Revered British rockers are celebrated with newly remastered versions of A&M albums
On December 2nd, A&M/UMe is set to release Humble Pie: The A&M CD Box Set (1970-1975), a comprehensive 8 CD collection that spans the illustrious early-1970s career of one of rock’s most beloved and influential British bands.
The all-inclusive collection is an expanded version of the comparable 9 LP A&M Vinyl Box Set (1970-1975) that was released in 2017, albeit now containing newly remastered versions of seven classic Humble Pie albums. The CD box set also comes with an additional, eighth bonus disc consisting of 14 rare B-sides and other rarities not part of the vinyl edition, including five previously unreleased tracks. Also featured in this new collection are a hardback book with all-new essay, rare photos, and other memorabilia. Meanwhile, the limited edition e-commerce 8 CD edition includes an exclusive lithograph.
A shorter, digital-only companion version dubbed The A&M Rarities (1970-1975) contains the aforementioned 14 bonus tracks found on disc eight of the full CD set, none of which have been made available digitally until now.
Anyone who preorders Humble Pie’s The A&M Rarities (1970-1975) will immediately receive the instant grat track “Big Black Dog,” the band’s very first A&M single that was also a non-album track. “Big Black Dog” will also be able to stream across all digital service providers.
Humble Pie was an early rock supergroup forged in the county of Essex in England in the autumn of 1968 by Peter Frampton, the lead singer and lead guitarist with The Herd, along with drummer Jerry Shirley. Steve Marriott, the legendary lead singer of The Small Faces, then joined in January 1969, along with bassist Greg Ridley from Spooky Tooth. When Frampton left in 1971 to pursue a successful solo career, guitarist Clem Clempson stepped in, and the band carried on through 1975 before going their separate ways.
Each of the seven timeless Humble Pie albums released on A&M Records built upon the collective DNA each seasoned band member brought to the table following their first two albums on the Immediate Records label in the UK. July 1970’s Humble Pie opened the door with the likes of Frampton’s gentle “Earth And Water Song” and a thunderous cover of Willie Dixon’s “I’m Ready.”
March 1971’s Rock On continued to lay down the band’s blues-rock calling card with signature tracks like “Shine On” and “Stone Cold Fever.”
November 1971’s double live Performance: Rockin’ The Fillmore is generally acknowledged as being one of the greatest live albums of all time, featuring the barn-burning, album-closing nine-minute version of “I Don’t Need No Doctor” that became an instant FM radio classic.
March 1972’s Smokin’ was the band’s first album to feature Clempson on guitar, highlighted by Marriott’s perpetually pleading AOR favorite, “30 Days In The Hole.”
April 1973’s Eat It was an ambitious double album with a different feel for each of its four sides, shifting from straight-ahead rock (“Get Down To It”) to R&B (Ike & Tina Turner’s “Black Coffee”) and then acoustic numbers (“Summer Song”), ultimately followed by a live side to close things out (“Up Our Sleeve”).
February 1974’s Thunderbox is flush with a mixture of originals (the gnarly title track) and covers (Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand The Rain”).
Finally, the band’s A&M Records swan song, February 1975’s Street Rats, balanced rough-hewn originals (Marriott’s “Road Hogs”) with gritty covers (Chuck Berry’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll Music”).
No matter how you slice it, Humble Pie’s storied legacy remains intact with fans and the band’s contemporaries alike to this very day, and the comprehensive collection reminds us all just how Smokin’ great this legendary band truly was.
8 CD
CD 1: Humble Pie
- Live With Me
- Only A Roach
- One Eyed Trouser-Snake Rumba
- Earth And Water Song
- I’m Ready
- Theme From Skint
- Red Light Mamma, Red Hot!
- Sucking On The Sweet Vine
CD 2: Rock On
- Shine On
- Sour Grain
- 79th And Sunset
- Stone Cold Fever
- Rolling Stone
- A Song For Jenny
- The Light
- Big George
- Strange Days
- Red Neck Jump
CD 3: Performance: Rockin’ The Fillmore
- Four Day Creep
- I’m Ready
- Stone Cold Fever
- I Walk On Gilded Splinters
- Rolling Stone
- Hallelujah (I Love Her So)
- I Don’t Need No Doctor
CD 4: Smokin’
- Hot ‘N’ Nasty
- The Fixer
- You’re So Good To Me
- C’mon Everybody
- Old Time Feelin’
- 30 Days In The Hole
- Road Runners ‘G’ Jam
- I Wonder
- Sweet Peace And Time
CD 5: Eat It
- Get Down To It
- Good Booze And Bad Women
- Is It For Love?
- Drugstore Cowboy
- Black Coffee
- I Believe To My Soul
- Shut Up And Don’t Interrupt Me
- That’s How Strong My Love Is
- Say No More
- Oh, Bella (All That’s Hers)
- Summer Song
- Beckton Dumps
- Up Our Sleeve
- Honky Tonk Women
- Road Runner
CD 6: Thunderbox
- Thunderbox
- Groovin’ With Jesus
- I Can’t Stand The Rain
- Anna (Go To Him)
- No Way
- Rally With Ali
- Don’t Worry, Be Happy
- Ninety-Nine Pounds
- Every Single Day
- No Money Down
- Drift Away
- Oh La-De-Da
CD 7: Street Rats
- Street Rat
- Rock ‘N’ Roll Music
- We Can Work It Out
- Scored Out
- Road Hog
- Rain
- There ‘Tis
- Let Me Be Your Lovemaker
- Countryman Stomp
- Drive My Car
- Queens And Nuns
CD 8: Bonus Tracks (B-Sides & Rarities)
- Big Black Dog (First A&M Single)
- Mister Ring (German B-side)
- I Don’t Need No Doctor (Edit)
- Chopper (With The Blackberries)
- You’ve Been In Love Too Soon (With The Blackberries)
- Twist And Shout (With The Blackberries)
- Don’t Change On Me (With The Blackberries)
- The Outcrowd (B-Side)
- Funky To The Bone (From UK Version Of Street Rats)
- Tell Me The Truth (previously unreleased)
- Gimme Some Lovin’ (previously unreleased)
- Illegal Smile (previously unreleased)
- Hurts So Good (previously unreleased)
- She Belongs To Me (instrumental/vocal/final vocal)
