Pic of the day: Sixty years ago …

… Steve Marriott played Kingston.

(And if you come back on Monday, they say this “Slowhand” guy’s pretty good.) (Kevin Walsh)

Pic of the day: Ladies & Gentlemen …

… The Packet Of Three: Steve Marriott (guitar, vocals), Jim Leverton (bass, vocals) & Alan “Sticky” Wicket (drums), ca. 1990:

Pic of the day: Remembering …

 … STEVE MARRIOTT who sadly left us on this day 20th April 1991:

Steve Marriott & The Packet Of Three – Dingwalls 6.7.84 (1991)

If you don’t mind hearing more rock than blues, pick up Steve Marriott – Dingwalls 6.7.84. It’s an outstanding Packet of Three set with much better recording and performances from around the same time. If you’re like me, you’ll love the entire CD. The blues tracks here are “Five Long Years”, the Ashford-Simpson-penned Ray Charles song “I Don’t Need No Doctor” and “Walkin’ the Dog” but Stevie’s rockers are great as well. (by William Sout)

This 1984 show at the North London club Dingwalls was originally broadcast live on the radio, featuring Marriott backed by his band Packet of Three; this performance has also been released under the titles of Dingwalls and Packet of Three: Live. This version has the advantage of liner notes detailing Marriott’s career. (Steve Huey)

Just like many nights at the Half Moon in Putney, this recording really captures the feel of Steve Marriott live. Although there is no Jerry Shirley on drums (as in some Packet of Three performances), this CD has a great R&B feel (soulful vocals and crunchy chords). Only regret is that there is no version of Afterglow, a highlight of most shows. (by an Amazon customer)

Listen to another album by one of my favorite musician of all time !

Personnel:
Fallon (drums)
Jim Leverton (bass, vocals on 03., background vocals)
Steve Marriott (guitar, vocals, harmonica)

Tracklist:
01. What’cha Gonna Do About It? (Potter/Samwell) 4.17
02. Fool For A Pretty Face (Marriott/Shirley) 5.50
03. Shame On You (Cooley) 4.06
04. Bad Moon Rising (Fogerty) 6.32
05. The Cockney Rhyme (Traditional) 0.48
06. All Shook Up (Blackwell/Presley) 3.17
07. The Fixer (Marriott/Ridley/Shirley) 7.25
08. All Or Nothing (Marriott/Lane) 5.49
09. Five Long Years (Boyd) 7.43
10.  Thirty Days In The Hole (Marriott) 10.57
11. I Don’t Need No Doctor (Armstead/Ashford/Simpson) 12.47
12.  Big Train Stop At Memphis (Traditional) 5.25
13. Walkin’ the Dog (Thomas) 4.04

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Steve Marriott – Marriott (1976)

In 1975, Humble Pie came sputtering to a halt after a series of less than inspiring albums. Surprisingly, frontman Steve Marriott’s first solo album after the split, 1976’s Marriott, is a sprightly, rollicking affair that is light on the blues-rock of Humble Pie and heavy on soul, funk, and hard-charging rock & roll. The album is divided into a British side (recorded by Marriott’s band that included ex-T. Rex guitarist Mickey Finn) and an American side (with backing by a raft of West Coast session players including Michael Nesmith sidekick Red Rhodes on pedal steel). The British side is a rocked-out blast of noise with Marriott’s wailing vocals sounding rejuvenated and his live-wire guitar playing fully to the front. Tracks like “East Side Struttin’,” “Lookin’ for a Love,” a fully fleshed-out version of a Small Faces track, “Wam Bam Thank You Ma’am,” and “Midnight Rollin'” equal the best moments of Humble Pie, and only the blues ballad “Help Me Through the Day” lets the side down. The American side is unsurprisingly a much slicker proposition, relying on backing vocalists and synths to flesh out the sound. Marriott’s ragged soul shines through, however, on rollicking tracks like “Star in My Life,” the disco-fied “Late Night Lady,” and a slinky cover of Freddie Scott’s “Are You Lonely for Me Baby.” Again, the ballad drags things down as the cheesy arrangement of “You Don’t Know Me” shows that maybe Marriott should have steered clear of the ballads — the cheesy arrangement is pure supper club, and Marriott sounds very out of place. Batting .800 is nothing to look sideways at, though, and Marriott is a stunning return to form and a powerful two-finger salute to anyone who had written the lad off as washed up. He’s dirty as ever and on top of his game, and the album flat out rocks. ( by Tim Sendra)

