Smokin' (Humble Pie album)

Last updated

Smokin'
Smokin cover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1972 (1972-03)
RecordedFebruary 1972
Studio Olympic Studios, London
Genre
Length43:48
Label A&M
Producer Humble Pie
Humble Pie chronology
Performance Rockin' the Fillmore
(1971)
Smokin'
(1972)
Eat It
(1973)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Smokin' is the fifth studio album by English rock band Humble Pie, released in 1972 by A&M Records. It was the band's international commercial breakthrough, peaking at number 6 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, [3] and hit number 20 in the UK and number 9 in Australia. [4]

Contents

Background

The album was Humble Pie's first following the departure of guitarist Peter Frampton, which placed singer and co-founder Steve Marriott as the band's de facto leader. Smokin' is the band's best-selling album, due in large part to the success of the single "30 Days in the Hole".

Smokin' includes dramatically slowed down versions of Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody", Junior Walker's "Road Runner", and the wah-wah laden slow blues "I Wonder". "You're So Good for Me", which begins as a delicate acoustic number, ultimately mutates into a full-bore gospel music rave-up, an element that would later influence bands like The Black Crowes.

Alexis Korner guests on the track "Old Time Feelin'", Marriott's vocals take a back seat as the main vocals are provided by Clem Clempson and Korner who also plays a Martin Tiple, mandolin-type guitar. Its sound is reminiscent of the song "Alabama '69" on their first album.

Stephen Stills guests on "Road Runner 'G' Jam" (the title is a nod to the band's habit of developing songs out of jam sessions), by adding his backing vocals that were over-dubbed on "Hot 'n' Nasty" a slow-burning and then dynamic R&B song, after he strolled in after recording his own sessions next door. [5]

Marriott insisted on producing the album himself for the challenge of creating a compact R&B sound with a high-tech 24-track mixing board. Marriott collapsed with exhaustion in February. The New Musical Express (NME) reported at the time: "Following intense recording sessions with Humble Pie, Steve Marriott collapsed with nervous exhaustion and doctors told him to rest". [6]

With this album the group were seen as leaders of the boogie movement in the early 1970s. [7]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriterLength
1."Hot 'n' Nasty"Marriott / Ridley / Clempson / Shirley3:22
2."The Fixer"Marriott / Ridley / Clempson / Shirley5:02
3."You're So Good for Me"Marriott, Ridley 3:50
4."C'mon Everybody" Jerry Capehart, Eddie Cochran 5:13
5."Old Time Feelin'"Traditional, lyrics by Marriott4:00
Side two
No.TitleWriterLength
6."30 Days in the Hole"Marriott3:57
7."Road Runner/Road Runner's 'G' Jam" Holland-Dozier-Holland, Humble Pie3:43
8."I Wonder" Cecil Gant, Raymond Leveen8:53
9."Sweet Peace and Time"Marriott / Ridley / Clempson / Shirley5:48
Total length:43:48 [1]

Personnel

Humble Pie
Additional personnel
Production

Charts

Release history

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Marriott</span> English guitarist and singer (1947–1991)

Stephen Peter Marriott was an English musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over 20 years. Marriott was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Small Faces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humble Pie</span> British rock band

Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by singer-guitarists Peter Frampton and Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. Often regarded as one of the first supergroups in music, Humble Pie experienced moderate popularity and commercial success during the 1970s with songs such as "Black Coffee", "30 Days in the Hole", "I Don't Need No Doctor", "Hot 'n' Nasty", and "Natural Born Bugie" among others. The original line-up featured lead singer and guitarist Steve Marriott from Small Faces, singer and guitarist Peter Frampton from the Herd, former Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley and a 17-year-old drummer, Jerry Shirley, from the Apostolic Intervention.

<i>Street Rats</i> 1975 studio album by Humble Pie

Street Rats was the eighth studio album by the English rock group Humble Pie, released in 1975. The album went to number 100 on the US Billboard 200 album chart.

<i>Performance Rockin the Fillmore</i> 1971 live album by Humble Pie

Performance Rockin' the Fillmore is the 1971 live double-LP/single-CD by the English blues-rock group Humble Pie, recorded at the Fillmore East in New York City on May 28–29, 1971. It reached #21 on the Billboard 200, #32 in Canada, and entered the UK Top 40.

<i>Rock On</i> (Humble Pie album) 1971 studio album by Humble Pie

Rock On is the fourth album by the English rock group Humble Pie, released in March 1971. It reached #118 on the Billboard 200. It is the last Humble Pie studio album to feature guitarist/singer Peter Frampton, who left the band towards the end of the year.

