Smokin’ by Humble Pie

Smokin', Humble Pie's fifth album, hit the racks on A&M in 1972, and it's the sound of a band finally catching the fire it had been fanning since Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton put it together in Essex in 1969. Frampton was gone by now, off in 1971, with Clem Clempson in his place, which left Marriott free to howl and strut out front.

This is boogie rock with its shirt off and its amps smoking: blues-rock riffs as thick as tar, Greg Ridley's bass and Jerry Shirley's drums pounding away like a freight train with a grudge, and Marriott's voice shredding every bit of polite British reserve. "30 Days in the Hole" is the one rock radio has never let go of. The record was the band's international breakthrough, climbing to number 6 in the US, 20 in the UK and 9 in Australia.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.