Personnel:
Ben Benay (guitar on 06. – 10.)
Alan Estes (percussion on 06. – 10.)
Mickey Finn (guitar on 01. – 05.)
David Foster (keyboards on 06. – 10.)
Dennis Kovarik (bass on 06. – 10.)
Steve Marriott (guitar, vocals)
Greg Ridley (bass, background vocals on 01. – 05.)
Red Rhodes (guitar, pedal steel-guitar on 06. – 10.)
David Spinozza (guitar on 10.)
Ian Wallace (drums, Percussion on 01. – 05.)
Ernie Watts (Saxophone on 06. – 10.)
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background vocals:

Carlena Williams – Greg Ridley – Maxayn Lewis – Venetta Fields

Tracklist:

British Side:
01  East Side Struttin’ (Finn/Marriott) 4.55
02. Lookin’ For A Love (Alexander/Samuels) 3.51
03. Help Me Through The Day (Russell) 6.01
04. Midnight Rollin’ (Stephens/Marriott) 3.36
05. Wam Bam Thank You Ma’am (Lane/Marriott) 4.03

 American Side:
06. Star In My Life (Wallace/Marriott) 3.37
07. Are You Lonely For Me Baby (Burns) 3.58
08. You Don’t Know Me (Walker/Arnold) 5.03
09. Late Night Lady (Ridley/Marriott/Hinkley) 3.07
10. Early Evening Light (Marriott) 4.08

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Steve Marriott & Peter Frampton – Humble Pie Reunion Demos (1991)

Humble Pie was formed in late 1968 when Steve Marriott, guitarist and incomparable blues rock vocalist, left the Small Faces, and joined forces with guitarist/singer Peter Frampton, formerly of The Herd, ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley, and 17 year-old drummer Jerry Shirley. Few people today remember Steve Marriott, and that’s a pity. His voice was what Jimmy Page wanted Robert Plant to sound like, and Plant openly emulated Marriott. Humble Pie’s fade out from rock consciousness was due to multitude of factors. Their studio albums were relatively poor sellers, and relying so heavily on cover songs probably worked against them. The group disbanded in 1975, reunited briefly in 1979, then saw Marriott quit and move back to England in 1983. In 1991, he and Peter Frampton were collaborating on a possible HP reunion in California, when Steve rather abruptly flew home to England. Marriott was tragically killed in a fire at his home on April 19, 1991. (by elevenwarriors.com)

This was the last recordings of Steve Marriott and the tracklist is very interesting, because Frampton & Marriott recorded some old songs from the Seventies …  includig new versions of songs like “Why I Need the Blues” (originally recorded by “Cochise” … but I guess this is the original version – with Steve Marriott as a background singer – and not a Frampton/Marriott version from 1991, unfortunately I have not the time to check this out) or “And The Band Played On” (original recorded by the great “Back Street Crawler” feat. Paul Kossoff … (maybe another fake, it sounds like the original version).

So, this is a very mysterious, strange bootleg … but … songs like “The Bigger They Come” and “I Won’t Let You Down” are definitely songs from this early 1991 sessions … a few months before Steve Marriott died …

Steve Marriott

Personnel:
Peter Frampton (guitar, vocals)
Steve Marriott (guitar, vocals, harmonica)
+
unknown studio musicians

Peter Frampton

Tracklist:
01. Scratch My Back (Big Black Dog) (Frampton/Shirley/Ridley/Marriott) 4.10
02. Why I Need the Blues (That´s Why I Sing The Blues) ( 4.14 (7.1MB)
03. Rolling Stone Part 2 (Morganfield) 4.02
04. And The Band Played On (Wilson) 4.38
05. The Bigger They Come I (Frampton/Marriott/Regan) 4:21
06. Groove By You I (unknown) 0.21
07. The Bigger They Come II (Frampton/Marriott/Regan) 4.17
08. I Won’t Let You Down I (Frampton/Msrriott) 4:31
09. The Bigger They Come III  (Frampton/Marriott/Regan) 4.20
10. Groove By You II (unknown) 3.11
11. Cold Hearted Head (unknown) 2.28
12. I Won’t Let You Down II (Frampton/Marriott) 4.36

A very special performance

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