Frampton Comes Alive!

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Frampton Comes Alive!
Frampton Comes Alive.jpg
Live album by
Released6 January 1976 (1976-01-06)
Recorded13 June 1975
14 June 1975
24 August 1975
22 November 1975
Venue Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium, San Rafael, California
Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California
Long Island Arena, Commack, New York
SUNY Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, New York
Genre Rock
Length78:06 (original album)
98:03 (2001 expanded and remastered edition)
Label A&M
Producer Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton chronology
Frampton
(1975)
Frampton Comes Alive!
(1976)
I'm in You
(1977)
Singles from Frampton Comes Alive!
  1. "Show Me the Way"
    Released: February 1976
  2. "Baby, I Love Your Way"
    Released: June 1976
  3. "Do You Feel Like We Do"
    Released: September 1976
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg link
Christgau's Record Guide B− [1]

Frampton Comes Alive! is the first double live album by English musician and songwriter Peter Frampton, released in 1976 by A&M Records. Frampton Comes Alive! is one of the best-selling live albums of all time. "Show Me the Way", "Baby, I Love Your Way", and "Do You Feel Like We Do" were released as singles; all three reached the top 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and frequently receive airplay on classic rock radio stations. Following four studio albums with no success and sales, Frampton Comes Alive! was a breakthrough for Frampton.

Contents

Released on 6 January 1976, Frampton Comes Alive! debuted on the charts at #191. It reached number one on the Billboard 200 the week ending 10 April 1976, spending a total of 10 non-consecutive weeks in the top spot through October. It was the best-selling album of 1976 and has sold over 8 million copies in the United States. [2]

Frampton Comes Alive! was voted "Album of the Year" in a 1976 Rolling Stone readers' poll. It stayed on the chart for 97 weeks and was still No. 14 on Billboard's 1977 year-end album chart. It was ranked No. 41 on Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time" list. [3] Readers of Rolling Stone ranked it No. 3 in a 2012 poll of all-time favourite live albums. [4]

In 2020, Frampton Comes Alive! was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [5]

Background and recording

The album was recorded between June and November 1975, primarily at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco as well as Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael, California, Long Island Arena in Commack, New York, and a concert on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus in Plattsburgh, New York. The Winterland songs were recorded on a 24-track 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 "A" noise reduction. [6]

The live album had been intended to be a single LP disc, but at the suggestion of A&M Records 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 microphone cable to the bass drum microphone was inadvertently 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 Custom electric guitar (with three Humbucker pick-ups as opposed to the usual P90 and AlNiCo Staple pickups). [7] On In the Studio with Redbeard , Frampton said, "The album is mostly live except for the first verse of 'Something's Happening', the electric rhythm 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)". [8]

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.[ citation needed ]

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 changers.

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" 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.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Introduction/Something's Happening"  Somethin's Happening (1974)5:54
2."Doobie Wah"Frampton, John Headley-Down, Rick Wills Somethin's Happening (1974)5:28
3."Show Me the Way"  Frampton (1975)4:32
4."It's a Plain Shame"  Wind of Change (1972)4:21
Side two
No.TitleOriginal albumLength
1."All I Want to Be (Is by Your Side)"Wind of Change (1972)3:27
2."Wind of Change"Wind of Change (1972)2:47
3."Baby, I Love Your Way"Frampton (1975)4:43
4."I Wanna Go to the Sun"Somethin's Happening (1974)7:02
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Penny for Your Thoughts" Frampton (1975)1:23
2."(I'll Give You) Money" Frampton (1975)5:39
3."Shine On"  Rock On (1971)3:35
4."Jumpin' Jack Flash" Mick Jagger, Keith Richards Wind of Change (1972)7:45
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Lines on My Face"  Frampton's Camel (1973)7:06
2."Do You Feel Like We Do"Frampton, Mick Gallagher, John Siomos, Rick WillsFrampton's Camel (1973)14:15

25th anniversary deluxe edition

Disc one
  1. "Introduction/Something's Happening" – 5:56 (Originally titled "Baby (Somethin's Happening)" on Frampton's 1974 album Somethin's Happening )
  2. "Doobie Wah" (Frampton, Rick Wills, John Headley-Down) – 5:43
  3. "Lines on My Face" – 6:59
  4. "Show Me the Way" – 4:32
  5. "It's a Plain Shame" – 4:03
  6. "Wind of Change" – 2:57
  7. "Just the Time of Year" – 4:21 *
  8. "Penny for Your Thoughts" – 1:34
  9. "All I Want to Be (Is By Your Side)" – 3:08
  10. "Baby, I Love Your Way" – 4:41
  11. "I Want to Go to the Sun" – 7:15
Disc two
  1. "Nowhere's Too Far (For My Baby)" – 4:49 *
  2. "(I'll Give You) Money" – 5:46
  3. "Do You Feel Like We Do" (SUNY-Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, NY, 22 November 1975)[ citation needed ] (Frampton, Mick Gallagher, John Siomos, Wills) – 13:46
  4. "Shine On" – 3:29
  5. "White Sugar" – 4:43 *
  6. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 7:40
  7. "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

Production

Chart positions

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Frampton Comes Alive!
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [34] 3× Platinum150,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [35] Gold50,000^
Japan15,000 [17]
United Kingdom (BPI) [36] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [37] 8× Platinum8,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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