The first two albums could roughly be tied together since all of the music for both records were taken from the same recording sessions. So…it makes me wonder how people bash this album, then turn around and praise the next one. Or vice versa! So, there was another “super group” album in 1969 – remember Blind Faith? While I like some tracks from that record, it revels in some of the same things people disliked about 70’s dinosaur rock acts – too heavy on the egos, too much faux-soul, not enough gut-rock, and overindulgent jamming. As Safe as Yesterday Is may not be the exact opposite, but it is downright authentic, from the gut, and if it is overindulgent in places at least you know these guys are not going to bleat on for 25 damn minutes and there is still a damn Rick Grech bass solo to get through. Steve Marriott’s intent with Humble Pie, from the get-go, was to make it as democratic as possible. Others usually peg this album as unnecessary since Led Zeppelin released their debut record months earlier. Talk about a short-sighted view to take, and I love Zeppelin’s debut. But it is not anywhere near as diverse as this record here. In fact, I’d say Marriott and crew are a little too all over the place, trying to hit so many bases at once, and many times it’s his keyboards which drive the tracks, not the guitar riffs. The best part about this record is its’ sheer diversity. There are big, leaden-heavy rockers. Eastern-influenced drop-out love tunes. Lovely pastoral country-folk songs. Also, the contrasts between all of the band members – Frampton’s polished tastefulness, Ridley’s all-around bedrock professionalism, Shirley’s youthful bash-it-out enthusiasm, and Marriott’s total unpredictability – it seems like here the magic which allowed the group to function naturally and let each individual member spotlight his talents was at its’ peak. I have some favorites but specific songs IMHO are kind of useless to mention. This is the kind of record you have to experience on your own. One more quick note – on many remaster editions the early single “Natural Born Bugie” and corresponding B-Side “Wrist Job” are included. Both are essential to enjoying this early period of the Pie.