Customer Reviews

Eat It

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I know it's generally held that SMOKIN was the Pie at their peak but, 28 years on, this is the album I return to most often. They were never funkier than 'Get Down' .. never more soulful than 'I Believe' .. never more wistful than 'Oh Bella' and never rocked more than they do on the live tracks; though ROCKIN THE FILMORE comes close. It's a shame their full catalogue is only available in Japan these days and even more so that A&M don't (and probably won't ever) see fit to re-master them. Steve Marriott is truly one of rock's great unsung heroes - his emotionally-charged, gritty and quite unique vocals have been imitated by many yet, none have ever come close to matching his exuberant performances. I recall that EAT IT came in for some heavy criticism when it was originally released in '73, primarily for the extensive use of the Blackberries, along with accusations of insufficient self-penned material. In the Pie's defence, I can only say that several of the soul classics herein never sounded better. Marriott died tragically in a fire (he fell asleep while smoking in bed!) in the early 90's, after his career had effectively nose-dived and he was reduced to playing small venues and 200 seater clubs - although he still had the charisma to electrify an audience ... a tragic, tragic loss.

This 1973 release hit better record stores at the peak of "PIEMANIA." With their three biggest records behind them, "Rock On" "Performance, Rockin' The Filmore" & "Smokin" gaining big sales and now topping the bill (in the USA) as a headliner, Humble Pie like The Faces were really enjoying their time in the spotlight as real Rock N' Roll stars. Led by ex-Small Face, Steve Marriot, with guitarist: Clem Clemson and the fantastic bass guitar of; Greg Ridley and the young drumming powerhouse: Jerry Shirley. These guy's had seen it all since forming in early 1969 (with Peter Frampton who left for a solo career after recording the amazing: "Live at the Filmore" in 1971.)

This two record set was broken down into four parts. Side one was the: "Rock" side, side two was the: "Soul" side, Side Three was the: "Acoustic/Quiet" side and side four was the: "Concert" side, and it all fits nicely on this single CD.

The opener "Get Down To It" sets the tone to the rock numbers, with backing vocals by the Blackberries, Steve had set his music much closer to "Soul" music than ever before, and now as the sound of The Pie had evolved, we should have all saw it coming. But, for the fan's that jumped on with: "Rock On" & "Smokin" it was all kind of a shock to see a soul review added to a hard rock show. For my ears it DOES work much better on this record than it did on stage, where much of the show was as much about the back-up singers as it was about the regular four piece Humble Pie. The second number: "Good Booze and Bad Women" was a kick-a$$ number that would have been perfect for the live show, but, alas Steve didn't play it live and stuck more the soul numbers like "Black Coffee." "I Believe To My Soul" & "Shut Up and Don't Interrupt Me" and that now placed: "The Finest Rock N' Roll Band In The Land" deep into soul/gospel territory, and this was a loss to many a teenage boy of 1973.

The tracks ("Black Coffee" thru "That's How Strong My Love Is") are fine songs, but, they are NOT HUMBLE PIE SONGS! If I want The Temptations, I'll buy the Temptations, NUFF SAID!
The Acoustic Tunes: "Say No More" thru "Summer Song" harken back to Frampton day's of the 1st & 2nd records: "As Safe As Yesterday" & "Town & Country." They are very pretty and Steve sing's em' from the heart... Side three was always my favorite part of: "Eat It" and the best song on this record is right here and it's called: "Beckton Dumps." This one is about a squat that Steve once lived in, and it's a mighty rocker...Humble Pie at their BEST!

The last three numbers come from the 1973 Stage Show, "Up Our Sleeve" was the show opener, it ROCKS and it ROCKS HARD, Classic Pie, Just the way you like em'. The great Rolling Stone's ditty: "Honky Tonk Woman" was the encore at Winterland, May 73 and "Road Runner was also featured at that show. The Pie headlined that night with Steely Dan and Slade. We didn't mind the back-up singers (they were sexy)... we didn't mind the Ray Charles song... We didn't mind Steve playing the organ INSTEAD of his Gibson Les Paul for about HALF the tunes played that night.
We got to see HUMBLE PIE !!! AND THEY ROCKED !!!

