HUMBLE PIE, As Safe As Yesterday (1969 Immediate 1st)

	£		30
	$		40

e © AP6.0

ARTIST: HUMBLE PIE

TITLE: AS SAFE AS YESTERDAY IS

FORMAT: VINYL LP

YEAR OF 1ST RELEASE: 1969

PRESSING: 1ST

LABEL: IMMEDIATE

CAT. NO: IMSP 025

MATRIX NO. SIDE A: IMSPO-25-1Y

MATRIX NO. SIDE B: IMSPO-25-2Y

RECORD CONDITION: NEAR MINT

When the Small Faces split at the end of 1968, they really were at the top of their game producing music that literally defined the British psychedelic era. The story goes that McLagen, Lane and Jones recruited Rod Stewart and Ron Wood to basically keep the Small Faces going under a slightly altered name, but with essentially the same sound. This proved to be pretty much the case initially, but gradually The Faces found an identity all their own as they morphed into the legendary pub-rockers of great repute. The one other former Small Face, Steve Marriott, meanwhile took his new band, Humble Pie, off into a far heavier, hard-rocking direction. Apparently, he holed them up in his Essex home for the first six months of 1969 while they gelled as a band and found their own sound. The seeds of Marriott?s heavy-rock muse can actually be heard in a couple of the last ever Small Faces recording, in particular ?Wham Bam Thank You Mam?. The great surprise though, with this debut album from Humble Pie, is that it doesn?t take this harder-edged direction you?d expect ? it seems Humble Pie took a few albums to get there. What we actually have on ?As Safe As Yesterday Is?, is a band picking up exactly where the Small Faces left off. Thanks in no small part to Marriott?s hard-soulful vocalizing, this record sounds much more like the Small Faces than the Faces ever did. It?s not just the voice mind, because the music here is all a satisfying blend of rock, acid-folk, soul and psychedelia ? all the ingredients in fact that made the Small Faces so magical just one year prior to this. There?s even an Ian McLagen composition here in ?Growing Closer?. The track ?As Safe As Yesterday Is? sounds like it was laid down during the sessions for ?Ogdens?(it wasn?t) and ?I?ll Go Alone?, despite being written by Peter Frampton, has more than a passing trace of ?Tin Soldier? about it. Put simply, if this had been the last Small Faces record their reputation would have remained safely intact. As it is, it?s a great late psych/rock crossover album from 1969 that announced the arrival of Steve Marriott?s new band, even if it it somewhat unrevealing about the direction they would eventually take.

This is a beautifully clean original album on the Immediate label, it displays no faults or defects and has very few signs of use. A close inspection doesn?t reveal any marks and the odd paper scuff is definitely of the faintest kind. The un-blemished labels, with the wonderful looking deep-pink design, show little or no wear and the spindle areas indicate that this album has been on a deck fewer than five times. My play-grade showed an album that has virtually no surface noise; there was just the odd brief quiet moment, and just a couple of faint and totally un-intrusive pops and clicks. The audio clarity is rich with depth and quality, bringing this heavy and soulful music to life in every possible way. Heavy-soul is actually an apt description for this Humble Pie music, its influence on the solo work of Paul Weller can be heard specifically on this album ? and Weller did actually call one of his albums ?Heavy Soul? ? it?s all linked you know! This is a wonderful first pressing in quite stunning Near Mint condition.

COVER CONDITION: VERY GOOD

The original package comes complete with the paper inner sleeve, featuring song lyrics and other details, and this on its own is in Excellent condition. The cover itself has remained fully intact and has not been damaged in any serious way. Both the front and the back cover have clear, un-blemished artwork and do not show any fading colour or rub marks. The signs of ageing are in the light creases that can be found near the edges on close inspection. There?s also some general scuffing to the top and bottom edges and the spine, which has made the text here only partially legible. There isn?t any ring-wear scuffing, although there are one or two creases on the cover around the edge of where the record sits. Basically though, this cover is only displaying the most common effects of age and use and, especially after 35 years, it is still in a strong Very Good condition.

ANY OTHER DETAILS: STEREO

TRACKLISTING:

Side One

Desperation

Stick Shift

Buttermilk Boy

Growing Closer

As Safe As Yesterday Is

Side Two

Bang?

Alabama 69

I?ll Go Alone

A Nifty Little Number Like You

What You Will

Postage & Packing is UK £2.00 / Europe £3.00 / US £5.50 / rest of world £6.00. Payment is by Paypal, cheques or postal orders payable in UK Sterling only, well concealed cash in UK Sterling only or International Money Order payable in UK Sterling only.

I specialise in selling rare, collectable and hard to find vinyl. All of our ebay listings are play graded, when buying rare records over the internet I suggest that you settle for nothing less. I have been a collector of records and a trader for over 20 years and, as such, I use the experience I have gained in this area to grade & describe the records as accurately as possible. Good luck!