Not that you need be reminded what a stellar guitar player Peter Frampton is, but on his “unplugged” Acoustic Classics, his genius is apparent without any frills – though he does slip in a little talk box just to keep things supremely Framptonesque. It begins with “Fig Tree Bay,” the first tune off Frampton first solo album, and carries on through a papery thin sounding “Winds of Change.”
The talk box shows up on “Show Me The Way,” slightly slower and, in a way, even more effective than the famous live version we all know so well. “Baby I Love Your Way” features some soft jazzy leads, while “Do You Feel Like I Do” gets a double guitar harmony at the beginning with a hint of Bossa Nova swing. “I’m In You,” Frampton’s highest charting single from 1977, features a sweet mix of the guitarist’s vocals, piano up front and more of his well-placed acoustic.
Throughout the album, Frampton’s voice and acoustic chops are superb. But what’s really great about revisiting these songs (save for the new one “All Down To Me”) is that Frampton is not turning them inside out or altering the arrangements as much as he is whittling them down to their core. For years, Frampton resisted the idea of redoing these songs, but Acoustic Classics reaffirms his mastery of the form, cast in a different light, and just as invigorating and moving as it was in the 70s.
~ Ralph Greco
