This is a posthumous Steve Marriott compilation of rare and unreleased recordings. It marks a strange turn in the singer/guitarist's life: after spending a decade as a superstar member of The Small Faces and Humble Pie, he embarked on a star-crossed solo career which yielded no hits and ended tragically with his accidental death aged 44, when his country cottage caught fire by a lit cigarette. I mean I know that smoking kills, it says so on the pack, but you have to be especially unlucky for cigarettes to kill you that way. And his post-Pie career had started so auspiciously... with an invitation to join The Stones who were looking for a substitution for lead guitarist Mick Taylor. Apparently Richards was very keen to get Marriott on board and arranged for him to jam with the band. Legend has it that he was doing well until he started singing, at which point Mick Jagger became afraid he'd get upstaged and vetoed him, opting for a guitarist that didn't sing. The job went thus to Ron Wood, who coincidentally had previously also replaced Marriott in The Small Faces when they had morphed into The Faces. In any case, he managed to put together a great band including guitarist Mickey Finn, drummer Ian Wallace and bassist Greg Ridley (also former Pie). At least these are the players that backed him in his solo debut Marriott. They also figure here, along with other good musicians, although it's not clear who plays in which tune. The songs gathered together in CD1 seem to be mostly outtakes from the recording sessions for Marriott. We get, for example, two versions of "Midnight Rollin'" from that album (one with vocals and one instrumental). It's a great rocker reminiscent of The Stones and Creedence - though Marriott's voice was arguably superior: a soulful mix of Rod Stewart and Robert Plant. The album opens with an instrumental version of "Wham Bam Thank You Mam" which also appeared on Marriott albeit with vocals. There are generally many instrumentals, most of which sound like unfinished songs waiting for a lyric that never came. Others are better realized e.g. "They Call It Love (But It Smells Like Pussy)" sounds like something by Booker T & The MG's. A lot of songs feature guest vocalists, which seems strange when you have a singer like Marriott in the group. My guess is that these come from different sessions, probably for an aborted LP by Joe and Vicky Brown. They each take turns singing "Soldier", Joe's version is stark and folky and Vicky's is a big orchestral one - both really good. Vicky also sings "Ruthy", a nice Janis-Joplin-meets-Lou-Reed song written by Marriott, as well as a groovy cover of "Gimme Some Lovin'". "Hey Mama" is an R&B Joe Brown vocal while they all take turns on Dylan's "Times They Are A Changin'" in a version with a Basement Tapes homey feel. "Nobody But You" is an acoustic folk ditty, while "Things You Do To Me" sports a soulful Marriott vocal and cool sax and guitar solos. CD2 is entitled Be My Guest and presented as a "Bonus CD" of Marriott's Guest Appearances. We get two versions of the Stones' "Get Off My Cloud" with Alexis Korner. On the live one Marriott handles a portion of the vocals, while on the studio version we hear Korner and some female backing vocalists. Covers of Rock'n'Roll classics "Twist And Shout" (with The Blackberries) and "Good Times" (with The Easybeats) are fun but the blues tunes are better: "I Just Wanna Make Love To You" (with Monica Tornell) is heavy, and "Mind Your Own Business" (with Henry McCulloch) is in more traditional Chicago style. Lastly, "Green Circles" (performed with Twice As Much) is a mod-psych cover of an older Small Faces song. This hodgepodge compilation of unfinished tracks, covers, collaborations, and a few could-have-been hits may not be your recommended entry point into the world of Steve Marriott, but it's a treasure trove to the already dedicated fan.
**** for Midnight Rollin', Soldier (Vicky Brown voc), Ruthy (Vicky Brown voc)
*** for Wham Bam Thank You Mam(instr), Nobody But You, Barking Spiders(instr), They Call It Love(instr), Things You Do To Me, Times They Are A Changin', Soldier(Joe Brown voc), That'll Do (instr), Run Rudolph Run, Hey Mama, Gimme Some Lovin', Midnight Rollin'(instr), Get Off My Cloud (Studio), Twist And Shout, Mind Your Own Business, Green Circles, I Just Wanna Make Love To You, Get Off My Cloud (Live), Good Times
** for Factory Girl(instr), Round 4(instr), Scoffin' Crisps(instr), Pissed As Rats(instr)
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