Frampton Comes Alive!
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''Frampton Comes Alive!'' is the first
double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ' ...
live album by English rock musician Peter Frampton, released in 1976 by
A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
. It is one of the best-selling live albums. " Show Me the Way", " Baby, I Love Your Way", and " Do You Feel Like We Do" were all released as singles; all three reached the Top 15 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streami ...
, and frequently receive significant amount of airplay on
classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
radio stations. Following four solo albums with little commercial success, ''Frampton Comes Alive!'' was a breakthrough for Frampton. Released on January 6, 1976, ''Frampton Comes Alive!'' debuted on the charts at 191. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 the week ending April 10, 1976, eventually spending a total of 10 non-consecutive weeks in the top spot through October. It was the best-selling album of 1976, selling over 8 million copies in the US and becoming one of the best-selling live albums to date, with estimated sales of 11 million worldwide. ''Frampton Comes Alive!'' was voted "Album of the Year" in a 1976 ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its c ...
'' readers' poll. It stayed on the chart for 97 weeks and was still No. 14 on ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
s 1977 year-end album chart. It was ranked No. 41 on ''Rolling Stone'''s "50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time" list. Readers of ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it No. 3 in a 2012 poll of all-time favourite live albums.


Background and recording

The album was recorded in summer and fall 1975, primarily at Winterland in San Francisco and the Long Island Arena in Commack, New York, as well as a concert on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus in
Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...
. The Winterland songs were recorded on a
24-track Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking or tracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a ...
master recorder. Other concerts were captured on a 16-track recorder. Recordings from four shows were used for the original album. Master tapes were recorded at 15 inches per second using professional
Dolby Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and HDR imaging. Dolby licenses its technologies to ...
"A" noise reduction. The live album had been intended to be a single LP disc, but at the suggestion of
A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
additional shows were recorded and the album expanded to two LPs for release. On the special features for the "Live in Detroit" concert DVD, Frampton commented that some difficulty was encountered in the mixing after the cord to the bass drum mic was pulled, accidentally causing the microphone to face at a 90-degree angle from the drumhead. During the concerts, Frampton principally used a distinctive modified black 1954 Gibson
Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...
Custom electric guitar (with three Humbucker pick-ups as opposed to the usual P90 and AlNiCo Staple pickups). On '' In the Studio with Redbeard'', Frampton said "the album is mostly live except for the first verse of 'Something's Happening', the rhythm electric guitar on 'Show Me the Way' (the talk-box came out but the engineer forgot to move the mic) and the intro piano on 'I Wanna Go to the Sun' were fixed in the studio but the rest was all live (all the guitar solos, acoustic guitars, electric keyboards, drums, bass guitar and rest of vocals) which was unheard of at the time".Peter Frampton Comes Alive 40th Anniversary
/ref> The introduction "If there was ever a musician who was an honorary member of San Francisco society, Mr. Peter Frampton" was by the general manager at Winterland, Jerry Pompili.


Release

The double album was released in the US with a reduced list price of $7.98, only $1.00 more than the standard $6.98 of most single-disc albums in 1976. The album was pressed in "automatic sequence", with sides one and four on one record, followed by sides two and three on the other. This arrangement was intended to make it easier to listen through the whole album in sequence on automatic
record changer A record changer or autochanger is a device that plays several phonograph records in sequence without user intervention. Record changers first appeared in the late 1920s, and were common until the 1980s. History The record changer with a stepped ...
s. Three hit singles were released from the album: " Baby, I Love Your Way", " Do You Feel Like We Do" and " Show Me the Way". The talk box guitar effect became strongly associated with Frampton when it was heard on the latter two singles. The "Do You Feel Like We Do" single version was edited to 7:19 from the 14:15 album version. But even at just over seven minutes, it is about twice the length of the average hit single and one of the longest ever to make the top 40 (longer even than The Beatles' "
Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' first release ...
" which ran 7:11). The B-side of "Do You Feel Like We Do", the acoustic instrumental "Penny for Your Thoughts", was the shortest song on ''Frampton Comes Alive'' at just 1:23. In January 2001, a 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of the album was released, containing four additional tracks that were not included on the original version (although one of these was recorded in a radio studio as part of a broadcast, and does not form part of the main concert programme). The track sequence is also significantly different, to more accurately reflect the set list used in the original concerts. Frampton produced the completely remixed and extended album and played an impromptu live performance with the original band from the album at Tower Records in Los Angeles to help promote the release.


Track listing

All songs written by Peter Frampton except as noted. Durations are sourced from original LP release.


25th anniversary deluxe edition

;Disc one # "Introduction/Something's Happening" – 5:56 (Originally titled "Baby (Somethin's Happening)" on Frampton's 1974 album '' Somethin's Happening'') # "Doobie Wah" (Frampton,
Rick Wills Richard William Wills (born 5 December 1947) is an English bass guitarist. He is best known for his work with the rock band Foreigner and his associations with the Small Faces, Peter Frampton, Spooky Tooth, David Gilmour, Bad Company and The ...
, John Headley-Down) – 5:43 # "Lines on My Face" – 6:59 # " Show Me the Way" – 4:32 # "It's a Plain Shame" – 4:03 # "Wind of Change" – 2:57 # "Just the Time of Year" – 4:21 * # "Penny for Your Thoughts" – 1:34 # "All I Want to Be (Is By Your Side)" – 3:08 # " Baby, I Love Your Way" – 4:41 # "I Want to Go to the Sun" – 7:15 ;Disc two # "Nowhere's Too Far (For My Baby)" – 4:49 * # "(I'll Give You) Money" – 5:46 # " Do You Feel Like We Do" ( SUNY-Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, NY, November 22, 1975) (Frampton, Mick Gallagher, John Siomos, Wills) – 13:46 # "Shine On" – 3:29 # "White Sugar" – 4:43 * # " Jumpin' Jack Flash" ( Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 7:40 # "Day's Dawning/Closing" – 3:34 * (* Available only on the 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)


35th anniversary deluxe edition

Same track listing as the 25th anniversary edition plus an extra track "Do You Feel Like We Do" featuring Warren Haynes.


Personnel

* Peter Frampton – lead vocals, lead guitar, talk box on "Do You Feel Like We Do" and "Show Me The Way" * Bob Mayo – rhythm guitar, piano,
Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...
electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...
,
Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
, vocals * Stanley Sheldon – bass guitar, vocals * John Siomos – drums


Production

*Photography: Mike Zagaris *Mastering: Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab *Remastering: Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab, Los Angeles *Remastering: Roger Wake at Bourbery-Wake *Remastering (25th Anniversary Edition): Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland, ME, October 2000 *Remix (25th Anniversary Edition): Chuck Ainlay at Backstage Studios Nashville, TN, August/September 2000


Chart positions


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{Authority control Peter Frampton albums 1976 live albums A&M Records live albums PolyGram live albums Albums produced by Peter Frampton Juno Award for International Album of the Year albums