Generally, as it relates to the original glory/Hugh Cornwell years of the group, it does a good job, in that it selects all of the important singles and plops them on one disc for one’s enjoyment. You can haggle over a few tracks which should or should not be there, but overall, the job is done. Each album feels like it is represented as its’ own era with a roughly equal amount of singles. So, those of you who have this impression of the Stranglers as this gruff, misanthropic punk band, think again! A relatively fun, surface overview of one of the more intriguing groups to come out of the mid-70’s punk era.

After the first two albums the Pie signed onto A&M Records who basically reorganized them, got rid of the whole democratic super-group thing, and had them become a big “bloozy” hard rock band. Except they didn’t do that right away. They made this album, which split the difference between the old band and what the new band would become, with an artsy photo of a topless chick on it which I’m sure pleased a lot of executives back then! Consequently, it did not chart. Getting back to this album, it’s pretty good. I like it because it’s fairly similar to Town and Country, the sad thing is, it feels shorter. Although run-time wise, it’s five minutes longer than the previous album. The thing is, now that they were being asked to be this big, heavy rock act, they of course stretch out the material so less tracks can fit on an LP! In many cases, it works, though. There are eight tracks here and I like more than half of them – five to be exact. The opening “Live with Me” – credited to the whole band – is a swirling tour-de-force which is brought home by a killer vocal from Marriott. Definitely a key Humble Pie track. Frampton’s “Earth and Water Song” is great, not only because it provides contrast to the grit and determination of the rest of the band, but like “Every Mother’s Son” from the last record, there is something here that is fiercely unique, setting it apart from many other artists, but do not ask me to describe what that something is! Ridley’s “Sucking on the Sweet Vine” ends the record on sort of a folky, soulful vibe. In another band, this guy could have been a lead singer, I tell ya! Marriott’s “Red Light Mamma, Red Hot” is a theme he would soon revisit far too often in the coming years – dalliances with questionable women and hard drugs mixed with bruising boogie rock – but here the formula is still a new thing to behold. “Theme from Skint” is an entertaining tale about the group’s foibles with record companies. Sadly, Marriott and the band would learn this lesson the hard way many times over in the future as well. Maybe the only song here I truly have some misgivings about is their cover of “I’m Ready”, which is dealt with in a rather boorish manner, compared to how the band had treated covers thus far. Overall, though, some transition – this is up there with the group’s best.

Eat It was yet another double LP set and it turned out to be their least essential, even though there are some good-to-great tracks to be found. The decision was made to hole up in Marriott’s home studio for months, to work on a massive undertaking which, in retrospect, comes off a bit like a mere vanity project. Freer rein was given in the form of three female backup singers, now known as The Blackberries. Their credibility with R&B-influenced musicians went through the roof, but audiences were most likely confused by the combination of soulful belters backing this ruffian bunch of English rockers used to entertaining the long-haired, drunken/druggie concert-going kids of early-70’s America. There are four separate, meant-to-be-distinct sides: the first one consists of normal, hard-driven Humble Pie fare, the second filled with downhome authentic R&B covers, the third is the softer, acoustic side of the group, and the fourth is of a portion of a live performance. The issue here, though, is a big technical one – because most of this was recorded in Marriott’s home studio, the mix was mixed up to the point where the studio tracks sound like muddy demos or rough live cuts. Ironically, the name of his home studio was Clear Sounds. Someone in their camp was either too lax or stoned to point this out in advance of the record being released. The only exception to this was the third, mainly acoustic side. That said, there is the backbone of a damn good album here. The whole first and second sides, once you get past the technical issues, are a neat continuation of the sound the band was going for on Smokin’. In some instances, because it sounds so raw, I actually prefer these versions over the slicker stuff of the previous effort. “Drugstore Cowboy” is the perfect example of what I am referring to. Even though 85% of the time Marriott’s vocal is buried down somewhere in the recesses of your left speaker, he somehow manages to drive this track by sheer willpower alone, overpowering those shrieking Blackberries if need be. The cover of “Black Coffee” is at turns the dumbest and most perfect thing Marriott and the group could have ever done. When it first comes on and Steve utters the initial line, you think “what the hell are they doing?” And then when it ends, you think, “this is too good, why is it ending NOW???” They also cover Ray Charles’ “I Believe to My Soul” in the old “show-tunes” style which is much appreciated, and even the cover of “Shut Up and Don’t Interrupt Me”, which had to have been done as a total lark, just seems to fit like a glove. The last side is good, too. Their take on “Honky Tonk Women” is OK, but the real winners are “Up Our Sleeves”, which was reasonably close to “Four Day Creep” which opened the Fillmore set, and an extended version of “Road Runner”. I guess I was least impressed with the third side, although of the four tracks “Beckton Dumps” was a real strong rocker in the typical Pie mold. However, the personal acoustic exercises I found to be forced, just scratching the surface mood-wise, then placed on the record for contrast. Overall, I like this one, but I can see it getting on people’s nerves really quick, and everything, right down to the basic format, could be construed as annoying to the average listener.

