HUMBLE PIE
''PERFORMANCE - ROCKIN' THE FILLMORE: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, DISC FOUR''
OCTOBER 28 2013
244:10
DISC ONE
5/28/71 Friday, First Show
1 /Four Day Creep
Ida Cox/4:36
2 /I'm Ready
Willie Dixon / Humble Pie/8:31
3 /I Walk on Gilded Splinters
Mac Rebennack/26:57
4 /Hallelujah (I Love Her So)
Ray Charles/6:27
5 /I Don't Need No Doctor
Josephine Armstead / Nickolas Ashford / Valerie Simpson/8:49
DISC TWO
5/28/71 Friday, Second Show
1 /Four Day Creep
Ida Cox/4:27
2 /I'm Ready
Willie Dixon / Humble Pie/8:56
3 /I Walk on Gilded Splinters
Mac Rebennack/26:59
4 /Hallelujah (I Love Her So)
Ray Charles/5:42
5 /Rollin' Stone
McKinley Morganfield/16:47
6 /I Don't Need No Doctor
Josephine Armstead / Nickolas Ashford / Valerie Simpson/9:12
DISC THREE
5/29/71 Saturday, First Show
1 /Four Day Creep
Ida Cox3:54
2 /I'm Ready
Willie Dixon / Humble Pie8:50
3 /I Walk on Gilded Splinters
Mac Rebennack26:05
4 /Hallelujah (I Love Her So)
Ray Charles5:58
5 /Stone Cold Fever
Humble Pie6:05
DISC FOUR
5/29/71 Saturday, Second Show
1 /Four Day Creep
Ida Cox3:47
2 /I'm Ready
Willie Dixon / Humble Pie8:59
3 /I Walk on Gilded Splinters
Mac Rebennack27:33
4 /Hallelujah (I Love Her So)
Ray Charles5:43
5 /Rollin' Stone
McKinley Morganfield12:20
6 /I Don't Need No Doctor
Josephine Armstead / Nickolas Ashford / Valerie Simpson/7:33
Peter Frampton/Guitar, Vocals
Steve Marriot/Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Vocals
Greg Ridley/Bass, Vocals
Jerry Shirley/Drums
REVIEW
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The original Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore was one of the classic double-live albums of the '70s: a two-LP set from a band that had yet to have a hit but were earning a reputation as in-concert monsters, grinding out a living on a circuit that brought them from coast to coast in America. It was, by design, the opposite of what Steve Marriott experienced as the leader of the Small Faces: this was heavy, improvised blues rock where live moments trumped the studio. 1970's Humble Pie and 1971's Rock On suggested the churning improvisations of Humble Pie at their peak -- and not long afterward they'd streamline their jams into something easier to digest -- but the Performance LP captured the group at their elongated best, playing for upwards of a half-hour without a care in the world. Such instrumental indulgence was commonplace in the early '70s, but disappeared in the decade afterward, so Omnivore's enthusiastically exhaustive 2013 box set Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore - The Complete Recordings winds up capturing two distinct phenomenon: Humble Pie's peak as an improvisatory blues-rock band, but also the era when rock bands who weren't the Grateful Dead could ensconce themselves on-stage and play endlessly, not caring for the audience's reaction as much as their own edification. Omnivore's four-disc set rounds up the entirety of the band's four-night stint at the Fillmore East and, as such, each disc is almost identical in attack on the set list. Every night, the band runs through "Four Day Creep," "I'm Ready," "I Walk on Gilded Splinters," and "Hallelujah (I Love Her So)," then ends with some combination of "Rollin' Stone," "Stone Cold Fever," and "I Don't Need No Doctor." This repetition means the complete Performance can be too much to take in one sitting, but its indulgence is what's appealing; listen to this in batches and not at once, and it's easy to appreciate the group's elongated, elliptical boogie and, particularly, the back and forth between Marriott's pirouetting frontman act and Peter Frampton's muscular leads. Soon, this kind of never-ending jam fell out of favor and that's why this reissue is so valuable: there was a time where this kind of self-congratulatory improvisation was not only accepted but expected and Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore - The Complete Recordings not only captures that point in time, but in its exacting detail it illustrates how this self-satisfied instrumental exploration could be a very good thing.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny
A showcase for former Small Faces' frontman Steve Marriott and one-time Herd guitar virtuoso Peter Frampton, the hard rock outfit Humble Pie formed in Essex, England in 1969. Also featuring ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley along with drummer Jerry Shirley, the fledgling group spent the first several months of its existence locked away in Marriott's Essex cottage, maintaining a relentless practice schedule. Signed to the Immediate label, Humble Pie soon issued their debut single "Natural Born Boogie," which hit the British Top Ten and paved the way for the group's premiere LP, As Safe as Yesterday Is.
