• Our Album of the Week features will return in June.

🎵 AotW AOTW: Humble Pie SMOKIN' (A&M SP 4342)

Status
Not open for further replies.

LPJim

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Moderator
Humble Pie
SMOKIN'

A&M SP4342

sp4342.jpg


Humble Pie's first album following the departure of Peter Frampton for a solo career found much success, peaking at number 6 in the Billboard Top 200 and charting for 34 weeks (according to Whitburn's "Top Pop Albums').
SMOKIN' contains the well-known tune "30 Days in the Hole," with a dire warning to lovers of imported beer:
"Newcastle Brown will sure smack you down!"

SIDE ONE

Hot 'N Nasty 3:22/ The Fixer 5:00/ You're So Good to Me 3:53/ C'Mon Everybody 5:14*/ Old Time Feelin' 5:05.

SIDE TWO

30 Days in the Hole 3:58/ Road Runner & Road Runners 'G' Jam 3:42**/ I Wonder 8:53***/ Sweet Peace and Time 5:49.

Steve Marriott - vocals, guitar, harp/ Clem Clempson - guitar, keyboard, vocals/ Greg Ridley - bass, vocals/ Jerry Shirley - drums, keyboard.
Special thanks to Alexis Korner, Madeleine Bell, Doris Troy, Steve Stills and Ricky Wills.

Engineers: Alan O'Duffy and Keith Harwood
Recorded at Olympic Sound Studios in February 1972
All songs published by Rule One Music except *Metric Music Co. and ** Jobete Music Co., Inc. and *** Leeds Music

Clive Arrowsmith, photography/ Richard Lokford, illustration/ designed by John Kosh/ Mike Doud, art director/ Produced by The Pie.

Reissued as SP/CD 3132


JB
 
I'm certain this was their biggest album of all. Frampton must have thought he had really missed the boat. He just had to wait another few years. A lot of this stuff holds up better than say, Aerosmith.
Classic album, with "30 Days in the Hole" my favorite track.
 
On top of that, "Hot 'N' Nasty" was issued as a single (AM-1349), b/w "You're So Good For Me." I understand the former made #52 on Billboard's "Hot 100" that year. In addition, I.I.N.M., "30 Days In The Hole" was also released on 45.

I liked the credit on the label, "Produced by The Pie."
 
First and ONLY Humble Pie I ever bought and enjoyed for a long time. My favorites: "Sweet Peace and Time", "Hot 'N Nasty", "The Fixer", "C'Mon, Everybody", "Old Time Feelin'" and "I Wonder". I had this album on a Cassette that I actually bought at K mart, I think back in '88.

The departed Peter Frampton covered "Road Runner" years later.

This was my favorite Pie album, and I tried the LP two-fer, Lost & Found / As Safe As Yesterday Is and played our last Humble Pie Album of The Week, Rock On (A&M SP 4301) in a record store, where it's actually going for a Buck and it's in pretty OK condition.

Dave

"...Sweet Peace and Time, know that you're Mine..."
 
When I bought the reissue on album back in the summer of 1984 (with the A&M swirl), the song "30 Days In The Hole" has part of the verse cut out. The part that goes "rolling dance floor" was cut out of the reissue!! Matt Clark Sanford, MI
 
I attended two Humble Pie concerts when I was a teenager. The first after “Rockin’ The Fillmore” was released and the second after “Smokin” were released. Prior to the first concert I was quite content to listen to the Arches “Sugar, Sugar” and Edison Lighthouse “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)”. Well, after that concert everything changed. It was the most incredible performance I’d ever seen. Steve Marriott was all over the stage, playing guitar, singing, dancing – it was simply captivating. Anyway, from that day on, I was a Pie fan. And my music taste went from juicy fruit pop to groups like Humble Pie, Grand Funk, Edgar Winter and White Trash, etc…

My favorite Pie album is “Rockin’ the Fillmore”, with “Rolling Stone” my favorite track (it’s 16:07 long). “Smokin” is a very close second with “C’mon Everybody” my favorite track.

As talented as Steve Marriott was, it’s a shame that life didn’t work out better for him. For me, he was the quintessential rock band front man. He could really belt out a song.
 
I read that there was a tribute to Steve Marriott a couple years ago. And, I think that some of the old members got together for a jam session but I don't think Peter Framton was among them.

Comparing Framton to Marriott: Frampton is like a choirboy with golden hair and good looks. Marriott is like a choirboy on steroids and speed. Both very talented but one couldn’t replace the other.
 
Steve, looks like your idea nearly came true - I found this little tidbit on the BBC web site:

In 1991 he was allegedly making plans to re-form Humble Pie with Steve Marriott, but a week after their meeting in New York, Marriott tragically died in a fire at his Essex home. Frampton diverted his interest to the other great success of his career by releasing Frampton Comes Alive II. In 2000, Frampton served as a musical consultant on Cameron Crowe's 70s rock biopic, Almost Famous.
 
Mike, I do now recall that- was it going to be an actual HP reunion? Could it still be done without the late Mr. Marriot? I think it would be a big seller- giving Frampton a slightly less wholesome image, real or not.
 
A good moment on this album is the gospel-like build-up on "You're So Good For Me"... Haven't enjoyed this in a long time!



Dave
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom