| Frampton Comes Alive! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 15 January 1976 (1976-01-15) (US)[1] | |||
| Recorded | 13–14 June, 24 August and 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 | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Peter Frampton | |||
| Peter Frampton chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Frampton Comes Alive! | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B−[3] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [4] |
Frampton Comes Alive! is adouble live album by the English musician and songwriterPeter Frampton, released in 1976 byA&M Records. Following four studio albums with little success and sales,Frampton Comes Alive! was a breakthrough for Frampton and is one of the best-selling live albums ever. "Show Me the Way", "Baby, I Love Your Way", and "Do You Feel Like We Do" were released assingles; all three reached the top 15 on the USBillboard Hot 100, and frequently receiveairplay onclassic rock radio stations.
Released on 15 January 1976,Frampton Comes Alive! debuted on the charts at No. 191. It reached No. 1 on theBillboard 200 the week ending 10 April 1976, spending 10 non-consecutive weeks in the top spot through October. It was the best-selling album of 1976 and has sold over 8,000,000 copies in the United States.[5]
Frampton Comes Alive! was voted "Album of the Year" in a 1976Rolling Stone readers' poll. It stayed on the chart for 97 weeks and was still No. 14 onBillboard's 1977 year-end album chart. It was ranked No. 41 onRolling Stone's "50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time" list.[6] Readers ofRolling Stone ranked it No. 3 in a 2012 poll of all-time favourite live albums.[7]
In 2020,Frampton Comes Alive! was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[8]
The albumFrampton Comes Alive! was recorded between June and November 1975, primarily at theWinterland Ballroom in San Francisco as well asMarin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium inSan Rafael, California,Long Island Arena inCommack, New York, and a concert on theSUNY Plattsburgh campus inPlattsburgh, New York. The Winterland songs were recorded on a24-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 professionalDolby "A" noise reduction.[9]
The live album had been intended to be a single LP disc, but at the suggestion ofA&M Records, additional shows were recorded, and the album expanded to two LPs for release. On the special features for theLive in Detroit concert DVD, Peter 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 1954Gibson Les Paul Custom electric guitar (with three Humbucker pick-ups as opposed to the usual P90 and AlNiCo Staple pickups).[10] On the radio programIn 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' (thetalk-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)".[11]
The double album was released in the U.S. at a reduced list price of $7.98, only $1.00 more than the standard $6.98 of most single-disc albums in 1976. It was pressed in "automatic sequence", with sides one and four on one record and sides two and three on the other. This arrangement facilitated sequential listening on automaticrecord changers.
The album produced three hit singles: "Baby, I Love Your Way", "Do You Feel Like We Do", and "Show Me the Way". The talk box guitar effect became closely associated with Frampton due to its use in the latter two singles. The single version of "Do You Feel Like We Do" was edited to 7:19 from the original 14:15 album version, making it one of the longest singles to reach the top 40, surpassingThe Beatles' "Hey Jude" at 7:11. The B-side of "Do You Feel Like We Do", the acoustic instrumental "Penny for Your Thoughts", was the shortest track onFrampton Comes Alive, at 1:23.
In January 2001, a 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of the album was released. It featured four additional tracks not present in the original version, one recorded in a radio studio and not part of the main concert program. The track sequence was revised to more accurately reflect the original concert set list. Frampton produced the remixed and extended album and performed live with the original band atTower Records in Los Angeles to promote the release.
All songs written byPeter Frampton except as noted. Durations are sourced from original LP release.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| No. | Title | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lines on My Face" | Frampton's Camel (1973) | 7:06 | |
| 2. | "Do You Feel Like We Do" | Frampton,Mick Gallagher,John Siomos, Rick Wills | Frampton's Camel (1973) | 14:15 |
(* Available only on the 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
Same track listing as the 25th anniversary edition plus an extra track "Do You Feel Like We Do" featuringWarren Haynes.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[37] | 3× Platinum | 150,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[38] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Japan | — | 15,000[20] |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[39] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[40] | 8× Platinum | 8,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
