Thunderbox

For fans of bluesy, hard-charging boogie rock, the legendary band Humble Pie is an icon. Current artists such as the Black Crowes invoke its name and that of its leader Steve Marriott with nothing less than reverence. That Humble Pie was cofounded by Peter Frampton, enjoying a notable renaissance of late, provides even greater impetus for these new reissues of the bands classic albums

In 1969, Marriott, who had left Small Faces, and Frampton, formerly of the Herd, joined with ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley and drummer Jerry Shirley. Humble Pie's first single, ‘Natural Born Woman’ (aka ‘Natural Born Boogie’) hit the U.K. Top 10 and led to its debut album, As Safe As Yesterday Is. Humble Pie live, however, was explosive, loud and raucous. Frampton left after the tour, replaced by Dave "Clem" Clempson, A year later, Humble Pie disbanded. Marriott and Shirley briefly reformed the group in the '80s but accidents and ill health plagued Marriott and the band.

Twelve songs appear here, six of them covers, Ann Peebles song ‘I Can't Stand the Rain’ once referred to by John Lennon as the perfect single; ‘Anna (Go to Him)’ originally written and performed by Arthur Alexander and ‘Oh La-De- Da’ by The Staple Singers. Incidentally, the word Thunderbox is a seventeenth century slang word for the toilet which gives an example of Humble Pie's sense of humour. The cover shows a keyhole through which a woman can be seen sitting on a toilet.

This reissue - one of the first times this album has been released on CD outside of Japan - comes with new artwork and sleeve notes by Malcolm Dome who has interviewed members of the band to get the complete story, this along with newly re-mastered sound makes the Humble Pie renaissance start here