And not so gradually, the wheels started to fall off. This was the “going through the motions” album. Except that the cover art was beautifully done, and tons of money was spent on the band to go through the motions to record this album. The funny thing is, when you peek inside the liner notes, you get the true meaning of what a “thunderbox” really is, because here are two naked women staring you in the face, about to go to the toilet! Ah, only in the 70’s…. Marriott and crew have not completely given up the ghost but it is clear, they are now on the tail end of their journey. The album is listed as being recorded at “Olics Sound, somewhere east of Guatemala”, and more than half of the 12 tracks are covers now. Additionally, the Humble Pie originals are all co-writes with one or more of the band members being involved, even though Marriott is listed as the sole producer. So, as one could probably tell, even before the Street Rats debacle, it could be argued the Pie was out of gas at the time of recording this album. Still, that did not prevent them from giving their all on quite a few tracks here and there. For example…. The title track – IMHO – is awesome, although quite indicative of the pickle the group now found themselves in. Subject matter-wise, it is frivolous, although if you think about it, the group was ahead of the curve in one respect – they recorded a catchy-as-hell ode to the women’s posterior, only about 20 years too early. “Thunderbox” is dirty, nasty, dripping with sex appeal, and probably containing about two or three STD’s doctors had not identified up to that point. It is also extremely self-referential – at least from Marriott’s point of view – even though Clempson, of all people, is jointly credited as well. If this song got a re-release in the early 90’s it would blow those wimpy Black Crowes off the charts. As it is, I fondly remember it as one of the high points of this record. Too bad it is the only original track from the group that stands out here. Where they shine is on the cover tunes, for the most part. Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand the Rain” is given the show-tune treatment, presumably to highlight Steve’s vocals, which despite all of his self-abuse is a wise choice. This is followed by a gentle, soft rock-ish take on “Anna (Go to Him)” which is still rough and raw thanks to Marriott’s raspy vocal, but still, quite nice. Ridley’s only lead vocal is a near show-stealer, on “Drift Away”. They make this track sound more like Ian Hunter-era Mott the Hoople, curiously enough. Finally, the cover of “Ninety-Nine Pounds” is another classic take on R&B from this era of Humble Pie – slick and thick! That is the good material. As far as the rest of the lot goes – well, let’s take “Rally with Ali”, for instance, which is nothing more than a basic groove, Steve Marriott talking a bunch of disconnected shit related to Muhammad Ali, followed by the rest of the band chanting “Rally with Ali” every so often. As with the title track, it’s also indicative of the album in general – this was a group running itself ragged, as by this time they were working on multiple recording projects as well as touring without any rest to speak of. Tracks five through seven – “No Way”, the aforementioned “Rally with Ali”, and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” – sound indistinguishable from each other, and it does not feel accidental. My take here is that a good half of an album was an accomplishment, considering the difficulties.

Now this is a key album. Here the “super-group” lineup solidifies the sound and direction they want to go in. If they had stayed together after this album, for at least a couple more discs, perhaps the overall story might have been different…. Anyway, I do not think there is much difference between the previous album and this one, except…well, obviously, the material is better, and the interplay between band members is better. To the second point, many people might be quick to say this is Marriott’s show, but I think that is far from the case here. I just think his performances are more forceful and purposeful. But they do not take away from the other band member contributions one bit; in fact, Frampton and Ridley are as strong as ever if not better served by a reconstituted Marriott swaggering and swinging his brass balls around. Touché – the record opens with “Shine On”, a Frampton-penned and lead vocal track which was the catchiest thing he ever did with the Pie, proving he could beast around with the rest of band when he wanted to. There are at least three, maybe four tracks here which I file under “personal favorites” since I get the feeling no one in the group intended them to be gargantuan hits or anything, but I really dig these tracks. There’s Ridley’s “Big George”, a meaty ‘n’ rooty rocker which can either feel like a big put on or is just a whole lot of fun. Plus, Bobby Keys gets in a killer sax solo. Marriott’s “A Song for Jenny” is a dedication to his then-wife (ironic because he would soon be divorced from her) which runs the gamut of emotions from gentle to epic. Not to be missed! I have referred to “79th and Sunset” before; here it is re-imagined as a tongue-in-cheek, country-flavored track about…what else…skeevy groupie girls and hustlers! Man, did Steve run with a horrible crew or what? The way he delivers the vocals are all tongue-twisted in a crazy way that only he could think of, much less execute. Great little track! But unlike the previous effort there are some real heavyweights which should have put the Pie in the big leagues. “Stone Cold Fever”, for one thing, which was a true group effort, and a shining example of their crossover work with hard rock and R&B music. Even better is the cover of “Rollin’ Stone”, which they ABSOLUTELY own, IMHO, and probably shredded people’s ears about a hundred thousand times in many a live setting. I am not one to pooh-pooh the Zeppelin covers of old blues tunes, but no one had the style and feeling down like Marriott and his crew did, at this time. And this was only a studio recording. The last epic on the record is “Strange Days”, which shares the same paranoiac tone as the Rolling Stones work on Let It Bleed, but does not quite cut to heart of the matter. As long as it is on, though, hard to deny when it grips its’ claws into you. This was the obvious jumping point to greener pastures…and it was, for a short period of time. In relation to this list, quite possibly the best of the best.