I MISS THEM...

This CD has some great soul and acoustic songs and of course a dollop of high intensity rockin'. Side 2 (from vinyl days) showcases the Blackberries female vocal trio. Their smooth vocals work well as a counterpoint to Stevie's more aggressive approach on soul classics. Side 3 has short sweet acoustic songs which sound as if Stevie composed them on a sunny February day in his front room in Essex. "Oh, Bella" is particularly enchanting (strange word in a Marriott review). Side 1 features strong original electic songs (lots of Stevie on organ) which perhaps lack the Frampton artistic subtlety and Side 4 was recorded live at the Glasgow Apollo, no doubt on a Friday night.

Quite a lot has been said already, and I agree with it wholeheartedly.

Humble Pie never made a "brilliant" album but they were just a fantastic live band. Having seen the four times and bought every album they made, one of my musical disappointments ( along with missing Stevie Ray Vaughn live ) is that I do not have a real memory of those concerts... Hammersmith, Rainbow, Newcastle .....

However, as an album of excellent music, and one track "Beckton dumps" which is just pure Steve Mariott .... this is as good as it gets.

Hope you are still spitting up there, Steve !!! You are one of the few people who gave it 100% every second ....

I was reading a review of this album, along with other Humble Pie classics, at allmusic the other day and while they gave many of their albums, the pre-Street Rats ones, great rating (...)

Anywho, although the first song, Get Down To It may take a few listens to seep it, it is definitely a great rock opener.

Good Booze and Bad Women. Nuff said. Has to be a great song. IS A GREAT SONG.

Then, a complete change of pace, which is something pulled off perfectly here with the song Is It For Love? First time I heard this song I wished to become married to Steve Marriot.

I've heard the band was critized for heavily using The Blackberries on this part of the album, but if anything, that "over-use" makes the songs, especially the ballads, all the more great, even slightly Motown-esque.

Drugstore Cowboy, and Black Coffee, equally awesome blues numbers. DC will blow you away with the vocals, while Black Coffee ... well ... it will too.

I Believe is by far one of the most gospel-esque songs I've ever heard come out of a rock 'n roll outfit. Simply amazing vocals by Marriot and the Blackberries here.

The rest of the songs on the album, while they do 'slow down' a bit from the blues-rock of the first part of the album, you get a much more mellowed-down Humble Pie with That's How Strong Love Is, Say No More, Oh Bella, and Summer Song, the latter 3 being all acoustic numbers.

The album's studio recordings end on a high-note with Beckon Dumps, which reminds of some songs I can't quite remember right now. (Talk about quality review material right there, folks.)

Overall, awesome album, get your hands on it if you can.

On 2/14/07, Universal Japan released the entire Humble Pie A&M catalog, plus the "Marriott" solo album, in remastered, mini-sleeve packaging.

These remasters are GLORIOUS. This 2006 jewel-case re-release does not have the 2007 mini-sleeve's mastering.

The initial production run of the five central Pie titles (Humble Pie, Rock On, Performance, Smokin' & Eat It) have already sold out in Japan, so don't delay in getting yours!

Four of the five Japanese remasters are now the audio benchmarks for these titles: The 2006 UK Repertoire version of the third album, "Humble Pie", definitely has more clarity than the Japanese version, especially in the drums.

Perhaps now, Universal U.S. will get up off its lazy collective a** and make these fabulous remasters available.

Until that day, grab the Japanese CD's before they're gone, as all mini-sleeve CD's are limited edition.

