Natural Born Boogie: The BBC Sessions

For collectors only. Humble Pie's disappointing entry into the generally classy BBC series clocks in at an anemic 36 minutes and features slapdash, often incorrect track documentation (at least three tunes are credited to the wrong songwriters) as well as below par mono sound, which seems to be transferred from vinyl. Nine of the ten tunes are studio reproductions of existing album cuts and add little to the original versions. The majority were recorded before 1971 and feature Peter Frampton, but none of the performances are revelatory. An alternate version of the rare "The Big Black Dog" single, previously available only on the definitive double anthology Hot N' Nasty, is a worthy addition, but an album-closing live "I Don't Need No Doctor," seemingly recorded by a hand-held microphone in the middle of a field, sets a new low for fidelity on a non-bootleg release and pales in comparison to the classic Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore version. Steve Marriott is in sturdy, soulful, high strutting voice throughout, but only diehard fans will find anything of interest here, and even they will be frustrated by this shoddily assembled, inconsequential addition to the catalog of a once impressive band. ~ Hal Horowitz