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Humble Pie

Joint Effort

Review by Gary Hill

This is a long lost album from Humble Pie. It had been rejected by the group's label, and the music has been sitting in the vaults since 1975. The disc is a soulful one with both originals and covers on display. The sound quality isn't the greatest, possibly due to the tapes being neglected all that time, but it almost lends a charm more than detracts. I say "almost" because there is a point where the limitations of the tape are distracting. Beyond that, though, it's a flavor more than anything else.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) in Music Street Journal: 2019  Volume 3. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2019.

Track by Track Review
Think
This comes in with a cool funky groove and works outward from there. There is a lot of jazz in the mix here. This is a cover of a James Brown tune, and it shows. This feels a lot like something the Godfather of Soul would do, even in this performance.  The horns really bring a lot of cool to this.
This Ol' World

The organ and tasty guitar work bring a soul meets gospel and blues kind of vibe to this number. It's a slower moving track. It's quite retro in texture. There are some definite issues with the master tape on this cut, though.

Midnight of My Life

Another slow moving, soul-based tune, this is all class and style.

Let Me Be Your Lovemaker

The bluesy groove on this still has plenty of that soul vibe at play. This is one of my favorites here. It just has such a great, timeless and especially cool, sound.

Rain

Blues and soul merge well on this number. It reminds me to some degree of the band Free. Of course, this is a cover of the Beatles and the George Harrison and Beatles sound is all over it, too. There is some definite psychedelia in the mix.

Snakes & Ladders

This hard rocker is bluesy, raw and so cool. It's one of the highlights of the set with its almost proto-punk edge.

Good Thing

This is a short tune, but it's also another that has the more pure rock based sound. It's another standout.

A Minute of Your Time

An evocative, slower moving, soulful cut, there is a lot of blues here.

Charlene
Here we get a hard rocking jam that's soulful, fiery and just plain cool.
Think 2

We're back into the horn-laden funk for this killer tune. This is more of a party groove than the first excursion into thinking was. I like this one better.

 
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