SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: HUMBLE PIE – SUNSET BLVD 1969

HUMBLE PIE
SUNSET BLVD 1969
CLEOPATRA RECORDS

In 1969, former Small Faces member Steve Marriott joined forces with Peter Frampton, fresh from the band The Herd. They recruited Greg Ridley, formerly of Spooky Tooth on bass, and drummer Jerry Shirley from the band Apostolic Intervention. Humble Pie was formed. They were, for all intents and purposes, a supergroup, and as such, there were high expectations. Their debut album, As Safe as Yesterday (1979) lived up to such expectations and removed all doubts that this band could produce some fine R&B and blues-influenced rock.

From their beginning, the band toured extensively and were known as a live band. In other words, better live than on record. I am not sure that is accurate, but Sunset Blvd 1969 does make an argument about their live shows. Sunset Blvd 1969 is a small glimpse into their 1969 tour. The album was recorded during their performance at the legendary Whiskey A Go Go, and the band was in top form that night. Playing such an iconic venue in Los Angeles must have fueled the band, because they launched into a set that really did set them apart from other bands at the time. Interestingly, the band performs only one original, “The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake,” which was not on their debut album, but on their second album, Town and Country. Here the band adds a great deal of energy to the song and it is not as laid back as the original studio version.

But it is their choices of covers that is most intriguing. They perform a nine-min version of The Yardbirds’ “For Your Love,” written by future 10cc member Graham Gouldman. They take the pop/rock song and add some serious percussion and heavy rhythm section to turn into a bit of blues-psychedelic rock. When they launch into the slow yet powerful, “Shakin’ All Over” it is an audio attack on your senses. It doesn’t sound like it is drawn out, even though it is close to 12 minutes. It sounds like a very organized and disciplined jam. But the last track, “I Walk on Gilded Splinters,” makes you wonder how the band can still perform a 20-min-plus bluesy jam. But they do, and they do it well. I don’t think Dr. John ever imagined his classic would sound like this. Louisiana blues is replaced by British blues/rock.

Sunset Blvd 1969 is the sound of a band with something to prove. Their performance was, very much, take no prisoners and I am sure that by the end of the night the band and the audience were exhausted. Humble Pie is a classic rock band that does not get the attention they so richly deserve. The concert is well recorded and hearing Humble Pie at this stage in their career, their U.S. top ten album three years later, Smokin’, is not a surprise. There are only five tracks on this album, but it is a full concert. And the band is full of energy. This album goes a long way in making an argument about them being a ‘live band.’

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