![]() A tasty boogie piano-and-lead-guitar break moves the song back into recognizable territory. On to Victory closes with a tasty electric-piano-led cover of Allen Toussaint‘s “Over You,” highlighting the fact that – once again – Humble Pie circa 1980 are at their best interpreting the work of others, not writing their own material.Īpparently they realized this: for the following year’s Go For the Throat, Humble Pie opened the record with a rock’n’roll classic, “All Shook Up.” Shamelessly stealing a signature riff from master thieves Led Zeppelin, this reading sounds not at all like the original. Some nice wailing blues harp is a plus, though. But beyond the riff, the song comes up a bit short in terms of musical ideas. Some dual lead guitar riffage brightens “Further Down the Road,” on which Humble Pie sound a bit like Robin Trower. (Or not: the bonus disc, recorded at a May 1981 Los Angeles gig, does not include a live version of the song.) A histrionic gospel-tinged reading of Otis Redding‘s “My Lover’s Prayer” does add some variety, but here Marriott’s vocal mannerisms tend toward over-the-top-ness. Tellingly, the album’s strongest track is a cover of the Holland/Dozier/Holland nugget “Baby Don’t You Do It.” Here the Pie’s best side is shown it’s a safe bet that this would have been among the more rousing numbers onstage during this period. ![]() “Savin’ It” does represent a bit of a departure: an ever-so-slightly funky reggae-flavored arrangement – aided in that goal by a Tench lead vocal turn – but in the end, most of the track’s distinctive qualities come from the backing vocals and sax, neither of which are part of the core Humble Pie aesthetic. Marriott’s lead work is tasty on “Take it From Here” and other numbers, but the relatively slight compositions don’t leave a lasting impression. The On to Victory sound is very much that of an opening band: solid but less-than-inspired riffs wedded to hard rock melodies. Uncredited sax solos (“Infatuation”), horn charts and rough-and-ready backing vocal choruses add some texture to the songs – as do Marriott’s occasional organ fills – but the approach grows a bit repetitive across ten songs. “Fool for a Pretty Face” was, according to the liner notes, released as a single, but it underperformed. The sort of meat-n-potatoes hard rock in which Humble Pie had traded was largely out of fashion by 1980, but that didn’t stop the foursome from cranking it out within the grooves of On to Victory. This lineup would yield a pair of albums – 1980’s On to Victory and 1981’s Go for the Throat – and a tour before Humble Pie broke up for good.Ī new 2CD set from Deadline Music pairs those two studio albums on one disc, and adds a live concert recording from the 1981 tour for the second disc. The new lineup saw drummer Jerry Shirley return the group was rounded out by Anthony Jones on bass, plus second guitarist Bobby Tench (formerly of the Jeff Beck Group, and most notable for his vocals on “Goin’ Down”). ![]() But by 1980, Marriott had revived the Humble Pie brand name. Marriott maintained the highest profile in the ensuing years, fronting an all-star group and briefly rejoining a resuscitated Small Faces lineup. But for a rocking good time, they could be counted on to deliver the goods.Īfter the commercial high water mark of 1971’s Performance/Rockin’ the Fillmore, subsequent releases yielded diminishing returns, and by 1975 the band had broken up. ( Peter Frampton was an early member of Humble Pie as well, leaving for a solo career in 1972.) Kindred spirits with fellow boogie bands Status Quo, Bad Company and Foghat, Humble Pie was not primarily a band that delivered musical nuance or deep lyrics. Never the most subtle of bands, Humble Pie was built around the guitars, vocals and personality of ex- Small Faces frontman Steve Marriott. The title of Humble Pie‘s first single – 1969’s “Natural Born Boogie” quickly telegraphed the group’s musical mission: straight-ahead, riffy rock of the sort that would fill arenas with fist-pumping fans.
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