In 1969, Peter Frampton emerged from the woodwork as the lead guitarist for Humble Pie. When he quit in 1971, the Pie had just released a phenomenal live album called Performance — Rockin’ The Fillmore. Perhaps with that in mind, Frampton went back to the basics and embarked on a moderate solo career. After four turbo-charged albums with various line-ups, Frampton decided to turn up the volume, and release a live album of his own. Over the course of a few edgy nights in Northern California and New York, the guitarist and his drummer John Siomos, bassist Stanley Sheldon, and guitarist and keyboardist Bob Mayo gelled like never before, winning over audiences along the way, and capturing the moment on tape. Frampton’s humble and personable style was electric, the songs riveted with more muscle and life than their studio counterparts, and the band consistently delivered a rock solid show. Playbacks of the performances blew the participants away. They felt they really had something.
Within days of its release, Frampton Comes Alive! started ripping up the charts. “Show Me the Way,” “Baby, I Love Your Way,” and “Do You Feel Like I Do” — all songs previously released in milder forms — ascended the Top 40. Suddenly, Peter Frampton was the success story of 1976. And like so many overnight success stories, Frampton soon became an overexposed commodity. He took his shirt off for Rolling Stone. He appeared in the ill-fatedSgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Clubmovie with the (thud!) Bee Gees. The follow-up LP, the heart wrenching I’m In You, was a huge seller while its title track became a breakout single. But it was all too obvious the force vividly portrayed on the live album was running on fumes. A car crash in the Bahamas in 1978 almost sidelined the guitarist for good. At the time, it seemed like the ultimate blow to such a surging talent.
Peter Frampton could have very well become a has-been of the ever-ready 70s. But he refused to fade away. Through the 80s, 90s and into the 21st century, Frampton continues to tour and record. He still plays the hits from Frampton Comes Alive! that helped establish him as a pop star. He also plays sturdy rockers like “Somethin’s Happening,” and “(I Give You) Money” — both crowd pleasers from the live album. Others like “Lines On My Face” and “Shine On” underscore Frampton’s ability to evoke strong melodies and dynamics into the mix — a skill seemingly intact. Like many of his peers, Frampton has released other live albums — 1995’s Frampton Comes Alive II (the sequel?) and the more recent Live In Detroit. While both gainfully celebrate the spirit of Frampton’s whirlwind career, they hardly hold a candle to the original, which is enjoying a bit of a renaissance of late. In commemoration of its 25th anniversary, MCA unleashed a “Deluxe Edition” of Frampton Comes Alive! that includes four previously unreleased tracks and a booklet with a full essay about the album by John McDermott.
~ Shawn Perry