After touring the U.S. in support of 1969's Town and Country, Humble Pie returned home only to discover that Immediate had declared bankruptcy. The band recruited a new manager, Dee Anthony, who helped land them a new deal with A&M; behind closed doors, Anthony encouraged Marriott to direct the group towards a harder-edged, grittier sound far removed from the acoustic melodies favored by Frampton. As Marriott's raw blues shouting began to dominate subsequent LPs like 1970's eponymous effort and 1971's Rock On, Frampton's role in the band he co-founded gradually diminished; finally, after a highly charged U.S. tour which yielded 1971's commercial breakthrough Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore, Frampton exited Humble Pie to embark on a solo career.
After enlisting former Colosseum guitarist Dave "Clem" Clempson to fill the void, Humble Pie grew even heavier for 1972's Smokin', their most successful album to date. However, while 1973's ambitious double studio/live set Eat It fell just shy of the Top Ten, its 1974 follow-up Thunderbox failed to crack the Top 40. After 1975's Street Rats reached only number 100 before disappearing from the charts, Humble Pie disbanded; while Shirley formed Natural Gas with Badfinger alum Joey Molland, and Clempson and Ridley teamed with Cozy Powell in Strange Brew, Marriott led Steve Marriott's All-Stars before joining a reunited Small Faces in 1977.
In 1980, Marriott and Shirley re-formed Humble Pie with ex-Jeff Beck Group vocalist Bobby Tench and bassist Anthony Jones. After a pair of LPs, 1980's On to Victory and the following year's Go for the Throat, the group mounted a troubled tour of America: after one injury-related interruption brought on when Marriott mangled his hand in a hotel door, the schedule was again derailed when the frontman fell victim to an ulcer. Soon, Humble Pie again dissolved; while Shirley joined Fastway, Marriott went into seclusion. At the dawn of the 1990s, he and Frampton made tentative plans to begin working together once more, but on April 20, 1991, Marriott died in the fire which destroyed his 16th century Arkesden cottage. He was 44 years old.
''PERFORMANCE - ROCKIN' THE FILLMORE: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, DISC FOUR''
OCTOBER 28 2013
244:10
DISC ONE
5/28/71 Friday, First Show
1 /Four Day Creep
Ida Cox/4:36
2 /I'm Ready
Willie Dixon / Humble Pie/8:31
3 /I Walk on Gilded Splinters
Mac Rebennack/26:57
4 /Hallelujah (I Love Her So)
Ray Charles/6:27
5 /I Don't Need No Doctor
Josephine Armstead / Nickolas Ashford / Valerie Simpson/8:49
DISC TWO
5/28/71 Friday, Second Show
1 /Four Day Creep
Ida Cox/4:27
2 /I'm Ready
Willie Dixon / Humble Pie/8:56
3 /I Walk on Gilded Splinters
Mac Rebennack/26:59
4 /Hallelujah (I Love Her So)
Ray Charles/5:42
5 /Rollin' Stone
McKinley Morganfield/16:47
6 /I Don't Need No Doctor
Josephine Armstead / Nickolas Ashford / Valerie Simpson/9:12
DISC THREE
5/29/71 Saturday, First Show
1 /Four Day Creep
Ida Cox3:54
2 /I'm Ready
Willie Dixon / Humble Pie8:50
3 /I Walk on Gilded Splinters
Mac Rebennack26:05
4 /Hallelujah (I Love Her So)
Ray Charles5:58
5 /Stone Cold Fever
Humble Pie6:05
DISC FOUR
5/29/71 Saturday, Second Show
1 /Four Day Creep
Ida Cox3:47
2 /I'm Ready
Willie Dixon / Humble Pie8:59
3 /I Walk on Gilded Splinters
Mac Rebennack27:33
4 /Hallelujah (I Love Her So)
Ray Charles5:43
5 /Rollin' Stone
McKinley Morganfield12:20
6 /I Don't Need No Doctor
Josephine Armstead / Nickolas Ashford / Valerie Simpson/7:33
Peter Frampton/Guitar, Vocals
Steve Marriot/Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Vocals
Greg Ridley/Bass, Vocals
Jerry Shirley/Drums
REVIEW
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The original Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore was one of the classic double-live albums of the '70s: a two-LP set from a band that had yet to have a hit but were earning a reputation as in-concert monsters, grinding out a living on a circuit that brought them from coast to coast in America. It was, by design, the opposite of what Steve Marriott experienced as the leader of the Small Faces: this was heavy, improvised blues rock where live moments trumped the studio. 