Live Album of the Week - Frampton Comes Alive!
Do you feel like I do?
Released in 1976 to smashing success, is the red hot Frampton Comes Alive! Lets talk about what makes this album truly great and why it is one of the most important double live LP’s to date.
Recorded in the summer of 1975, at primarily, the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco - with a few overdubs recorded in New York, Frampton Comes Alive! is more so a comp live album, since the tracks are not taken directly from a single concert. But it is still an outstanding double live LP, the songs flow well, the contrast between acoustic and electric songs is impeccable and Peter peaks on each song at a new height each song.
I had the pleasure of seeing Peter Frampton live in 2019 at Pine Knob, and followed up by reading his autobiography during the COVID lockdown, so you can call me a Frampton super fan - but I am not looking for a special title to enjoy one of the most underrated guitarists in rock and roll history. Anyways - Peter noted at the Pine Knob show and in his book that his entire career ridded on Frampton Comes Alive! prior to its release in 76’ his studio albums were rather lackluster to the consuming public, and critics weren’t jumping on board either. Literally everyone was telling him to get back in Humble Pie, but he didn’t want to - so he took off to somewhere tropical for a vacation to escape his worries. Upon finding himself in the Bahamas, Peter ran into a friend, Alvin Lee of Ten Years After - they sat down on the beach and pumped out three songs, which would ironically turnout to be the three singles releases off Frampton Comes Alive! they are: Baby, I Love Your Way, Show Me The Way, and Do You Feel Like We Do. I will detail these three in the track by track breakdown but we have a bit more to discuss first.
The mixture of acoustic guitar heavy songs and electric driven rockers on Frampton Comes Alive! is truly a marvel of music production. The acoustic numbers are placed in the tracklist in such a place to give us a tiny break from the face melting rock that Peter provides. The acoustic songs are heartfelt and teeming with emotion, when on the contrary the electric songs are powerful and high octane.
I stand firmly by my statement that Peter Frampton is a totally underrated guitarist. He is doing stuff on his guitar that the rock gods like Hendrix, Jimmy Page, and Clapton can’t comprehend. Peter has said that his playing is different because he melds in jazz to his playing. To a novice listener, you hear hard and fast licks, and fun chords, but to seasoned listeners he is up to some wild stuff - I will keep the music theory rhetoric out of this blog post but just know that he is up to some crazy complex chording underneath the solos, pairing incredibly well with his rhythm guitarist Bob Mayo… another statement I will proudly stand behind, Frampton Comes Alive! would not be the smash hit without Bob Mayo, who doubled as rhythm guitarist and keyboard on this album and subsequent Frampton releases. Details will be in the track by track below.
Side A
Introduction/Something’s Happening
Peter is introduced by Winterland Ballroom owner and music promoting pioneer Bill Graham, Bill proclaims that Peter is an “honorary member of the San Francisco musical society” which is ironic because the San Fran musical society includes bands like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and many others. Bands and artists that Peter would grow close with following the release of Frampton Comes Alive!
Something’s Happening rockets us out of the gate in pure powerful rock fashion. Drummer John Simmons and bassist Stanley Sheldon are locked into a funk groove so Bob (Mayo) and Peter can reign in the chariots of the song.
Doobie Wah
“We’d like to get a bit funky now!” Announces Peter, before diving right into the up tempo electric Doobie Wah, and man is this song saturated in funk. Truly oozing with the vibe and groove that Stanley and John set in Something’s Happening. The trade off between Bob and Peter is so tight it might be compared to the two hands of a jazz pianist, working at the same time but playing two totally different complimentary and contrasting structures simultaneously.
Show Me The Way
Kicking off the acoustic songs on Frampton Comes Alive! is the first song written on the beach with Alvin Lee is Show Me the Way, which happens to be the second best selling single from this album, and the first released.
Show Me the Way his a tropical vibe with its bouncy acoustic structure paired with the complexity of the rhythm section of Stanley and John. This is also the first time we hear Peter on the talkbox, when Peter engages the talkbox Bob Mayo keeps the intensity of the acoustic structure going smoothly. I will also add that Show Me the Way is an incredibly fun song to play yourself.
