The career of the band
suffered in early 1970- when the Immediate label folded.
After months of uncertainty, A & M picked them up and new manager
Dee Anthony streamlined their act. Out went the peaceful
numbers, although a few excellent examples appeared on their third
album, ‘Humble Pie’. Anthony sent the band on
gruelling stateside tours, and by the time album no 4 ‘Rock On’
hit the shops, their hard rocking status spanned Fillmores east to
west! Peter Frampton, though provider of fine melodies and
more restrained frontman, felt under represented the more Steve
Marriott got command of the US punters with blues and rock belters.
Frampton left before the highly successful live album ‘Rockin’ At
The Fillmore’ was released, for an eventually successful solo
career.
Steve Marriott brought in
a more bluesy guitarist in Coloseum’s David ‘Clem’ Clempson, who
played his unprepared, admirable debut in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1971.
The band seemed a tight, happy unit. Steve had initially
joined Humble Pie to leave the stage front to others, but over the
years, his high spirited nature had got the better of him.
Whereas the early Pie had thrived on the musical tensions and tempers
of Frampton and Marriott, all the attention was now on Steve, with the
result being a clearer direction of sound and image - but with less
variety.
Tours all over the world,
especially in the States continued, and Steve found himself becoming
more and more of a soul shouter (connections with Motown having been
familiar since his Small Faces mod-days). For the next
album project, ‘Eat It’, as well as the 1973 tours, the four piece
Humble Pie were augmented by saxophone player Sidney George plus Ike
& Tina Turner’s ‘Ikettes’, now called The Blackberries.
However Steve’s own singing became a little too erratic, to be heard
especially on the live-part of the double ‘Eat It’!
the two soul sides were musically fine if over produced, whereas the
sparse acoustic side was a pleasant reminder of the less boozy
Pie-times. Things must have gone over the top a little in
‘74 and ‘75 if the tour reports are to be believed, and albums of
the time surely serve as an indication. ‘Thunderbox’
has it’s rock highlight, ‘No Money Down’ and soul moment, ‘I
Can’t Stand The Rain’, but the self-produced sound is worse than
ever before. Finally ‘Street Rats’ is an unauthorised
hotchpotch of unfinished material intended for a future Pie release as
well as solo albums by Steve and Greg Ridley.
The band decided to call
it quits after their final tour of the US which went very well in
terms of money and feeling. In the summer of ‘75,
Clempson and Ridley having formed a trio with Cozy Powell, quickly
realised they were still contracted to their old company.
After Steve Marriott’s European trip with long time friend Alexis
Korner, they joined him in Steve Marriott’s ‘All Stars’.
Before touring the USA once again with a new band, Marriott wanted to
finish two albums, a group effort with the ‘All-Stars’ and a solo
album with West Coast session men. But A & M wanted
quick results - again! They made him re-record the band
stuff in the States and issued just one album with one group-half and
one solo-half.
|
