Humble Pie: Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore (A&M 3506)

HUMBLE PIE, after innumerable fits, starts, and musical style shifts, have apparently, with the release of this double live LP, finally found their direction — and it looks to be straight downhill. In a financially justified but slightly crass bid to attract the reds-whites-and-blues crowd, the group has gone metal-heavy with a vengeance, and as a result now rocks not only the Fillmore but is rockin' the bottom as well. In short, this leaden collection of sledge-hammered blues and over-extended under-inspired improvisations is pretty dismal.