1970's Humble Pie and 1971's Rock On suggested the churning improvisations of Humble Pie at their peak -- and not long afterward they'd streamline their jams into something easier to digest -- but the Performance LP captured the group at their elongated best, playing for upwards of a half-hour without a care in the world. Such instrumental indulgence was commonplace in the early '70s, but disappeared in the decade afterward, so Omnivore's enthusiastically exhaustive 2013 box set Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore - The Complete Recordings winds up capturing two distinct phenomenon: Humble Pie's peak as an improvisatory blues-rock band, but also the era when rock bands who weren't the Grateful Dead could ensconce themselves on-stage and play endlessly, not caring for the audience's reaction as much as their own edification. Omnivore's four-disc set rounds up the entirety of the band's four-night stint at the Fillmore East and, as such, each disc is almost identical in attack on the set list. Every night, the band runs through "Four Day Creep," "I'm Ready," "I Walk on Gilded Splinters," and "Hallelujah (I Love Her So)," then ends with some combination of "Rollin' Stone," "Stone Cold Fever," and "I Don't Need No Doctor." This repetition means the complete Performance can be too much to take in one sitting, but its indulgence is what's appealing; listen to this in batches and not at once, and it's easy to appreciate the group's elongated, elliptical boogie and, particularly, the back and forth between Marriott's pirouetting frontman act and Peter Frampton's muscular leads. Soon, this kind of never-ending jam fell out of favor and that's why this reissue is so valuable: there was a time where this kind of self-congratulatory improvisation was not only accepted but expected and Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore - The Complete Recordings not only captures that point in time, but in its exacting detail it illustrates how this self-satisfied instrumental exploration could be a very good thing.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny
A showcase for former Small Faces' frontman Steve Marriott and one-time Herd guitar virtuoso Peter Frampton, the hard rock outfit Humble Pie formed in Essex, England in 1969. Also featuring ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley along with drummer Jerry Shirley, the fledgling group spent the first several months of its existence locked away in Marriott's Essex cottage, maintaining a relentless practice schedule. Signed to the Immediate label, Humble Pie soon issued their debut single "Natural Born Boogie," which hit the British Top Ten and paved the way for the group's premiere LP, As Safe as Yesterday Is.
After touring the U.S. in support of 1969's Town and Country, Humble Pie returned home only to discover that Immediate had declared bankruptcy. The band recruited a new manager, Dee Anthony, who helped land them a new deal with A&M; behind closed doors, Anthony encouraged Marriott to direct the group towards a harder-edged, grittier sound far removed from the acoustic melodies favored by Frampton. As Marriott's raw blues shouting began to dominate subsequent LPs like 1970's eponymous effort and 1971's Rock On, Frampton's role in the band he co-founded gradually diminished; finally, after a highly charged U.S. tour which yielded 1971's commercial breakthrough Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore, Frampton exited Humble Pie to embark on a solo career.
After enlisting former Colosseum guitarist Dave "Clem" Clempson to fill the void, Humble Pie grew even heavier for 1972's Smokin', their most successful album to date. However, while 1973's ambitious double studio/live set Eat It fell just shy of the Top Ten, its 1974 follow-up Thunderbox failed to crack the Top 40. After 1975's Street Rats reached only number 100 before disappearing from the charts, Humble Pie disbanded; while Shirley formed Natural Gas with Badfinger alum Joey Molland, and Clempson and Ridley teamed with Cozy Powell in Strange Brew, Marriott led Steve Marriott's All-Stars before joining a reunited Small Faces in 1977.
In 1980, Marriott and Shirley re-formed Humble Pie with ex-Jeff Beck Group vocalist Bobby Tench and bassist Anthony Jones. After a pair of LPs, 1980's On to Victory and the following year's Go for the Throat, the group mounted a troubled tour of America: after one injury-related interruption brought on when Marriott mangled his hand in a hotel door, the schedule was again derailed when the frontman fell victim to an ulcer. Soon, Humble Pie again dissolved; while Shirley joined Fastway, Marriott went into seclusion. At the dawn of the 1990s, he and Frampton made tentative plans to begin working together once more, but on April 20, 1991, Marriott died in the fire which destroyed his 16th century Arkesden cottage. He was 44 years old.