Smokin' (Humble Pie album)
Encyclopedia
Smokin' is the fifth studio album by the English
group Humble Pie
, released in 1972. The album peaked at #6 on the U.S. Billboard 200
album chart, and hit the UK Top 30.
's first album after the departure of Peter Frampton
, which put singer and co-founder Steve Marriott
at its artistic centre. Smokin' is the band's best-selling album.
It includes dramatically slowed down versions of Eddie Cochran's
"C'mon Everybody
", Junior Walker's "Road Runner", and the wah-wah laden slow blues "The Fixer". "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 Greg Ridley and Korner who also plays a Martin Tipple, 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), playing Hammond organ
, and his backing vocals 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.
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. 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".
With this album the group were seen as leaders of the boogie movement in the early 1970s.
Side Two
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
group Humble Pie
Humble Pie (band)
Humble Pie was a rock band from England, finding success both in the UK and the US. They are remembered for songs such as "Black Coffee" "30 Days in the Hole", "I Don't Need No Doctor", and "Natural Born Bugie"...
, released in 1972. The album peaked at #6 on the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart, and hit the UK Top 30.
Album profile
This was Humble PieHumble Pie (band)
Humble Pie was a rock band from England, finding success both in the UK and the US. They are remembered for songs such as "Black Coffee" "30 Days in the Hole", "I Don't Need No Doctor", and "Natural Born Bugie"...
's first album after the departure of Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton is an English musician, singer, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. Frampton's international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!. The album sold over 6 million copies...
, which put singer and co-founder Steve Marriott
Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott , popularly known as Steve Marriott, was an English musician, songwriter, and frontman of several notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades...
at its artistic centre. Smokin' is the band's best-selling album.
It includes dramatically slowed down versions of Eddie Cochran's
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
"C'mon Everybody
C'mon Everybody
"C'mon Everybody" is a 1958 song by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart, originally released as a B-side. In 1959 it peaked in the UK at No. 6 in the singles chart, and, thirty years later, in 1988, the track was re-issued there and became a No. 14 hit. In the United States the song got to No. 35 on...
", Junior Walker's "Road Runner", and the wah-wah laden slow blues "The Fixer". "You're So Good for Me", which begins as a delicate acoustic number, ultimately mutates into a full-bore gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
rave-up, an element that would later influence bands like The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...
.
Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...
guests on the track "Old Time Feelin'", Marriott's vocals take a back seat as the main vocals are provided by Greg Ridley and Korner who also plays a Martin Tipple, mandolin-type guitar. Its sound is reminiscent of the song "Alabama '69" on their first album.
Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
guests on "Road Runner 'G' Jam" (the title is a nod to the band's habit of developing songs out of jam sessions), playing Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, and his backing vocals were over-dubbed on "Hot 'n' Nasty
Hot 'n' Nasty
"Hot 'n' Nasty" was 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...
" a slow-burning and then dynamic R&B song, after he strolled in after recording his own sessions next door.
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. 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".
With this album the group were seen as leaders of the boogie movement in the early 1970s.
Track listing
Side One- "Hot 'n' NastyHot 'n' Nasty"Hot 'n' Nasty" was 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...
" (Humble Pie/MarriottSteve MarriottStephen Peter Marriott , popularly known as Steve Marriott, was an English musician, songwriter, and frontman of several notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades...
) – 3:20 - "The Fixer" (Clem Clempson/Steve Marriott/Jerry Shirley/Greg Ridley) – 5:02
- "You're So Good for Me" (Marriott/RidleyGreg RidleyAlfred Gregory 'Greg' Ridley was one of the more visible rock bassists in England, and a founding member of the successful rock band Humble Pie...
) – 3:49 - "C'mon EverybodyC'mon Everybody"C'mon Everybody" is a 1958 song by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart, originally released as a B-side. In 1959 it peaked in the UK at No. 6 in the singles chart, and, thirty years later, in 1988, the track was re-issued there and became a No. 14 hit. In the United States the song got to No. 35 on...
" (CapehartJerry CapehartJerry Capehart was a songwriter and music manager. Capehart co-wrote the famous rock 'n' roll songs "Summertime Blues" and "C'mon Everybody" with Eddie Cochran, whom he also managed. He died in Nashville, Tennessee....
/CochranEddie CochranEddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
) – 5:12 - "Old Time Feelin'" (Traditional) – 3:59
Side Two
- "30 Days in the Hole30 Days in the Hole"30 Days in the Hole" was the seventh single by English rock outfit Humble Pie, a band from the 1960s-'70s. Released in 1972, the song became a radio hit but failed to chart. The B-side on its US release was "Sweet Peace and Time", while everywhere else they were "C'mon Everybody" and "Road Runner"...
" (Marriott) – 3:57 - "(I'm A) Road Runner" (Holland-Dozier-HollandHolland-Dozier-HollandHolland–Dozier–Holland is a songwriting and production team made up of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian Holland and Edward Holland, Jr. They are considered to be one of the greatest songwriting teams in popular music...
) B) "Road Runner's 'G' Jam" (Clem Clempson/Steve Marriott/Jerry Shirley/Greg Ridley) – 3:41 - "I Wonder" (Cecil Gant/Raymond Leveen) – 8:53
- "Sweet Peace and Time" (Marriott/Ridley/ShirleyJerry ShirleyJerry Shirley is an English rock drummer, best known for his work with the rock band Humble Pie and appeared on all their albums...
) – 5:49
Personnel
- Steve MarriottSteve MarriottStephen Peter Marriott , popularly known as Steve Marriott, was an English musician, songwriter, and frontman of several notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades...
- vocals, guitar, harp, keyboards - Clem ClempsonClem ClempsonClem Clempson is an English rock guitarist who has played in a number of bands including Colosseum and Humble Pie.-Career:...
- guitar, keyboards, vocals - Greg RidleyGreg RidleyAlfred Gregory 'Greg' Ridley was one of the more visible rock bassists in England, and a founding member of the successful rock band Humble Pie...
- bass, vocals - Jerry ShirleyJerry ShirleyJerry Shirley is an English rock drummer, best known for his work with the rock band Humble Pie and appeared on all their albums...
- drums, keyboards
- Alexis KornerAlexis KornerAlexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...
- vocals, mandolin-type Martin Tipple guitar "Old Time Feeling" - Stephen StillsStephen StillsStephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
- organ, backing vocals on "Hot 'n' Nasty" - Doris TroyDoris TroyDoris Troy was an American R&B singer, known to her many fans as "Mama Soul".She was born as Doris Higginson in The Bronx, the daughter of a Barbadian Pentecostal minister. Her parents disapproved of "subversive" forms of music like rhythm & blues, so she cut her teeth singing in her father's choir...
- backing vocals "You're So Good for Me" - Madeline BellMadeline BellMadeline Bell is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the United Kingdom during the 1960s, having arrived from the US in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with vocal group The Bradford Singers.-Career:She worked as a session singer, most notably backing for Dusty...
- backing vocals "You're So Good for Me" - Album Cover art designed by KoshKosh (art director)Kosh is an English art director, album cover designer, graphic artist, and documentary producer/director. He was born in London, England and rose to prominence in the mid-1960s while designing for the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera House...
- Engineers : Alan O'Duffy, Keith Harwood
- Recorded at Olympic Studios, London, February 1972.
- Produced by The Pie
Other releases
- 1990 CD A&M
- 1972 LP A&M
- 1990 CS A&M
- 2007 CD Universal
- 1995 CD Universal/A&M
- 2007 CD Universal Japan