If you don't like rock, don't read this: Humble Pie

ajm · From: Los Angeles

I was walking through Tower Records yesterday desperately looking for something to buy. I happened to see the CD of "Performance:Rockin' the Fillmore" on sale for only $7.99!!!!!

It had been over 20 years since I had listened to this album, and it is probably pushing 30 years old now. It was a favorite then, and I was stunned yesterday to find out that I'd forgotten how good (IMHO) this album was and still is.

When you listen to Peter Framptons' other work since then, most people would never guess that it is him playing guitar on this album. It's almost like two different people.

For fans of '70s hard rock, I highly recommend this if you haven't heard it.

kyle reid · From: Butte,Mt.usa

When you say, "Dont read this" you know everyone is going to read it! I did, & I dislike rock more than anyone on this forum!!!

Theresa Galbraith · From: Goodlettsville,Tn. USA

ajm,
Thanks for the info. Some appreciate and like and have open minds to all forms of music. Yes, Peter can pick and sing! Theresa

Pat Burns · From: Branchville, N.J. USA

Rich Paton · From: Santa Maria, CA.,

Saw a live Frampton concert on TV about two years ago...he was just burning, must have been as good as or better than he ever played & sang, and the song material was mostly all new stuff.
As a rock electric guitarist, he was doing about 98-99 on a scale of 99 44/100.
Also a really cool, down-to-Earth dude. He used to hang out in Pismo Beach, Ca. a lot in the late 70's & early 80's. Myself & a buddy who was living in Pismo at the time were knocking down a couple of beers in a dive there one evening. It was a week night, the joint almost empty. A few stools down from us was this sort-of-familiar looking dude (had way shorter hair in '78 than that mop he sported on the cover of "Frampton Comes Alive"), who was going through a stack of photo-shoot proofs.
We asked him what they were about, and he explained who he was (we're like, whoa!)and that he had to pick one or two shots out of the pile to go on part of an album cover. Asked us "what do you think"?
I doubt our $.02 held much sway on that, though.
I had never payed much attention to his music before, so until I saw that TV gig of his, 20 years later. I had no clue how good he really is!

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

I didn't know that Peter Frampton was in Humble Pie. This Forum is educational!

kyle reid · From: Butte,Mt.usa

Pat! I also get a lot.

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Humble Pie was formed in 1969 by ex- Small Faces frontman Steve Marriott, and Peter Frampton, (ex-Herd, a pretty good late 1960s poo-rock band), they also had ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley along with drummer Jerry Shirley, the fledgling group spent the first several months of its existence locked away in Marriott's Essex cottage, before they signed to the Immediate label, which was the Samll Faces label at a time in the 1960s.
Humble Pie soon issued their debut single '"Natural Born Boogie,' which hit the British Top Ten and they follwed with the better debut LP, 'As Safe as Yesterday Is' in 1969, and 'Town And Country' the same year. Not long after Immediate went under and declared bankrupt.
They signed to A&M Records and suprisingly went for a harder sound like many UK blues bands had purused in the 1969-1970 period, despite the fact that A&M really didn't have any heavy rock acts!

Frampton actually split after the U.S. tour which resulted in 1971's commercial breakthrough 'Rockin' the Fillmore,' album, he'd lost his dual leadership role as Marriott was more suited to the rawer gutsier approach, while Frampton's more melodic approach was pretty much dumped from their performance.

Out of the two's career, I definately prefer the 1960s efforts of Marriott, but I feel that Frampton embraced a solid and tasteful solo career while Steve floundered around with various R&B and hard rock solo bands right up to his sad and early demise in 1991.
I'd recommend all the Humble Pie albums, but most especially the 1969-1971 releases.

Having said that, also keep an eye out for
the Humble Pie retrospective set 'King Biscuit Flower Hour' from 1996.
It was recorded on May 6, 1973 at San Francisco's Winterland Theater, for the King Biscuit Flower Hour: In Concert series.
It's post Frampton with Marriott firmly in charge with Dave Clempson on second lead.
Totally amped up soul and R&B with a great black vocal group (which didn't always work on the studio sets between 1972-1975), interesting as a live workout of heavy Marriott.

Steve England · From: Austin, TX

I remember seeing Steve Marriot a year or so before he died. He was playing a small pub in North London (The George Robey for all you English Steelers). It was a good gig, (I was always fond of the Small Faces) but I couldn't help feeling it was all a bit sad. A guy that was in one of the first rock n roll "supergroups" trying to make ends meet in a sparsely populated pub.

If i remember correctly,his voice was still in fine form, but his sense of humor was as bit strange. Everything he said was a double entendre, like abad night club comedian. Very smutty and not always funny.

Great singer though.

