Smokin'

Humble Pie’s fifth album was recorded after a stint on the road wowing U.S. audiences with soul-laced hard rock, and it shows. Always a vehicle for Steve Marriott’s scorched-throat wail, the band’s powerhouse boogie grooves dominate on the supremely soulful “Hot ‘n’ Nasty” and “30 Days in the Hole.” New guitarist Clem Clempson replaces Peter Frampton supremely well, particularly on the New Orleans funk of “Road Runners G Jam,” which is loaded with a fiery heaviness that would have dazzled any 1972 audience.