Customer Reviews

Street Rats

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

 

 

The title speaks for itself. Yes Humble Pie were street rats. The music on this album is tuff stuff. A little bit o blues, soul, r&r, and a lot of balls. I can see why I had to wait so long for this. I wore out my vinal version. Losing Steve was a tragidy not only to we PIE HEADS, but to the music buiz as a whole. Steves voice is what every vocalist dreams of. There ain't nuttin he couldn't do, and to perfection. wanna hear what I mean. BUY IT!

I dont know why these mean spirited people put this album down. This tasty disc fits right in the stack of all your pie. If you love to feast on Rock On, Live at the Fillmore and then throw on some Eat It and Smokin', then you got room for a slice of Thunderbox, and a helping of Street Rats.Dont be put off by bad reviews, if you love these guys like a real fan does you wouldn't put any of this stuff down. This is special and historical, Marriott/Clemson/Ridley/Shirley throwing down one more time.If your a Pie man this is the last essential slice....Eat It

Humble Pie put together a string of successively great studio albums, not to mention one of the best 'live' albums of all time. They survived the departure of Peter Frampton by bringing Clem Clemson into to fold and, to be honest, they didn't miss a beat. After years of stellar studio output and blistering live performances, the Pie just sound tired and lazy on their "Street Rats" album. It seems that a long, overdue 'break' or hiatus prior to this effort may have revitalized the band and they could have possibly continued with better quality output. I'm as big of a Humble Pie fan as 'the next pie-head', and I do listen to this album. However, to put Street Rats on par with any of their previous studio outings is a thing I personally cannot do. Yet, I still do recommend this album to those unfamiliar with it; just don't start your Humble Pie collection here. I recommend starting at the beginning with "As Safe As Yesterday Is" and moving chronologically from there. Street Rats may not be the best slice of the pie, but it should not be disregarded as it has great historical value.

REALLY, THIS JAPANESE REMASTERED VERSION, SOUNDS PERFECT! A SUPERB SOUND, LYRICS, ETC... 1000 STARS FOR UNIVERSAL JAPAN!

The history of Street Rats is best documented on Wikipedia but it bears repeating that in Greg Ridley's own words: "It was terrible." The sessions were originally for Marriott's first solo album but A&M and Dee Anthony took the tracks and gave them to Andrew Loog Oldham who made them heavier and horrible. The result was an uninspired collection of 5 covers and original with no power or soul. The decline of Humble Pie that started with Eat It (3 stars) and Thunderbox (2 stars) was complete. Luckily Steve had more fun with Packet of Three and the reunion of the 80's Pie as it would a shame if this was the last work of an underrated rock icon.

Edit 2010: I am not sure how anyone can objectively recommend this release. Would anyone recommend this as the first choice for HP mach 1 and 2? Here's mine so you can bash me: Smoking, Fillmore, Biscuit, (other various live recordings: Peel BBC, BBC, Whiskey), Rock On, As Safe, HP, Town, Eat it, Thunderbox then this. This over Smokin or Fillmore? C'mon!

If you had a friend who asked you to buy one HP album, it would be this? Really?

The band never played anything from this release live (source: Humble-pie.net). I cannot find any reviews that came out at the time but I will continue to look.

Hard core fans of Marriott (and I am one, you can read my other Marriott reviews) ALWAYS give 5 stars. But are all HP/All Stars/Small Faces reunion/Scrubbers, etc releases (or your fave band) classic? That's simply not true and it would be nice to have someone else admit.

Bottom line: If you are a causal fan, pass on this.

Here's a voting of HP releases from a poll of fans in 2009:

1. Rocking the Fillmore 103

2. King Biscuit Flower Hour 100

3. Eat It 96

4. Smokin 95

5. Rock On 82

6. As Safe as yesterday 76

7. Town & Country 72

8. Humble Pie 64

9. Scrubbers 50

9. Thunderbox 50

11. Street Rats 28

12. Running With the Pack 22