Frampton comes alive!

Peter Frampton
House Of Blues, Chicago
Thursday, June 21, 2007

Has it really been nearly 32 years since Peter Frampton, bare-chested with long golden locks flowing, came Alive?

Frampton was a known quantity before he released Frampton Comes Alive in 1976 (he spent two years in Humble Pie, played on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, and recorded four solo records), but he was a superstar after. Though the rags-to-riches-via-live record story is interesting, Frampton wasn’t the only ’70s rocker to break through in such a way (Cheap Trick did it with At Budokon, and KISS beat Frampton to the punch with 1975’s Alive!), but he certainly was the most successful. A refresher, perhaps? The double LP was on top of the charts for 10 weeks, stayed in the charts for almost two years, and has sold more than 16 million copies worldwide.

To this day that album, that moment still define Frampton’s career. So much so, in fact, the press kit that arrived at IE to promote this summer’s Fingerprints Tour included the 2001 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Frampton Comes Alive rather than last year’s Fingerprints, which, hence the tour name, he is on the road supporting. If you thought Frampton has nothing worthwhile left to contribute Fingerprints should change your mind, especially for those who are drawn more to Frampton’s overlooked guitar playing than his singing. The Britain born, Cincinnati-based Frampton was able to recruit an A-list of contributors (original Rolling Stones rhythm section Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman, former Shadows members Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett, and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready and Matt Cameron among others) for an all-instrumental album that hops genres (hard rock, jazz, blues, R&B, and funk) and lets Frampton focus on the six-string. It may not have sold millions, but one thing Fingerprints will always have over Alive is a Grammy – Frampton’s first – for Best Pop Instrumental Album.

Down The Line opens.

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly