''Smokin is the fifth studio album by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Humble Pie, released in 1972 through

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. It was the band's international breakthrough, peaking at number 6 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 album chart, and hit number 20 in the UK and number 9 in Australia.

Background

The album was Humble Pie's first following the departure of guitarist Peter Frampton, which placed singer and co-founder

Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted pos ...

as the band's de facto leader. ''Smokin is the band's best-selling album, due in large part to the success of the single " 30 Days in the Hole". ''Smokin includes dramatically slowed down versions of Eddie Cochran's " C'mon Everybody",

Junior Walker Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr. (June 14, 1931 – November 23, 1995), known professionally as Junior Walker, was an American multi-instrumentalist (primarily saxophonist and vocalist) who recorded for Motown during the 1960s. He also performed as a sess ...

's "Road Runner", and the wah-wah laden slow blues "I Wonder". "You're So Good for Me", which begins as a delicate acoustic number, ultimately mutates into a full-bore gospel music rave-up, an element that would later influence bands like

The Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Ge ...

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...

guests on the track "Old Time Feelin'", Marriott's vocals take a back seat as the main vocals are provided by Clem Clempson and Korner who also plays a

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

Tiple A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a plucked typically 12-string chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first mention of the tiple comes from musicologist Pablo Minguet e Irol in 1752. Although ma ...

, mandolin-type guitar. Its sound is reminiscent of the song "Alabama '69" on their first album. Stephen Stills guests on "Road Runner 'G' Jam" (the title is a nod to the band's habit of developing songs out of jam sessions), by adding his backing vocals that were over-dubbed on " Hot 'n' Nasty" a slow-burning and then dynamic R&B song, after he strolled in after recording his own sessions next door. Marriott insisted on producing the album himself for the challenge of creating a compact R&B sound with a high-tech 24-track mixing board. Marriott collapsed with exhaustion in February. The '' New Musical Express'' (''NME'') reported at the time: "Following intense recording sessions with Humble Pie, Steve Marriott collapsed with nervous exhaustion and doctors told him to rest". With this album the group were seen as leaders of the boogie movement in the early 1970s.

Track listing

Personnel

;Humble Pie *

– lead and backing vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards *

Clem Clempson David "Clem" Clempson (born 5 September 1949) is an English rock guitarist who has played as a member in a number of bands including Colosseum and Humble Pie. Career Clempson began his career in the late 1960s with the power trio, Bakerloo (or ...

– guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Old Time Feelin'" *

Greg Ridley Alfred Gregory Ridley (23 October 1941 – 19 November 2003) was an English bassist who was the bassist and a founding member of the rock band Humble Pie and Spooky Tooth. Career Ridley was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England. Early in h ...

– bass, backing vocals * Jerry Shirley – drums, piano on "You're So Good for Me" Guests *

– vocals,

tiple A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a plucked typically 12-string chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first mention of the tiple comes from musicologist Pablo Minguet e Irol in 1752. Although ma ...

(similar sound to mandolin) on "Old Time Feelin'" * Stephen Stills – backing vocals on "Hot 'n' Nasty" *

Doris Troy Doris Troy (born Doris Elaine Higginsen; January 6, 1937 – February 16, 2004) was an American R&B singer and songwriter, known to her many fans as "Mama Soul". Her biggest hit was " Just One Look", a top 10 hit in 1963. Life and career She ...

– backing vocals "You're So Good for Me" *

Madeline Bell Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show ''Black Nativity'' in 1962, with the ...

– backing vocals "You're So Good for Me" Production *Album cover art designed by Kosh *Engineers: Alan O'Duffy, Keith Harwood *Recorded at Olympic Studios, London, February 1972. *Produced by The Pie

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

*1990 CD A&M *1972 LP A&M *1990 CS A&M *2007 CD Universal *1995 CD Universal/A&M *2007 CD Universal Japan *2017 LP Box Disc 4 A&M ('The A&M Vinyl Boxset 1970–1975', released on 16 June 2017)

References

External links

The History of Humble Pie
- Domain for sale
The official Steve Marriott website
- 404 Error {{Authority control 1972 albums Humble Pie (band) albums Albums produced by Steve Marriott A&M Records albums Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios