Customer Reviews

King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents in Concert

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yes, it's true, I was at Winterland that night and it was indeed quite a SHOW. The doors opened right on time at 6:30 and of course we headed for the floor, This was Humble Pie !!! My group was gonna be down front. Outta the way, Hipsters! This ain't no Quicksilver show, this was mighty English rock at it's finest and we were STOKED, and very STONED.

First band on stage: STEELY DAN, The original band with Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter on guitar & David Palmer on vocals. The Dan ROCKED !!! They played almost everything from their classic first album, and "Do it Again" featured a mean solo of 'Plastic Organ' as Donald Fagen, called it. We all knew these guys would be headliners the next time they came to town. {They DIDN'T tour again for over 20 YEARS!}.

The middle group was the: "Glam Band of the week"...SLADE. I had never heard of this lot before they took the stage BUT, they had had a number one hit in England. So here they be in all their glory and glitter, the lead guitar player looked like a Martian and he had "ODD GOB" written on his silver suit. The band KISS stole lot's of ideas and gimmicks from these boys, I never met a soul who actually bought one of their records, ever.

Well, after almost an hour...TA DAAAA....HUMBLE PIE! And loudly, they cranked out: "Up Our Sleeve", there is only one word to describe this assualt on our senses, POWER! The second tune? What else, could it be but: "4 Day Creep" from the "Live at the Fillmore" double set, when the crowd heard the first notes of this, we all went NUTS. Next, Steve introduced the back-up singers: The Blackberries, and sat at a white Hammond organ, and launched into: "Black Coffee" with a dirty rap directed right at the girls and what he had planned to do to them after the show. None of this can be found on the King Biscuit CD because of the subject matter {it's R rated).
There were a few more soul numbers performed, and just in time Steve jumped up from behind his big organ {his pun, not mine} and got back to playing some serious rock music once again with a KILLER: "Stone Cold Fever" that went on & on. This one was much longer than the "Fillmore" version. "Fever" was majestic and had some really pretty playing in the middle section. The guitar leads by Clem and Steve were amazing! This one needs to see the light of day once again, and alas, it ISN'T on this CD...$#!*

Also, not included is the long, long version of: "Rollin' Stone" they played that night in San Francisco. This one would not make the record due to the lyric content as they are very sexual. This version was way different from the other live version and is also merits an official release.

I am glad "30 Days" made it to the record, BUT, again there is an EDIT here as Steve introduced it with a long funny rap, and that is not included here as well as ANOTHER rap right in the middle of this crowd pleaser. This song could be from another night, and not from the May 6 Winterland show, if it IS Winterland, it's a great edit.

Some of the best stuff is included on this CD. "Halleluah, I Love her So" and "Hot N' Nasty" were SMOKIN'...these are the finest versions of these Pie classics, out there. The show closed with: "Doctor", and again this was a great version. The encore on this night was "Honky Tonk Woman" and then "Roadrunner". It was all over by 2AM {the official Winterland closing time}, if a show ran later than that they closed the doors and it became a "Private Party" until dawn.

I do wish we had the ENTIRE SHOW here, (it would take 2 CD's) because there is less than half of The Pie's set included here. But, I doubt that will ever happen. This was a GREAT NIGHT at Winterland, and I will always remember just How GREAT it was to see this band up-close.
Five STARS...

WOW, this man has lungs of steel. Truly one of the most gifted and talented singers in the 70's, Steve Marriott was a black man trapped in a white man's body. His soul was so deep in the ryhthm & blues that he not only wrote it, he sang it, continuously. Once onstage you here a man possessed by the power of soul. He sang nonstop during his concerts even going as far to sing the inbetween song banter that most fans dont usually want to here, but Steve made it interesting. Kicking this show off with the rocker Up Your Sleeves segueing into 4 Day Creep, Steve and Co. are in fine spirits. C'mon Everybody is just as powerful as the studio version and Humble Pie's version ofHonky Tonk Woman has got to give the Stones a run for their money. Revved up blues like Blues I Believe and Road Runner cement Steve's reputation as a voice to be reckoned with. By the time I Don't Need No Doctor and Hot N' Nasty are played, Steve's been singing his arse off for well over an hour, so if he sounds weak and tried you won't mind, because in that first hour you'll experience something you've likely never had or ever will again in music.

The King Biscuit recordings are hit and miss but this is a real hit. This has more energy than any HP studio recording and is better than their live record, as well. If you like Humble Pie, you NEED this.

Other King Biscuit hits (great stuff) ..Robin Trower.

Misses (avoid wasting $$)..Kingfish, Blackfoot, America

This live recording dates from 1973 and has sat in the can for about 20 years before being unleashed. At the time of recording the bands studio albums suffered somewhat from a muffled quality that seemed to take the edge away from the full blooded live sound heard on the Rockin' the Fillmore LP. While Smokin and Eat it are great LPs in their own right, this CD features tracks from both of those, recorded with an incredible clarity so that the Marshalls blare and the vocals wail like you never heard before! This is one of the most awesome live recordings of the 70's, no doubt. It even rivals Motorhead's No Sleep Till Hammersmith as the greatest hard rock live recording of all. No hype here, just full on passionate rock and roll all the way through. Maybe Steve's bar room preacher vocalisings are a bit excessive but you can only marvel at the energy he commits to the whole set - even the bits between tracks! Humble Pie are a much under rated band who are just now being recognised as one of the best rock acts of all. Get hip!!

Humble Pie was one the greatest live rock bands ever. They rocked in the now forgotten tradition of the Who and Mountain- loud, brash, and in your face. On studio recordings, the Pie never seemed to capture the essence of the band. Live, Humble Pie was a different story. They rocked with a ferocity rivaled only by the mighty Zeppelin. This record, a concert recorded on the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show, captured the Pie at their peak. Steve Marriot, the band's vocalist/guitarist, sang like a banshee and smashed power chords in the vein of Pete Townshend. Dave Clemson, the band's second guitarist, wailed like no other and was the epitome of the Les Paul-wielding guitar god. Combined with a thunderous rhythm section, the Pie had no peers during this tour in 1973. Marriot sings like a gospel quartet on steroids, even singing his words between songs to the audience. His twin guitar work with Clemson was legendary on this night, and the band rocked with a feral intensity. There are all out rockers, sweet muscular blues, and everything in between. There is even a cranked up, gospel/rock version of the Stone's Honkey Tonk Women. If you're a rock and roll fan, run, don't walk, to the nearest record and buy this CD. Being a long time fan of the Pie, I can say that this is their finest moment on record. Crank it up and go back to a time whem rock was real and drum machines didn't exist! Long live the Pie.

A Month after Humble Pie's breakthrough album the Seventies seminal double live album, 'Performance. Rockin' The Fillmore'. Peter Frampton found life in 'The Pie ' all just a bit much ,and upped sticks for a solo career. This left a great big hole in the pie so to speak.
Lead singer and original small face Steve Marriott took a quick look round and found his old guitar slinging mate Dave ' Clem' Clempson without a billet,Clem had been suppressing his hard rock urges within the Jazz/Rock confines of Colosseum,who had just disbanded in disarray, so was ready and eager to get it on in the Pie.
The combination was unstoppable,and the Pie went onto even greater heights ,all the albums went Top Ten internationally, and the Pie found themselves at the very top of the Rock'n' Roll tree.
At the prime of their powers,they performed a concert for America's famous music radio show, King Biscuit Flower Hour at the Winterland theater in San Francisco,6 May 1973 which has now been released on CD.
The band were promoting their 'Eat It' album and for the tour had added three sultry American Lady back up singers none collectively as The Blackberries , who gave the music a whole new dimension without taking away any of the Pie clout.
After the opening salvo of the perfect opener " Up Our Sleeves ' and Ida Cox's 'Four Day Creep'. Clempson and Marriott's guitars get down and dirty on Eddie Cochran's 'C'mon Everybody' with Marriott's chunky guitar riffs ,being overlaid by Clempson's sharp like guitar licks, all backed up by Greg Ridley's thunderous bass, the powerhouse drumming of Jerry Shirley, and of course the Blackberries . Clempson gets to do his Keef Richards thing all over Honky Tonk Woman, Steve Marriot does his very best Ray Charles impressions on ' Blues I Believe To My Soul'. A nod is given to past debts with a rockin' version of Peter Frampton's 'Stone Cold Fever' 'Thirty Days In The Hole ' and 'Roadrunner ' are stretched out by the gospel according to Steve Marriott. Greg Ridley gets a chance to show off his vocal chops during a complete re-vamping of 'Hallelujah, I Love Her So'. The set proper is brought to a rousing conclusion by a twelve minute barnstorming 'I Don't Need No Doctor' Humbles Pie's anthem.
The audience of course demand the band come back for an encore, the band duly obliged serving up a hefty slice of 'Hot 'n' Nasty' before leaving the crowd still wanting more.
In between songs you are treated to Steve Marriott's spontaneous cockney raps, where he demonstrates, why he was regarded as one of the finest singers to ever come from the British Isles, although I do suggest you put your ears over the children's ears , I wonder if these little bits of Marriott wisdom went out live over the air waves or were bleeped out?
I admit that later it all went a bit stale for the Pie ,but for those of you who know Pies famous Live album ' Performance ' ,trust me this is even better.
Sliced by Mott The Dog.
Served by Ella Crew.

This album is absolutely amazing. It is quite possibly my favorite live recording, and always blows my mind when i hear it. I shouldn't even waste your time by reviewing this for you, it just isnt necessary. Buy this then watch it burn your cd player.

This blows away "Rockin' the Fillmore" despite the absence of Peter Frampton. Steve Marriott was one of the most underrated vocalists of the 70's rock scene, and this one should tell you why. Fan of Zeppelin, Cream, Deep Purple and Sabbath and looking for another band of that genre to groove to? Fan of The Black Crowes and looking to check out one of their biggest influences to get a better sense of where they came from musically? Run...don't walk...to that "order" key and buy this one. Great stuff.

This is one King Biscuit Flower Hour CD that until here recently, I avoided because Peter Frampton had already left the band. Foolish me! 'King Biscuit' is a must-have archive recording. If you've ever been a true Humble Pie fan, you're sure to dig this ten track S-M-O-K-I-N' disc as much as I did, if not more. Frampton's replacement, guitarist Dave Clempson did a great job of filling in. This gig took place on May 6, 1973 at the Winterland Theater in San Francisco. Sound quality is great, I thought. Couldn't ask for more. Tunes that'll have me listening to my radio a bit less are "Four Day Creep", "C'Mon Everybody", their Stones cover "Honky Tonk Woman", Humble Pie's staple "30 Days In The Hole", the blues rock standard "Roadrunner" (wish I had a dime for every band that's played this tune), and the rousing "I Don't Need No Doctor". Question: does British blues rock get much better than this? I say, no it doesn't.

They just don't make bands like Humble Pie anymore.

This is an incredible live album and deserves a much higher profile. There is some GREAT guitar playing throughout but at the beginning of 'Blues I Believe to My Soul', when played loudly, it's almost as though you can actually `feel' the wood resonating on that Les Paul. :-)

I have contacted KBFH to try and find out if the rest of this amazing show is buried in their archives...fingers crossed that they still have this material if it was recorded, it would be a crime for it to remain unheard forever.

A 2 CD 'deluxe' version would be a dream come true.