the late great Steve Marriott of Small Faces, Spooky Tooth's bassist Greg Ridley , Jerry Shirley from The Apostolic Intervention , and vocalist and guitarist from The Herd; who was none other than Peter Frampton . The band was starting to come into their own with their first two albums As Safe Yesterday Is and Town and Country. With the release of Rock On in 1971 however , Humble Pie were starting to outshine the headline act. However , their shining moment for me personally is Performance: Rockin The Fillmore which was also released in 1971.
This double live LP fully captures Humble Pie in their prime. For starters, Steve Marriott was a fantastic frontman/ guitarist . Right from the opening number 'Four Day Creep" you can hear him interact with the crowd and more so on their cover of "Rolling Stone". Both Marriott and Peter Frampton are criminally underrated guitarists and with songs like their own "I Don't Need No Doctor" (which Frampton came up with the iconic riff while warming up at a MSG show), "Stone Cold Fever" and the cover of "Four Day Creep", showcases that both players can really groove and provide fantastic and tight distorted blues licks and rhythm . Also to add; Peter Frampton adds some mixolydian scale soloing which is impressive.
As for Greg Ridley and Jerry Shirley, they are a fine rhythm section . Ridley's melodic and steady bass playing carries through smoothly for each song and Jerry Shirley knows how to play in the pocket, keep a steady beat, and gives killer fills when needed .
By 1975, The Pie continued to have future success with Clem Clempson who replaced Frampton while also focusing on other projects . As for Peter Frampton , well I think it's safe to say how he made out (Frampton Comes Alive ring a bell?) .
However, nothing will ever come close to that original lineup that made Humble Pie so special and a force to be reckoned with. Humble Pie were one of those rare bands that had fantastic studio records , but like their fellow comrades The Who, when they played live they truly were something else.
Grab a copy of Rockin The Fillmore or any of their other LPs because believe me when I say you won't be disappointed.
