Rainy Changes

Released: June 2005

Wapping Wharf Records

A 2-CD set of rare Steve Marriott recordings including the complete Official Receivers album from 1987 and Steve's final recordings with Peter Frampton.

Available for £15 (UK cheque/cash) or Euros 25 (cash-only) from Darling of Wapping Wharf Launderette.

Track Listing:

Disc One

1. Intro
2. Poor Man's Rich Man
3. Dialogue
4. Thirty Day Shuffle
5. Heartbreaker
6. Midnight of My Life
7. Get Down To It
8. It's All Over
9. Think
10. Dialogue
11. Sea of Change
12. I Need You Love (Like a Fish Needs a Raincoat)
13. Let's Spend the Night Together
14. Infatuation
15. Jesus Love Me (Blackberries on lead vocals)
16. Soldier (with Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)
17. Rainy Changes
18. Toe Rag (With 2-year old Toby Marriott)
19. Poll Tax Blues
20. Dialogue

Disc Two

1. They Call It Love (But It Smells Like Pussy)
2. Run Rudolph Run
3. Nobody But You
4. Phone Call Away
5. If You Find What You're Looking For
6. Say The Word
7. Sweet Nuthin's
8. Looking Through At You
9. Happy Birthday, Birthday Girl
10. Some Kind of Wonderful
11. Save Your Love For Me
12. An Itch You Can't Scratch
13. Two Lane Fever
14. Paying The Price
15. I Never Loved a Woman
16. Stay With Me Baby
17. Oh Well
18. Out of the Blue
19. I Won't Let You Down
20. Bigger They Come, Harder They Fall

Rainy Changes is compilation of Steve Marriott material, much of which was previously unreleased. The time-line of this material ranges from 1973 up to his final recordings with Peter Frampton shortly before his death in 1991. This includes the full unreleased album from 1987 (tracks 4-14 on disc 2).

This "missing" Official Receivers album features PP Arnold, Sam Brown and Margo Buchanan on backing vocals. These tracks are probably more polished and less "raw" than many of the tracks on the CD. An Itch You Can't Scratch is one of the highlights of this missing album. A track that is finally released is Phone Call Away written by Steve and long-time bass player Jim Leverton. This song may already be familiar to many as it was sung by Dennis Greaves of Nine Below Zero at the 2001 Steve Marriott Memorial Concert.

Steve Marriott had one of the best voices in music. The overriding feature of this collection is while the songs may not be as well-known or as "instant" as Small Faces or Humble Pie material, what does come across extremely well is the quality of Steve Marriott's vocals and his cockney humour. One of Marriott's strongest and most soulful performances with the Small Faces was Every Little Bit Hurts. Have a listen to his own composition Midnight of My Life on here for a repeat. For another really powerful Marriott vocal performance Stay With Me Baby is sure to blow off the roof.

There are plenty of "heavier" rock tracks such as Infatuation. Joe Brown's Soldier is a particularly strong track and had been mooted as a possible single. With its orchestral backing, Soldier is one of the true rarities that can now be heard.

The final three tracks are the result of a collaboration with Peter Frampton, Marriott's former Humble Pie colleague, that were recorded slightly before Marriott's death in 1991. Out of the Blue is the outstanding track of the three. The remaining two are standard American-style rock that do not really add anything. However, Out of the Blue does show what might have been......

The CD contains a number of cover versions, possibly some that might not have been expected of Marriott such as the Rolling Stones' Let's Spend the Night Together, Peter Green's Oh Well, Chuck Berry's Run Rudolph Run and Brenda Lee's Sweet Nuthins. Oh Well, in particular, sounds quite different due its use of acoustic rather than electric guitar for the trademark riff.

Top tracks:

• Thirty Day Shuffle
• Infatuation
• Midnight of My Life
• Soldier
• An Itch You Can't Scratch
• Out of the Blue