Peter Frampton

When Peter Frampton and Steve Marriott left their respective bands, The Herd and the Small Faces, their intention was to leave behind their teeny-bop images and forge a reputation as musicians. Together, along with drummer Jerry Shirley and bassist Greg Ridley, they formed Humble Pie and widespread success wasn’t far behind. After four LP’s and a raucous US tour they laid down their trump card with the live Performance - Rockin’ the Fillmore which not only solidified their reputations but earned them a gold record.

Shortly after the success of Performance, Frampton went solo in late 1971. Sticking to the same formula, he recorded four LP’s of quality material followed by a double live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, which went on to become the biggest selling live recording of all time, moving eight million copies in 1976.

The hysteria that followed, aided by Frampton’s boyish good looks and charming demeanor, pushed the guitarist back into the realm of Pop Idol, something he never intended. In the ensuing years Frampton took a ton of unwarranted abuse from the Rock press and, while releasing finely crafted records, struggled for critical acclaim.

Now, twenty-five years after the release of that landmark album, things are taking a turn for Frampton, who in the last year had been tapped by film-maker Cameron Crowe to act as “authenticity advisor” to his Oscar winning major motion picture Almost Famous, was given the coveted Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award (the most prestigious award in the guitar industry), and became the first artist to have his latest live recording simultaneously released in the CD and DVD formats. The DVD version of Live in Detroit is the first concert to be released in the High Definition TV format with 5.1 surround sound.

In addition to these astounding achievements, Frampton received a Grammy nomination for best instrumental performance (“Off the Hook” from Live in Detroit) and has had his Comes Alive! disc given the remastered treatment.

The 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Frampton Comes Alive! not only features newly remixed sound but also offers new liner notes, previously unseen photos, complete lyrics, and four bonus tracks.

The double disc has been re-sequenced to play more along the lines of a Peter Frampton concert circa 1975, and further showcases the guitarist’s acoustic talents.

Frampton has always admitted that his “best performances are nearly always live,” and on Comes Alive! he struts his stuff to remind us all how great a guitar player he is.

It’s hard to believe that twenty-five years have passed since this record was released (and even harder to fathom that Frampton was only twenty-five when he recorded it) as the music is as fresh and alive now as it was then.

Frampton’s masterful guitar work, not to mention his effective voice, is not to be overlooked ever again, and the 25th Anniversary Edition of Comes Alive! is the definitive starting point.

Welcome back Peter Frampton.

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go to Peter Frampton's official web site

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