Town And Country (Remastered Expanded Edition) Humble Pie

• 1 Take Me Back (2025 Remaster) 04:50
• 2 The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake (2025 Remaster) 02:57
• 3 The Light of Love (2025 Remaster) 02:58
• 4 Cold Lady (2025 Remaster) 03:21
• 5 Down Home Again (2025 Remaster) 02:53
• 6 Ollie Ollie (2025 Remaster) 00:47
• 7 Every Mother's Son (2025 Remaster) 05:41
• 8 Heartbeat (2025 Remaster) 02:30
• 9 Only You Can See (2025 Remaster) 03:35
• 10 Silver Tongue (2025 Remaster) 03:19
• 11 Home and Away (2025 Remaster) 06:06
• 12 Every Mother's Son (Jesse Hardin) (2025 Remaster) (Jesse Hardin; 2025 Remaster) 05:24
• 13 BTMG's (2025 Remaster) 03:56
• 14 The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake (Alternate Version) (2025 Remaster) (Alternate Version; 2025 Remaster) 02:51
• 15 Greg's Song (2025 Remaster) 04:07
• 16 79th Street Blues (2025 Remaster) 03:07
• 17 I'll Drown in My Own Tears (2025 Remaster) 07:01
• Total Runtime 01:05:23

Info for Town And Country (Remastered Expanded Edition)

Newly Remastered & Expanded with 6 Bonus tracks.

Humble Pie’s critically acclaimed second album was all set to launch the band into superstardom when their record label suddenly collapsed, taking the album out of UK record shops just 4 MONTHS after going on sale, while in the USA, the album was not released.

‘Town And Country’ appeared in the UK quicker than it disappeared – released in November 1969, barely three months after the band’s debut album ‘As Safe As Yesterday Is’. Immediate Records announced it was bucking the trend by releasing the new album early in order to capitalise on the debut LP’s Top 30 success, a No.4 hit single in ‘Natural Born Bugie,’ plus acres of press generated by music journalists fascinated by a new ‘supergroup’ formed by one-time Small Faces frontman Steve Marriott, Peter Frampton from The Herd, powerhouse drummer Jerry Shirley and ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley.

In reality (and unknown to the band), Immediate Records were in trouble. Andrew Oldham’s innovative label was suffering financial problems due a dispute with their American distributor that had prevented Immediate from releasing in the USA since June 1969. Forced to take his label completely independent, Oldham used his own money so that the band’s first LP and retitled single ‘Natural Born Woman’ could both be released while Humble Pie wowed crowds on a two-month US tour.

Releasing more product in the UK to bring in cash quickly was vital. Luckily, Humble Pie had already recorded over two albums worth of material, enabling ‘Town And Country’ to be rush-released on 7 November 1969. An enthusiastic music press welcomed the LP as “an unqualified success!”. Featuring songs written by each member of the band on its first side, the band’s second album revealed a more personal, stripped-back sound than the debut. Lyrics are more poignant and reflective, while folk and country music elements are stronger, especially on live favourite ‘The Sad Bag Of Shaky Jake’. Influences such as The Band and Love are pleasingly present while gorgeous three-part harmonies soar throughout. Eardrums are battered on rockier tracks like ‘Down Home Again’ and ‘Silver Tongue,’ while the glorious ‘Home and Away’ brings the original LP to a harmonious and triumphant close.

While success was cruelly halted (albeit temporally) in America and the UK as Immediate Records fell into liquidation, Humble Pie soon became one of the best-loved, best-selling and hardest-rocking bands of the 1970s with new label A&M.

Steve Marriott, guitar (2, 4, 7, 8), Leslie guitar (10), sitar (3), vocals (2, 4, 5, 7–10), organ (11), Wurlitzer piano (2, 11), percussion (1), hammer and nail brandy bottle (1), maracas (2), drums (9), harmonica (2)
Peter Frampton, vocals (1–5, 8, 9, 11), guitar (1, 5, 9, 11), lead guitar (2, 7, 8, 10), Spanish guitar (3), bass (3), drums (4), Wurlitzer piano (9), plastic-cup (1)
Greg Ridley, bass (1, 2, 4, 5, 8–11), guitar (3), vocals (2–5, 8, 11), tambourine (1)
Jerry Shirley, drums (2, 5, 8, 10, 11), saw (1), tambourine (2), tablas (3), maracas (4), Wurlitzer piano (4)

Digitally remastered

Humble Pie
A showcase for former Small Faces' frontman Steve Marriott and one-time Herd guitar virtuoso Peter Frampton, the hard rock outfit Humble Pie formed in Essex, England in 1969. Also featuring ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley along with drummer Jerry Shirley, the fledgling group spent the first several months of its existence locked away in Marriott's Essex cottage, maintaining a relentless practice schedule. Signed to the Immediate label, Humble Pie soon issued their debut single "Natural Born Boogie," which hit the British Top Ten and paved the way for the group's premiere LP, As Safe as Yesterday Is.

Town and CountryAfter touring the U.S. in support of 1969's Town and Country, Humble Pie returned home only to discover that Immediate had declared bankruptcy. The band recruited a new manager, Dee Anthony, who helped land them a new deal with A&M; behind closed doors, Anthony encouraged Marriott to direct the group towards a harder-edged, grittier sound far removed from the acoustic melodies favored by Frampton. As Marriott's raw blues shouting began to dominate subsequent LPs like 1970's eponymous effort and 1971's Rock On, Frampton's role in the band he co-founded gradually diminished; finally, after a highly charged U.S. tour which yielded 1971's commercial breakthrough Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore, Frampton exited Humble Pie to embark on a solo career.

Smokin'After enlisting former Colosseum guitarist Dave "Clem" Clempson to fill the void, Humble Pie grew even heavier for 1972's Smokin', their most successful album to date. However, while 1973's ambitious double studio/live set Eat It fell just shy of the Top Ten, its 1974 follow-up Thunderbox failed to crack the Top 40. After 1975's Street Rats reached only number 100 before disappearing from the charts, Humble Pie disbanded; while Shirley formed Natural Gas with Badfinger alum Joey Molland, and Clempson and Ridley teamed with Cozy Powell in Strange Brew, Marriott led Steve Marriott's All-Stars before joining a reunited Small Faces in 1977.

On to VictoryIn 1980, Marriott and Shirley re-formed Humble Pie with ex-Jeff Beck Group vocalist Bobby Tench and bassist Anthony Jones. After a pair of LPs, 1980's On to Victory and the following year's Go for the Throat, the group mounted a troubled tour of America: after one injury-related interruption brought on when Marriott mangled his hand in a hotel door, the schedule was again derailed when the frontman fell victim to an ulcer. Soon, Humble Pie again dissolved; while Shirley joined Fastway, Marriott went into seclusion. At the dawn of the 1990s, he and Frampton made tentative plans to begin working together once more, but on April 20, 1991, Marriott died in the fire which destroyed his 16th century Arkesden cottage. He was 44 years old. (Jason Ankeny, AMG)

This album contains no booklet.