Link to the 2007 Japanese remaster.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

Update- August 1st, 2011

Well, since I wrote my original review two weeks ago, I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that the first five songs have grown on me dramatically. I can't believe I somehow overlooked the Stones-like sleazy, raw, striped-down and steamy hot guitar work that "Get Down To It" through "Black Coffee" has to offer. Incredible! Steve Marriott's vocals *are* actually up to par after all, after I originally believed he lost his ability to care. No, in actuality Steve just changed his style because the band wanted to step away from their more hard rock/blues rock roots and stick with good old-fashioned roots rock, soul and gospel.

However, the final two selections on side 2 are really weak. "Shut Up and Don't Interrupt Me" is generic and entirely forgettable soul, and "That's How Strong My Love Is" is more generic soul with an embarrassingly repetitive chorus to boot. A low point- both of these songs. However the latter is definitely worse. Ugh! I don't like it at all.

I absolutely LOVE the first two songs on side 3. The first one is a love song enhanced with Steve Marriott's extremely good vocals and contains one heck of a terrific melody ("Say No More") and the other song is incredibly addicting as well with a touch of country and soul ("Oh, Bella"). These are probably my two favorite songs on the entire album, and they appear back to back! That's not very fair, haha. "Summer Song" is passable but nothing special, but "Beckton Dumps" (what the heck does THAT mean I wonder?) is an improvement as far as featuring an enjoyable vocal melody is concerned. It's a really good, underrated melody that I admire more and more with each listen.

The bad news? Well, perhaps the live selections could have been better, however there's one strong number on side four- "Up Our Sleeve". A *fantastic* song in fact. The amount of energy simply can't be ignored (or dublicated, for that matter) and the guitar riff itself isn't much different from the live version of "I Don't Need No Doctor" from the bands extraordinary Rockin' the Fillmore album, but that's not a negative by any means. I don't remember much about the next two songs, but "(I'm A) Road Runner" is definitely better than "Honky Tonk Women". Nothing will ever beat the studio version of "(I'm A) Road Runner" simply because Smokin' is nearly flawless in my book!

I honestly still stand by my opinion that a good portion of Eat It borders on generic soul, but songs like "Drugstore Cowboy" and "Good Booze & Bad Women" have REALLY improved for me tonight. I can't explain how it happened either- sometimes music just CLICKS, you know? Maybe it's the mood, maybe it's the setting, or maybe it really does take several listen to comprehend unfamiliar notes (or in this case, an adjustment period seemed to be required to understand Humble Pie's desire to change styles a bit).

However I definitely don't believe Eat It is in the same league as several other Humble Pie albums, and that includes everything the band released before Eat It with the one exception being "As Safe As Yesterday Is" (and that's ONLY because there's a few weak songs near the very end on that particular album). Otherwise Town and Country through Smokin' is the classic period.

I've come to the conclusion that comparing this stuff to the Rolling Stones is the reason I wasn't able to enjoy it initially. An unnecessary comparison like that is just not a very good idea and definitely an inaccurate way to approach it, because the two bands are very different. If anything, Eat It resembles early Rod Stewart/the Faces more than anybody else I can think of. Heck, if it wasn't for Every Picture Tells a Story and maybe to a lesser extent Gasoline Alley, I'd take this album over everything Rod Stewart has ever done. However the Faces released a masterpiece in A Nod is as Good as a Wink... to a Blind Horse.

Since my opinion concerning Eat It has changed so much, I decided to just delete my old review and keep this one up instead. So, for those out there who may have seen my original 3-star rating, sorry about that! It has now been updated to a more open-minded and justified 4 out of 5.

After the chart-topping success of "Smokin'", Humble Pie released what was then a double-album entitled "Eat It". Being a double-LP, Eat It offers any Humble Pie fan a great many sonic delights to aurally digest and enjoy (15 songs total).

As has been pointed out, Eat It was basically split into four parts: Side One being the 'Rock/Hard' side, Side Two being the 'Soul/R&B' side, Side Three being the "Acoustic/Stripped Down" side, and Side Four being the "Live Set" to round out the album. All four sides fit nicely on one CD.

