Posted on 05/26/2023 11:58:31 AM PDT by DallasBiff
At the time of its release, Frampton Comes Alive! was an anomaly, a multi-million-selling (mid-priced) double LP by an artist who had previously never burned up the charts with his long-players in any spectacular way. The biggest-selling live album of all time, it made Peter Frampton a household word and generated a monster hit single in "Show Me the Way." And the reason why is easy to hear: the Herd/Humble Pie graduate packed one hell of a punch on-stage -- where he was obviously the most comfortable --
(Excerpt) Read more at allmusic.com ...
I was there. Lynyrd Skynyrd stole the show with Free Bird.
They came on right before Frampton. It was a super hot day. We sat in the highest upper deck. The smell of weed was everywhere.
It was a turning point in music, because it was the first time you saw girls fall for a hard rock act.
“…the Herd/Humble Pie graduate packed one hell of a punch on-stage..”
How does this guy define punch? At the time I thought Frampton Comes Alive sounded like Muzak compared to Humble Pie. Coincidentally listening to Humble Pie’s Thirty Days In The Hole just yesterday I was struck by how tight and hard the very simply recorded un overdubbed song sounded. The balance of guitars bass and drums sound huge. Now THATS punch!
Frampton left before they recorded that one.
Anything live by Eric Clapton deserves to be savored, with the volume cranked up to 11.
“Frampton’s phrasing in those performances was incredible. And he was just a kid relatively speaking.“
Yup. He nailed that live version to the wall. Most people forget or don’t know that he released a studio version that no one cared for that actually truly sucked. Look it up and give it a listen. On the live version he cut the “I wanna be a pop star crap” and SANG the song. Don’t know who produced it. That’s probably the guy responsible.
I think his "talking guitar" had something to do with it.
In 1987, Frampton was the tour guitarist for David Bowie's Glass Spider tour.
-PJ
Live at Leeds gets my vote, especially the extended version. I consider it the seminal punk album.
Took my then kid sister to the Frampton Comes Alive show at Madison Square Garden…hated every minute of it. He was too teeny-bopperish for my taste. There were about 20,000 screaming 11 and 12 year old girls at that show (including my sister) and I was hoping no one I knew was there to see me.
Not too much time after that I saw a Jeff Beck Wired Tour concert at a much smaller venue. Not a teeny bopper in the house. During one song he broke out a talkbox and began mouthing Do you feel like we do before adding his own JB touches. Everyone figured he was poking fun at Frampton (who wants to hear that at a Jeff Beck concert?
I bet he sold a boatload of them because of Do You Feel Like We Do.
That sound did nothing for me. If you want to hear a live version of the “talkbox effect”, go see George Benson. He sings the notes he plays at the same time.
He started playing professionally at 15 years old. A true virtuoso.
My screen got blurry reading that. My best to you.
Money was always tight and, as much as I would have liked to tinker with one there were always more pressing priorities, equipment-wise. Several years ago I bought a Roland guitar synthesizer and created a workable patch that mimics the phonetic tonalities of the Talk Box.
Close but definitely not the same!
I’ll offer up Thin Lizzy Live and Dangerous. A great live album.
Allman Brothers - Live At Fillmore East
Not even the best Frampton Live Album, that would be Humble Pie’s Rockin’ The Fillmore.
I would put Lou Reed’s Rock and Roll Animal up there, just for Hunter and Wagner.
“I saw him in concert in 76.”
I did, too. And I believe Gary Wright (Dreamweaver) opened for him.
Yes - I was honored to see Skynrd just once. Legendary show.
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