Right on the heels of the previous studio effort the Pie toured like madmen. Part of the deal was to capture material for a live album. Going by their reputation thus far, it seemed like the most logical move. Group and management settled on shows played at the Fillmore East on May 28-29, 1971. What was released became a huge influence on everyone for the rest of the decade. Arguably, this was THE album which created arena rock, like it or not. After this behemoth, if you were a touring band in the 70’s, you were required to release a live record. As far as Humble Pie goes, Fillmore and Rock On became a package deal – feeding off each other enough to drive both albums to Gold status and establishing the Pie as a force to be reckoned with. In their attempts to establish the band Stateside, management seemed to be in favor of Steve Marriott taking over the band and being the face of it all. Which would make logical sense. Steve was the main “face” of Small Faces, after all, so he did have tons of experience in this area. So, the decision was subconsciously made here, and this is the record where Marriott really steps to the forefront with his massive act. You can feel Frampton melting into the background while Steve scat-sings his way through a large part of “Rollin’ Stone”. One era is ending, and another was beginning. It’s hard not to feel great for Steve, though, because this is really his triumph. I’m not saying the rest band does not put on a great show, because they do, but let’s be real about this. The problem here is the very thing which brought me to value Humble Pie over a lot of other groups was their democratic spirit, which by the way, is certainly on display here as well. The goofy cover of “Hallelujah I Love Her So”, “I’m Ready”, “Four Day Creep, and of course, “Stone Cold Fever” – it’s as if the old Pie mechanisms haven’t changed one iota, right? And yet, these mammoth tracks in the middle of the record. “I Walk on Gilded Splinters” – which, admittedly, they had been doing since the early days – “Rollin’ Stone”, and the bubbling-under hit cover of “I Don’t Need No Doctor”. Bear witness to the power, and the glory, and never mind those dastardly subtleties. I think that is a big reason why I personally do not connect with this record as much as the earlier studio efforts, and why I think the later efforts are flawed without Frampton around to balance out Marriott and the rest of the band. Still, Fillmore, for many of the reasons already mentioned, is an essential stop in 1970’s hard rock. Just be warned, there are excesses a-plenty one will encounter.

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.

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.

Originally, this LP was UK only. Later releases would be packaged as 2-fers with other albums, or as a “remaster” with bonus tracks. Whatever the case, this bunch of tracks from the exact same recording sessions as the previous record – did I make that point already – is either hailed as a marked improvement or a noticeable downgrade. Really? Someone want to make up their mind here? It is the same grab-bag, anything-goes, Traffic-like approach, for sure, but just better executed this time, IMHO. Interesting that Marriott, the main songwriter, is credited with only four songs here, but others pitch with their takes which are pleasant surprises if one drops preconceived notions. Hell, the cover itself is a piss-take on Traffic’s Dear Mr. Fantasy, just to give you an idea of where these guys heads were at in the creative process. Frampton’s walk-in-the-country rocker “Take Me Back” sets the tone here – intimate, warm, homey, comfortable, and more approachable than anything on the debut or what their colleagues were doing at the time. “The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake” was the single (don’t quote me on this), a cutesy rambling tale about a down-on-his-luck bandit from “Abilene” and was probably autobiographical (being one of the few Marriott-written tracks). The B-side was Shirley’s “Cold Lady”, a spooky ballad which benefits from the group’s ragged vocal harmonies. Later on, the group covers Buddy Holly’s “Heartbeat” and it is normally recognized as a high point of the album. What I can’t figure out is how they ignore the rest of it. Before “Heartbeat” one encounters a couple of Marriott’s most heartfelt tracks ever. “Down Home Again” is simply lovely – a neat little uncluttered rocker somewhat in the mold of the “Heartbeat” cover, which was unburdened by all of the crap that affected the band down the line. “Every Mother’s Son”, though, might just be my favorite Marriott track of all-time. This one is straight acoustic, and again, feels rather autobiographical, but the lyrics do not matter all that much. It’s the mood that matters, and this one is hard to rightly pin down. Is it lost love, lost opportunity, or lost innocence that the man is lamenting here? Not sure, and maybe that is the trick…. “Silver Tongue” has been pegged quite often as a highlight, but for me I find it to be more in tune with the chaos of the debut record. However, the anything-goes final track “Home and Away”, which serves as a metaphor for the album in general, is another notable pick here. Re-issues of the album itself will include “Greg’s Song” (a decent cut from Ridley) and “79th Street Blues”, an early version of “79th and Sunset”, one of the more notable cuts from the Rock On record, although this version is fairly similar. All in all, the peak of their early “super group” era.

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.