More of the Music of Humble Pie
More of the Music of Peter Frampton
This record is the very definition of TUBEY MAGIC. The sound is so rich and sweet it will make you want to take all your CDs and dump them in the trash, if you haven’t done so already.
This is the sound WE LOVE here at Better Records, assuming the pressing in question still maintains some degree of presence, immediacy and transparency. Records like this can easily get thick and muddy; think of the typically dull Who’s Next or Sticky Fingers and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
But oh what a glorious sound it is when it’s working. There’s not a trace of anything phony up top, down low or anywhere in-between. This means it has a quality sorely at odds with the vast majority of audiophile pressiings, new and old, as well as practically anything recorded in the last twenty years, and it is simply this: The louder you play it the better it gets.
For that we must thank Glyn Johns.
Sides One and Two
The second side is the better of the two here, but not by much. It has wonderful transparency: just listen to all that studio echo around the drums, along with the breathy texture of the voices in the choruses. We rate it A++, very close to the best we heard.
Side one rates A+ to A++. It lacks a measure of richness on the second track that we heard on other copies, and the top is not quite as extended as it should be.
Still, it rocks — the first two songs are excellent.
Peter Frampton
This is the band that Frampton matured in, but from an audiophile point of view, not a musical one, he seems to have picked up a few pointers from the likes of Mr. Johns about recording Big Rock Records. His first album, coming to the site soon we hope, has this kind of big production rock sound. I’ve been a fan of that album since I was in high school. Look for Frampton Hot Stampers coming to the site; we’ve found some, we just need to find the time to sit down and shoot them out.
TRACK LISTING
Side One
Shine On
Sour Grain
79th And Sunset
Stone Cold Fever
Rollin’ Stone
Side Two
A Song For Jenny
The Light
Big George
Strange Days
Red Neck Jump
AMG 4 Star Rave Review
On this, their second album for A&M, Humble Pie proved that they were not the “minor league Rolling Stones” as people often described them. Led by the soulful Steve Marriot, the Pie was a great band in every sense of the word. Although Peter Frampton elevated himself to superstar status in just a few years, this album proves what an excellent lead guitarist he was. The record has an undeniable live feel to it, due in part to Glyn Johns’ humble yet precise recording, framing the group as if they were a boogie version of the Band. When all of these elements come together on songs such as “Sour Grain” and “Stone Cold Fever,” it’s an unbeatable combination.