One of the guests was Stephen Stills, who dropped by from the studio next door, and (though uncredited at the time) is the first voice heard on the track. The opening barnstormer, вЂњHot & NastyвЂќ was even more spontaneous, written, and recorded on the spot. The music side fell together there and then.вЂќ HeвЂ™d say, вЂWhat do you think of this: вЂNewcastle Brown can sure smack you downвЂ™? So when we got to SmokinвЂ™ I said to him, вЂWhat about that tune you were putting together last year?вЂ™ There was a little amp in the studio with a certain tremelo sound to it. It was written on the road, by Steve with help from each of us. вЂњThat oneвЂ™s all about debauchery, drink and drugs and so on. According to Shirley, it was a song Marriott wrote in pieces and then forgot about. ItвЂ™s not often youвЂ™ll hear such a good-timey song about spending a month in jail. вЂњ30 Days in the HoleвЂќ is in some ways the definitive Humble Pie song: ItвЂ™s got the soul feel and the Marriott wails, along with the trademark, boozy camaraderie. Yet the albumвЂ™s two anthems, and its two side-openers, were both developed in the studio.

He had a jukebox going on in his head all day.вЂќ вЂњCвЂ™mon EverybodyвЂќ got more of an update, partly inspired by a similar job The Who did on CochranвЂ™s вЂњSummertime Blues.вЂќ The iconic SmokinвЂ™ hits Their version of вЂњRoadrunnerвЂќ was born that way: вЂњIt was driven by a rhythm section jam we were working up, and SteveвЂ™s vast knowledge of past rock & roll. Much to our financial chagrin later in life.вЂќ Many of the covers came out of band jams: If a riff started working and it fit with some vintage song that Marriott or the band loved, they kept it. Says Shirley, вЂњWe didnвЂ™t care if we wrote a song, or the local milkman wrote it. SmokinвЂ™ also includes two covers вЂ“ Junior Walker & The All StarsвЂ™ вЂњ(IвЂ™m A) RoadrunnerвЂќ and Eddie CochranвЂ™s вЂњCвЂ™mon Everybody.вЂќ Covers were by now a fairly large part of the Pie repertoire. вЂњI used to get a sympathetic pain in my groin every time I heard Steve hit those notes.вЂќ вЂњThat middle eight is a real nut crusher, to put it mildly,вЂќ Shirley says. Everybody was doing that back then вЂ“ the lead guitarist would play a blues solo somewhere in the set, and he was so good at it.вЂќ Also developed early were two riff-heavy rockers, вЂњThe FixerвЂќ and вЂњSweet Peace & Time.вЂќ Bassist Ridley sings verses on the latter while Marriott goes full-throttle on the bridge. вЂњThat was done intentionally to give ClemвЂ™s blues lead playing a really good airing. вЂњI WonderвЂќ is one of the very few slow blues songs that Humble Pie ever put on an album вЂ“ and itвЂ™s a monster, their longest studio track at nine minutes. Clempson wasnвЂ™t as much of a singer or acoustic player, but he was a powerhouse of a blues-based guitarist.Д¬lempson immediately put his mark on songs the band had developed as a trio. Enter guitarist Dave вЂњClemвЂќ Clempson, who was immediately hired after Marriott spotted a couple of hot solos on a Colosseum live album. After the first round of auditions for a new guitarist didnвЂ™t work out, they wrote a bunch of heavier songs and considered going out as a trio. вЂњBut heвЂ™d be the first to tell you that when he left and wound up opening for us, he was thinking вЂOh dear, what did I do?вЂ™вЂќ The arrival of Clem Clempson

вЂњHe could see that acoustic side of things was going to be sidelined,вЂќ Shirley now recalls. Frampton, of course, became a sensation with his own double live album, but it took some time. This paid off handsomely on the live album RockinвЂ™ the Fillmore, with their classic take on Ray CharlesвЂ™ вЂњI DonвЂ™t Need No Doctor.вЂќ But shortly after its release, and just after the Shea show, Frampton jumped ship, realizing that the bandвЂ™s direction was shifting away from his interests. So Humble Pie initially functioned as a democratic supergroup: Everybody wrote songs, everybody sang lead, and the sound seesawed from heavy rock to the acoustic direction of their second LP, Town & Country.Д®ventually, they acquired a US manager and booking agent вЂ“ Dee Anthony and Frank Barsalona вЂ“ who gave them a recipe for American success: More hard rock, more Marriott upfront. Bassist Greg Ridley and drummer Jerry Shirley, meanwhile, came from cult favorite hard-rock bands Spooky Tooth and Apostolic Intervention. When Humble Pie formed in 1969, everybody had something of a profile: Marriott had been in the Small Faces guitarist/singer Peter Frampton, fresh from the Herd, was known both for his chops and his good looks (the UK press called him the вЂњface of вЂ68вЂќ). It was also the sound of a band in transition, both in sound and personnel.

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