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Steve, I feel that Marriott is one of those greats who kind of lost the plot in the end, and by that I mean they just couldn't seem to break out of a certain slump or run of bad luck and they exhibited a rather eccentric streak right to the end or to this day.
Eddie Hinton is another fine example of this, Arthgur Lee of Love, while Peter Green ex-Fleetwood Mac has seemongly come out the other side, somewhat stranger, but seemingly quite happy.
When I read about Marriott's death I was crushed, I used to listen to the Small Faces constantly at the time and had just started getting into Humble Pie (who's albums were pretty hard to find in 1991).

Frampton still sparingly gigs around, on the Simpsons there was a gag rock show episode a few years back where all the alterna-rock bands were stealing his rider while Homer broke his effects pedals.. he played himslef of course.

Theresa Galbraith · From: Goodlettsville,Tn. USA

We just rented a new release movie at which Peter gets credit for in "Almost Famous". Well done! Theresa

[This message was edited by Theresa Galbraith on 17 September 2001 at 07:32 PM.]

David Biagini · From: San Jose, CA, USA

Anyone remember that Dave Clempson went on to form a band called "Coliseum"? It was one of the first rock bands with horns, if I recall correctly.

Steve England · From: Austin, TX

I don't think Clempson went on to form Colosseum. They were fromed in the late sixties, wasn't that before Humble Pie? Colosseum were my best friend at schools' favorite band, used to go see them quie a lot. Dick Heckstall Smith was their saxaphone player, an jazzman primarily, he also played with a bunch of people in the easly sixties R&B scene in England. Found this informative link for anyone who is interested: http://personal.inet.fi/private/tapani.taka/colosseum1.htm

ajm · From: Los Angeles

I believe that Peter Frampton now lives in Nashville. I heard him in the summer of 2000 on the syndicated radio program "Rockline". He had his band live in the studio, they played a couple of songs, and they just killed.

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Yeah Dave went from Colosseum to the 'Pie.'
There was a later rock version called Colosseum 2 or something like that, not half as good as the 1960s band.

ajm · From: Los Angeles

I double checked my memory by going to a web site dealing with the band.

The guitar player to follow Peter Frampton was Clem Clempson, not Dave. (I'm assuming that he didn't go by two different names?)

Steve England · From: Austin, TX

The thing that really surprised me about Collosseum when I went to that link was the fact that they were still playing together into the nineties!!!!

I can't believe I am having this conversation, I probably haven't even thougth about that band in close to twenty years

Tim Fleming · From: Pasadena, CA. The other Rose City (deceased)

Wow!! A very timely topic for me!
After repairing my turntable, after many years of non-use, I looked through my piles of vinyl and the first record I grabbed was Humble Pie. I think it was titled simply "Humble Pie". It opens with an awesome rocker called "I'm Ready".

Here's the wierd part...what a shock...halfway through the record a tune called 'Only a Roach" comes and what do I hear?!? Some fine pedal steel played by B. J. Cole. Another tune featured it as well.
(I can't recall..I'm at work now and can't look it up).

Funny that in my pre-steel days I failed to appreciate that awesome sound.

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

i was a Small Faces fan back then.
always liked 'em.
along w: the Kinks,the Yardbyrds,the Nice,the Who, Traffic, Spooky tooth, Brian Auger, and so on...
i got into Humble Pie a bit, but times and i moved along elsewhere...
Steel what ?

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Guys, it's Dave 'Clem' Clempson.

Dave Zirbel · From: Sebastopol, CA USA

Wasn't Peter Frampton the Rollings Stones' first choice to replace Brian Jones after he drowned in 1968?

Bobby Snell · From: Austin, Texas

I had to post because I loved the title! hehe

Saw Poco open up for Peter Frampton in the '70s at the Asbury Park Convention Hall.

Rock on

Steve England · From: Austin, TX

Know what you mean Mr. Snell. I don't, and I did!!!

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Dave, Brian drowned in 1969,and they kicked him out of the band before that anyway.
There's a lot of stories about who was going to be the next guitar slinger for the group in 1969, Clapton, Frampton, etc.
I personally doubt they'd even have contemplated anyone but sidemen, Frampton was a 'Teen Set' pop star in 1967-1968 with the Herd, so I think he'd hardly even have been considered although by the Humble Pie LPs in 1969 he'd probably gotten a far better look over.
Ry Cooder was tipped as a replacement, and was probably a sterling choice, but it was not to be.
In true Stones style (aside from picking Ronnie Wood in the mid 1970s), they augmented the group with a very talented sideman; Mick Taylor which I guess a few people might know already, so I'll bail right here and now before I go on and on about Mick.

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

Ry, the next best thing, after Brian Jones, that happened to the Stones.
Steel what ?