<i>Eat It</i> (album) 1973 album by Humble Pie

Eat It is the sixth album by English rock band Humble Pie, released in April 1973 through A&M Records. Released as a double album, it peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard 200, number 34 in the UK Albums Chart, and number 9 in Australia.

Venetta Lee Fields is an American-born Australian singer and musical theater actress, and vocal coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Ridley</span> English rock bassist (1947–2003)

Alfred Gregory Ridley was an English bassist who was the bassist and a founding member of the rock band Humble Pie and Spooky Tooth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clem Clempson</span> English guitarist

David "Clem" Clempson is an English rock guitarist who has played as a member in a number of bands including Colosseum and Humble Pie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Shirley</span> Musical artist

Jerry Shirley is an English rock drummer, best known as a member of the band Humble Pie, appearing on all their albums. He is also known for his work with Fastway, Joey Molland from Badfinger, Alexis Korner, Billy Nicholls, Syd Barrett, John Entwistle, Sammy Hagar and Benny Mardones.

<i>As Safe as Yesterday Is</i> 1969 studio album by Humble Pie

As Safe as Yesterday Is is the debut studio album by English rock band Humble Pie, released in August 1969. The band had been formed by singer/guitarists Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton. The album features a blend of heavy blues, crushing rock, pastoral folk, and post-mod pop music. It peaked at number 32 in the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Thunderbox</i> (album) Album by Humble Pie

Thunderbox is the seventh studio album by English hard rock group Humble Pie, released in 1974. It reached number 52 on the US Billboard 200 album chart. The planned UK release was cancelled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural Born Bugie</span> 1969 single by Humble Pie

"Natural Born Bugie" is the debut single released in 1969 by English rock band Humble Pie, who were one of the first British supergroups. It was written as a mid tempo rock song by Steve Marriott, for Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label and became the band's first single release. The original UK B-side was "Wrist Job" and it was replaced with "I'll Go Alone" for a later release in United States. The three guitarists sang a verse each.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">30 Days in the Hole</span> 1972 single by Humble Pie

"30 Days in the Hole" is a song by English rock band Humble Pie. Released in late 1972, it was composed by the band's guitarist/singer Steve Marriott for the group's fifth album Smokin' (1972). The song received minor airplay at the time but failed to chart. However, it gained a following on album oriented rock (AOR) and classic rock radio formats and consequently it remains one of Humble Pie's best known songs.

"Hot 'n' Nasty" is the sixth single by English rock outfit Humble Pie, one of the first supergroups of the 1960s-'70s. Released in 1972, the song peaked at #52 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and #35 in Canada. The B-side is "You're So Good for Me".

<i>Rough Diamond</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Rough Diamond

Rough Diamond is the only album by the British rock band Rough Diamond.

<i>Extended Versions</i> (Humble Pie album) 2000 live album by Humble Pie (band)

Extended Versions is a live album by Humble Pie, released in 2000, as part of BMG's Encore Collection. It has tracks taken from the King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents - Humble Pie In Concert, which was a 1996 release of a concert recorded on May 6, 1973 at San Francisco's Winterland Theatre. The only track not included here from that release is "I Don't Need No Doctor".

Bakerloo was an English heavy blues-rock trio, established by Staffordshire guitarist David "Clem" Clempson, Terry Poole and others in the late 1960s, at the high point of the influence of The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream. Although the group was prominent only for around a year (1968–9) and released only one album, it played an important part in the history of the genre, especially in view of its members' subsequent involvement with Colosseum, Humble Pie, May Blitz, Graham Bond, Vinegar Joe, Judas Priest and Uriah Heep.

"Black Coffee" is a song written by Tina Turner. It was originally recorded by Ike & Tina Turner for their 1972 album Feel Good on United Artists Records. English rock band Humble Pie released a popular rendition of the song in 1973.

References

  1. 1 2 Smokin' at AllMusic
  2. Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Humble Pie". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  398. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  3. "Humble Pie". Billboard. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 144. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  5. Twelker, Uli; Schmitt, Roland. The Small Faces (The Faces, Peter Frampton, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane, Steve Marriott Humble Pie & other stories). Sanctuary. pp. 90–91. ISBN   1-86074-392-7.
  6. The Small Faces (The Faces, Peter Frampton, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane, Steve Marriott Humble Pie & other stories). pp. 89–90.
  7. "Humble Pie, Smokin'". allmusic. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 145. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  9. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7698". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  10. "Offiziellecharts.de – Humble Pie – Smokin'" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  11. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  12. "Humble Pie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  13. "Humble Pie on Billboard Charting History & Albums – Year-End 1972". Billboard 200 . Retrieved 6 March 2021.