There have been some who have complained of too much involvement by the "Blackberries", Humble Pie's background singers. I couldn't disagree more. The Blackberries were a great addition to the Pie's vocal harmonies and background singing. In addition, Steve Marriot wanted the Blackberries to lay down their tracks on this album, so I'm not going to question him on this point.

The first 12 cuts on this album (the studio cuts) are simply fantastic. They all blend together to form a great set of music; regardless of the rock, soul and acoustic distinctions. This is what Humble Pie has been doing from the beginning: pouring their hearts into great music regardless of style and creating their own distinctive sound. Marriot & Company are STILL on top of their game with this fine recording!! This album fits in nicely with their previous efforts. It will not disappoint a real fan of the Pie!

The final three cuts (the live set) reveals Humble Pie blasting out three great songs on-stage. The sound quality of these three songs is not as fantastic as their highly-regarded "Performance-Rockin' The Fillmore" release, but its still a great chance to hear Humble Pie charging through some great live songs and wowing their audience with their great live performing ability.

This album is a MUST HAVE for your collection of Humble Pie's bad-ass recordings and is also recommended for those who have yet to 'taste' Humble Pie. Buy Eat It!!

This review is of the 2009 Universal/Japan SHM-CD 24-bit Remastered pressing. The sound is absolutely superb and is highly recommended as THE one to buy. The packaging is an exact replica of the original, double-album; which, comes with an "obi" [UICY-94070] as well as an English/Japanese lyric foldout. Also, there are two inserts replicating BOTH original LP labels, one of which has a production/copy number printed on one side. The CD is enclosed within a static-free sleeve for protection. The outer CD sleeve is enclosed within a clear plastic sleeve to protect the mini-sleeve. THE best sound and packaging of ANY pressing! Get It!!

Thank God I was fortunate enough to attend a 1973 Pie concert and listening to this album is a worthwhile representation of the group's live performances. The band is tight and soulful Steve Marriot's trademark raspy voice, along with background vocals by the Blackberries, work well together, especially on BLACK COFFEE. Rock and rollers won't be disappointed either (check out UP YOUR SLEEVE and ROAD RUNNER). Humble Pie is one of the few bands of the pre-techno days of yore whose live albums were as good or better than anything produced in the studio, making a concert appearance an event not to be missed. Every bit as good as Pie's Rockin' the Fillmore, Frampton's Comes Alive, Grand Funk Live, and the Allman Bros. Live at Fillmore East. Also, you might want to check out Stage Pass by The Michael Stanley Band and Double Dose by Hot Tuna.

It surprises me that previous reviewers have failed to mention "Get Down To It", one of Pie's/Marriott's finest songs and well deserving of being among the best soul/stax pieces EVER written. Alone, it's well worth the price of this platter. Throbbing, pushing, and downright glorious in all its filthy thrust and consummate simplicity, it's a machine of pulsating sexual allure.

True enough, Eat It is a scattered ensemble of songs veering in sundry directions -- from country to gospel to hard rock -- but it's contained in Marriott's deeply felt culture of seediness while yielding to various temptations and giving the nod to his influences. Here is an album that showcases his talents and inspirations in many genres. Musically unified it might not be, yet at times, stone cold classic IT IS. Oh, and did I mention the harmonies so seductively warbled by the Blackberries? (Please remix this!)

This is Marriott's last vision of the Pie in its most overreaching, tantalizing, and often successful form. Without Frampton, there's a freedom that slides away from pop and folk towards Marriott's Black roots. Brimming with personality and more than often with scintillating songs (Beckton Dumps, Get Down To It, Black Coffee, I Believe To My Soul, Summer Song where the gtr work is a marvel of exquisite simplicity and taste, etc.), Eat It is a naked splatter of music that reveals the man's sources...and resources in ways you would never hear today from a musician. The difference lies in the array of culture these artists grew up with, something that's almost historically out of reach with modern musicians. While some are covers, this album is one of Pie's juiciest slices ever.

Just eat it. Then find out.

Your taste buds will thank you.