Town and Country

Town and Country is the second studio album by rock band Humble Pie, released in November 1969. It was released only in the UK. Background Conceived at band member Steve Marriott's 16th-century rural cottage "Arkesden" in Moreton, Essex, England, Town and Country offered a more pastoral approach than the more straightforward "heavy" progressive sound prevalent on their debut album, which had been released two months earlier. Like the band's early live shows, which opened with an acoustic set before returning with electric guitars in the second half of the show, Town and Country displayed a mix of acoustic ballads, country-rock, folk, blues, and hard rock. Unlike the debut LP, all four members of the band contributed solo compositions to the album. Peter Frampton played acoustic, Spanish, and lead guitars, and Marriott played guitar, sitar, percussion and keyboards, and bass guitar. Bassist Greg Ridley contributed guitar and tambourine, while Jerry Shirley handled his drum kit, a percussion saw on the first track, as well as tambourine, tablas, maracas, and Wurlitzer piano on his own composition "Cold Lady". Content Among the Marriott-composed tracks were his country-rock compositions "Every Mother's Son", "The Sad Bag Of Shakey Jake" and "Down Home Again". Frampton's compositions "Take Me Back", "Only You Can See" and "Home and Away" (a nominal co-write with Marriott and Ridley) nod toward the direction he would take in his later solo career. The album also included a cover of the Buddy Holly song "Heartbeat".