As Safe as Yesterday Is

Background

As Safe as Yesterday Is is a blend of heavy blues, crushing rock, pastoral folk, and post-mod pop. Marriott contributed six songs to the album, one co-written with Frampton, who also contributed two solo efforts. The record opens with a cover version of Steppenwolf's "Desperation" and the track "Growing Closer" was written by ex–Small Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan who actually rehearsed with Humble Pie early on, before deciding instead to form The Faces with Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, Kenney Jones, and Ronnie Lane.

Mike Saunders (later to become singer in punk band Angry Samoans) is credited for one of the first coinings of the term heavy metal as a subgenre in a 1970 review of As Safe as Yesterday Is for Rolling Stone. In 2006, the VH1 Classic documentary Heavy: The Story of Metal, the original text is shown in a close-up from the 12 November 1970 issue, in which he wrote: "Here Humble Pie were a noisy, unmelodic, heavy metal-leaden shit-rock band, with the loud and noisy parts beyond doubt."

Side one

1. "Desperation" (John Kay) – 6:28
2. "Stick Shift" (Peter Frampton) – 2:22
3. "Buttermilk Boy" (Steve Marriott) – 4:22
4. "Growing Closer" (Ian McLagan) – 3:13 (US version omitted "Growing Closer" in favor of the single "Natural Born Bugie")
5. "As Safe as Yesterday Is" (Frampton, Marriott) – 6:05

Side two

1. "Bang!" (Marriott) – 3:24
2. "Alabama '69" (Marriott) – 4:37
3. "I'll Go Alone" (Frampton) – 6:17
4. "A Nifty Little Number Like You" (Marriott) – 6:11
5. "What You Will" (Marriott) – 4:20

CD bonus tracks:

1. "Natural Born Bugie" (Marriott) (Single A-side) – 4:12
2. "Wrist Job" (Marriott) (Single B-side) – 4:14

Personnel