It’s A Plane Shame
Written during his time in Humble Pie but not released until 1972’s Wind of Change is It’s A Plane Shame. We transition hard and fast right back to the electric wonder of Frampton, Plane Shame has some high high peaks, with crescendoing shrilling solos to boot.
Side B
All I Want to Be (Is by Your Side)
We dive into Side B with All I Want to Be (Is by Your Side), a solo acoustic number. Some call this song a ballad, I am not so kick to call it a ballad, but can see where they are coming from. All I Want to Be (Is by Your Side) sets us up nicely for the next track.
Wind of Change
Another solo acoustic number, Wind of Change is a truly beautiful song about ushering in change to your life, because sometimes change is hard but we all need it to grow as people. Peter explains that in this song. I remember singing this song at a karaoke night once, with my dearly departed cousin Dan Wilson, aka Danimal.
Baby, I Love Your Way
The second released single from Frampton Comes Alive!, is Baby, I Love Your Way. We see the introduction of the backing band coming back into the fold on this song.
You can definitely feel the Bahamas beach vibe on this song, with Bob Mayo’s work on the Hammond B3 Organ adding a tropical undertone to the timeless love song. This is also our first keys solo of the double live LP.
I Wanna Go to the Sun
With John, Bob and Stanley behind him, Peter breaks the electric guitar back out to close out Side B in pure Frampton style. Clocking in at 7:02, I Wanna Go to the Sun is a laid back jammer, with some absolutely gorgeous work on the Fender Rhodes keyboard by Bob Mayo.
Side C
Penny for Your Thoughts
A very brief instrumental acoustic number, is Penny for Your Thoughts. Names after his girlfriend at the time, Penny, who was stepping out on our man Peter, he wrote and included Penny for Your Thoughts to win her love back. You will have to read his autobiography to see how it worked out for him…
(I’ll Give You) Money
Opening up this edgy rocker, is a hard groove from John on drums and Stanley on bass. It is a little harder to hear what Bob Mayo is up to on this one, but Peter carries this song - locked in step with what John is laying down behind the drumkit.
Shine On
Shine On, a cover from his days in Humble Pie - brings the high octane intensity to Frampton Comes Alive! that Peter brought to Humble Pie. Shine On sets up the next track nicely, similar to All I Want to Be (Is by Your Side).
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Made famous by the Rolling Stones and frequently covered by Peter Frampton is Jumpin’ Jack Flash, and man does this version rock out. Peter and band significantly jam out this song, being that it clocks in at 7:45. I recall seeing Peter at Pine Knob, and this song was definitely a highlight, and again sets us up for an epic Side D.
Side D
Lines on My Face
A typically longer Frampton ballad, Lines on My Face is a nice cool down from what we’ve heard so far. Still electric but just slowed up and jammed out a bit in the mid section. Here is where we really see Bob Mayo get his spot in the limelight on keys, before transitioning into the EPIC JAMMER coming up next.
Do You Feel Like We Do
Dialing in at a whopping 14:15, Do You Feel Like We Do is the highest point and peak on this incredible double live LP. A mixture of funk and rock and roll, this song is really structured into two parts. The talkbox solo and everything before the talkbox solo.
During the talkbox solo, Bob Mayo hits peaks on the keys, leaving Peter to say: “Bob Mayo on the keyboards… Bob Mayo!”
Do You Feel Like We Do is the third released single from Frampton Comes Alive! and the third song written on the beach. While the tropical vibe isn’t as strong on this song, its just subtle enough to grab a sliver of tropics on the back half of the keys solo - and especially as the band transitions out of the keys and talkbox soloing to full band high octane intensity.
Frampton Comes Alive! is truly one of the greatest double live LP’s in the history of rock and roll. There is not a single bad song on this album. Song after song flows into the next effortlessly, and each side ender leaves the listener with great anticipation for what is to come, and when you flip sides to uncover the treasurers that await - you are not disappointed. Give it a full listen to, front to back, side by side and listen for the intricacies that Bob Mayo sprinkles in. I have listened to this seminal album many many times and each time I come across a new Mayo nugget and gem. It is safe to say this album would be the powerhouse it is, with out Bob Mayo, the incredible rhythm section of John Simmons and Stanley Sheldon, and of course the mastery of Peter Frampton, it is hard to believe that just these four guys created such a cosmic soundscape.
