Peter Frampton Albums (19)
What The Critics Say
"I'm back" acknowledges Peter Frampton in the song of the same name from his first studio album in nine years. But even though Frampton claims he had complete control over every aspect of this release, the results show that maybe a good A&R person should have been hired for consultation. While this is undoubtedly a Frampton disc, complete with strummy ballads, a handful of harder-edged tunes, and lots of shimmering guitar solos, songs like the riff rocker "I'm Back" -- that sports puerile lyrics such as "I'm back, like Schwarzenegger in Terminator, I'm back like a boomerang" -- could use some tinkering. Otherwise, little has changed over the decades since Frampton's superstar days. He can still write a pretty Beatles-esque ballad like this disc's charming "Above it All." However, the sap factor is far too high on the tune to his daughter "Mia Rose," a track that should have stayed as a personal lullaby and not something he needs to subject the rest of us to. Keyboardist Bob Mayo -- from the Frampton Comes Alive band -- has stuck in there; but the guitarist co-writes the majority of these cuts with Nashville pro Gordon Kennedy, who also adds backing vocals. There's nothing wrong with shuffling pop-rockers like "Flying Without Wings," or the opening "Verge of a Thing," except Frampton tries too hard to rock out, and barely manages to navigate his way through increasingly clumsy lyrics. Far better are the numerous ballads and the Jeff Beck/Blow By Blow-styled jazz-rock instrumental "Greens," which showcases Frampton's beautifully incisive quicksilver guitar. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," the album's only cover, is a by-the-numbers but heartfelt tribute to George Harrison, highlighted by a powerful solo. Now is a middling return to form, with peaks, valleys and enough sparks to show that Peter Frampton remains a vibrant artist who might have some better albums in him. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Frampton's self-titled 1994 album was originally released on Relativity, and then reissued in 2000 on Legacy with bonus tracks. Frampton's brand of mainstream rock was irrelevant in the mid-'90s, but more to the point, it wasn't very good. Although he sounded upbeat and energetic on this set, the songwriting was just a rehash of vintage AOR riffs without much inspiration or memorable melody, and the production seemed designed to get radio airplay rather than enhance the material or any personal expression. The four bonus tracks were taken from 1994 live Japanese performances (released in Japan in 1999 as a promo-only CD), including unplugged versions of his perennials "Baby I Love Your Way" and "Show Me the Way." ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
'Live in Detroit'
Release Date 5/16/2000
Tracks 14
Label CMC International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
It's no secret that one of the best-selling rock albums of all time was the double-LP Frampton Comes Alive, which rocketed former Humble Pie guitarist Peter Frampton into the oftentimes harsh realm of superstar status. That was 1976. Twenty-four years later, Frampton came alive once again with a rousing 75-minute set recorded at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Detroit on July 17, 1999. The set combines retellings of the best tracks from Frampton Comes Alive with an impressive collection of later songs. There is the smooth groove of "Lines on My Face," counterbalanced with the power pop of "Show Me the Way" and "All I Wanna Be (Is by Your Side)." Frampton is again backed by Bob Mayo on keyboards, Chad Cromwell on drums, and John Regan on bass guitar. This is a band filled with talent and maturity, performing with all the dynamics and emotion of a Dire Straits or Pink Floyd. The ballads far outweigh the rockers this time around, with Frampton singing beautifully on tunes like "If You Say Goodbye" and "Oh for Another Day," and there is a short but sweet acoustic instrumental, "Nassau," leading into Frampton's popular "Baby I Love Your Way." But don't think Frampton doesn't still kick ass. He dishes up the bluesy rock of "They Can't Take That Away From Me" along with the rocking "You Had to Be There" and the old favorite "Do You Feel Like We Do?" He also kicks things into overdrive with the rocking instrumental "Off the Hook." Closing out the set is "I Don't Need No Doctor," the Ashford and Simpson tune, rocked up in a style reminiscent of Mountain with a vocal that at times sounds an awful lot like Johnny Winter. This track is a smoker, and a fitting closer for an impressive album that finds Peter Frampton playing and singing just as well, if not better, than he did on that "other" live record. ~ Michael Smith, All Music Guide
'Beat the Bootleggers: Coming Live'
Release Date 8/17/1999
Tracks 7
Label Griffin Music
See Album Tracklist and Review
'A Day in the Sun'
Release Date 4/20/1999
Tracks 12
Label Sony International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
To quite a few rock fans, Peter Frampton seemingly fell off the face of the earth after his mega-hit Frampton Comes Alive! set. But hardcore Frampton fans know that the singer/guitarist has been touring consistently and issuing albums on a semi-regular basis all along, including 1994's A Day in the Sun. At various times in his career, Frampton has attempted obvious stabs at mainstream hits, and while the material on A Day in the Sun is as melodic as ever, it proves to be one of Frampton's strongest solo studio efforts in quite some time. Lending a hand is Journey keyboardist/songwriter Jonathan Cain, as well as one of the last-ever appearances on record by Frampton's former bandmate in Humble Pie, the late great Steve Marriott, on the album standout, "Out of the Blue." Frampton (who has long been one of rock's most overlooked guitarists) gets to show off his six-string skills on the bluesy album-opening title track, as well as on the rocking instrumental "Off the Hook" and the acoustic ditty "Young Island." If you've lost track of Frampton over the years, A Day in the Sun is certainly not a bad album to get reacquainted with him. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Nearly twenty years after the original Frampton Comes Alive! -- and two years after Meat Loaf proved that explicit sequels to '70s blockbusters were commercially viable -- Peter Frampton released Frampton Comes Alive II. Twenty years is a long time, and the Frampton showcased on this album -- originally released as a 13-track album in 1976 and expanded into a double-disc deluxe edition in 2007 (an expansion that doesn't change the character of the album since it only offers more of the same) is quite different than the one on the first Frampton Comes Alive!. He, of course, is an older musician, which is something that he doesn't try to disguise: always an enormously accomplished guitarist, his playing has only grown tighter over the years, resulting in a clean (maybe too clean) professional set that gives a good name to rock & roll veterans. But just because he's older doesn't mean that he doesn't have anything to prove: Frampton Comes Alive! was a career-making blockbuster but it was a bit of an albatross around his neck, turning him into a one-hit wonder or a '70s relic in some quarters. He's out to shake loose this perception here, refusing to rely on the big '70s hits (at least in the album's original incarnation; they're the bonus tracks on the 2007 special edition) and playing with spirit here. The spirit may be more evident in his guitar than his vocals -- he occasionally sounds a little thin as he sings -- but it helps make Frampton Comes Alive II a respectable sequel. It may not be as exciting or entertaining as the original, but it's no embarrassment and it proves that the journeyman musician who had a fluke mega-hit in 1976 retained the basic skills that he built his career upon: namely, his muscular, melodic guitar playing -- skills that are as evident twenty years later as they were at the peak of his success. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
