Street Rats

This article is about the Humble Pie album. For the Once Upon a Time episode, see Street Rats (Once Upon a Time).

Street Rats
Studio album by Humble Pie
Released	February 1975
Recorded	January 1975
Studio	Olympic Studios, London and Marriott's Clear Sounds Studio Essex
Genre	Blues rock, hard rock
Label	A&M
Producer	Andrew Loog Oldham, Steve Marriott
Humble Pie chronology
Thunderbox (1974) Street Rats (1975) On to Victory (1980)
Steve Marriott chronology
Thunderbox (1974) Street Rats (1975) Marriott (1976)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

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.

Background

Street Rats was created at the same time as Steve Marriott was producing a solo album, and a collaboration album with Greg Ridley. He was not keen on producing another Humble Pie album, and did not want to tour the U.S. again, as they had been touring solidly for the past four years.^{[ citation needed ]}

While on the road, everything they wanted was paid for, but once they got back to England, four years and 21 tours later there was no money in the bank. Understandably, they were loath to tour and promote another album. Marriott: "We'd been on tour for about four years, and we were just very tired". But A&M as well as manager Dee Anthony were able to insist that Humble Pie were contracted to do another tour, and to do so without another album would have been an unwise move by the band.^{[ citation needed ]}

In early 1975, the record company, tired of waiting for the new album, "confiscated" material from Marriott's Clear Sounds Studio, but much of the material was not meant for Humble Pie, it was for a solo album and for his on-going project with Ridley. To make the best of a bad situation, A&M brought in Andrew Loog Oldham to mix and cut up the tracks and make them heavier, much to the disgust of Marriott. The title Street Rats was also thought up by A&M. Not surprisingly the band were never happy with the album, with Ridley saying: "It was terrible".^{[ citation needed ]} Clem Clempson elaborated on this. "The mixes were done by someone outside the band, [Oldham], and when we heard it we were horrified".^{[ citation needed ]} Marriott (1975): " "Street Rats" was a track with me, Ian Wallace and Tim Hinkley playing piano, It was nothing to do with Humble Pie". "Somebody stole the 16-track mix [ ] It was intended as the title track for my album".^{[ citation needed ]}

The album has different mixes for the US version. The UK version also has the track "Funky to the Bone" in place of "There 'Tis", Marriott stated in an interview that the song had nothing to do with Humble Pie. "It was just musicians up in my studio!" ^[2]

Five of the albums' eleven songs are covers; "Rain", "We Can Work it Out" and "Drive My Car" from The Beatles; "Rock and Roll Music" by Chuck Berry and "Let Me Be Your Lovemaker" by Reid/Clark/Wright and originally recorded by R&B artist Betty Wright in 1973. ^[3] There are two song written by Marriott, "Street Rats" and "Road Hog". The remaining three are collaborations between the various band members.

The album was produced by Loog Oldham and Marriott; it was recorded in Olympic Studios and Marriott's Clean Sounds studio at his home in Essex, England.

The last word on the album by Ridley: "Humble Pie were better than that, but we were not really consulted." ^[4]

After the release of this album and their farewell tour, Humble Pie disbanded, citing musical differences. Marriott went on to produce his first solo album Marriott and promptly moved back to the UK.^{[ citation needed ]}

Track listing

1. "Street Rat" (Steve Marriott) - 2:52 (Lead Vocal: Steve) (Drums: Ian Wallace)
2. "Rock and Roll Music" (Chuck Berry) - 2:55 (Lead Vocal: Greg)
3. "We Can Work It Out" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 3:18 (Lead Vocal: Steve)
4. "Scored Out" (Clem Clempson, Marriott) - 2:43 (Lead Vocal: Steve)
5. "Road Hog" (Marriott) - 3:08 (Lead Vocal: Steve)
6. "Rain" (Lennon, McCartney) - 5:58 (Lead Vocals: Steve and Greg)
7. "There 'Tis" (Marriott, Clempson) - 3:06 (Lead Vocal: Steve)
8. "Let Me Be Your Lovemaker" (Clarence Reid, Willie Clarke, Betty Wright) - 5:57 (Lead Vocal: Greg)
9. "Countryman Stomp" (Greg Ridley, Clempson, Tim Hinkley) - 2:20 (Lead Vocal: Greg)
10. "Drive My Car" (Lennon, McCartney) - 3:43 (Lead Vocal: Greg)
11. "Queens and Nuns" (Clempson, Marriott, Ridley, Jerry Shirley) - 3:04 (Lead Vocal: Steve)

Personnel

Humble Pie

• Steve Marriott – guitar, harmonica, keyboards, vocals, producer
• Clem Clempson – guitar, slide guitar
• Greg Ridley – bass guitar, vocals
• Jerry Shirley – all drums except on "Street Rat"

Additional personnel

• Mel Collins – saxophones
• Tim Hinkley – keyboards
• Ian Wallace – drums on "Street Rat"

Tour

Date	City	Country	Venue
15 February 1975	New York City	United States	Academy Of Music
17 February 1975	Detroit		Cobo Arena
19 February 1975	Atlanta		Municipal Auditorium
21 February 1975	Pittsburgh		Civic Arena
22 February 1975	Boston		Orpheum Theatre
24 February 1975	Chicago		International Amphitheatre
25 February 1975	Madison		Dane County Coliseum
26 February 1975	St Louis		Kiel Auditorium
28 February 1975	New Orleans		The Warehouse
1 March 1975
5 March 1975	Fresno		Selland Arena
7 March 1975	San Francisco		Winterland Arena
8 March 1975
9 March 1975	Sacramento		Sacramento Convention Centre
12 March 1975	Charleston		Charleston Civic Centre
13 March 1975	Louisville		Louisville Gardens
14 March 1975	Salem		Salem-Roanoke Valley Civic Centre
15 March 1975	Philadelphia		The Spectrum
16 March 1975	Columbus		Veterans Memorial Auditorium
17 March 1975	Buffalo		Kleinhans Music Hall
19 March 1975	Dallas		Municipal Auditorium
20 March 1975	Baton Rouge		Independence Hall
21 March 1975	San Antonio		Municipal Auditorium
22 March 1975	Houston		Sam Houston Coliseum
23 March 1975	Tulsa		Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion

^[5]

References

1. "Street Rats - Humble Pie | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 May 2021.
2. Twelker, Uli; Schmitt, Roland (2002). Small Faces & Other Stories. Sanctuary (Second Edition). pp. 103–106. ISBN   1-86074-392-7.
3. "Betty Wright – Let Me Be Your Lovemaker / Jealous Man (1973, PL, Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 1973. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
4. Twelker, Uli; Schmitt, Roland (2002). Small Faces & Other Stories. Sanctuary (Second Edition). p. 106. ISBN   1-86074-392-7.
5. "TourDateSearch.com: Humble Pie tour dates". Tourdatesearch.com. Retrieved 20 August 2018.

External links

• Information on Humble Pie