Frampton Comes Alive Becomes A Letdown....

I first heard about this album in the Guinness Book of Records in the early 80s, when it was touted as ‘the best-selling live album of all time’.

I’d heard of all the other albums mentioned in the GB of R but FCA was new to me, because Frampton had nothing like the popularity in Britain that he had in America.

When I finally got to hear the album, I liked it but was a bit puzzled as to why it had been so successful at the time. To put it in context, I’d say it’s definitely one of the better live albums of its era - the equal of Van Morrison’s It’s Too Late to Stop Now and superior (because better played) to Kiss’ Alive!

I think a lot of its success might be attributed to Frampton being a unique artist for the times who had a pull on two different types of audience: he had the hard rock guitar chops to appeal to male teenage audience and the looks and the ballads to appeal to a young female audience, as well. This, combined with Dee Anthony’s aggressive management strategy and the power of the A&M label, made FCA a one-off super hit.

A lot has been made of the fact that Frampton never wanted to be a pop star and always saw himself as a serious musician. I don’t think it’s such a mystery that his career seemed to stall after FCA, because his heart wasn’t really in being a mega-star. I’m In You, with its misconceived cover art and lack of first-rate material, showed every sign of being a rush-job. It was also around this time that the flaw’s in Anthony’s management approach began to show: the marketplace had just had more than enough Frampton to slake its appetite.

I also saw Frampton live, back in 2011 and it was easily one of the best concerts I’ve been to. Sad that I’m unlikely to see him again.

 

Until you try the Spain Planeta Agostini RCD085-2 release that is. It is short four tracks, Doobie Wah, It's A Plain Shame, All I Want To Be (Is By Your Side) and Penny For Your Thoughts, but the sound quality betters all other CD releases.

 

Let”s remember Peter’s record label did have a lot to do with it.

The dreadful movie, Magnum PI tv..

I do recall him making a comment that he found himself after the big hit album writing new songs in a calculated way to meet the expectations of the audience - and he said when you do that you have lost your vitality

I really liked his 4 solo albums before FCA came out
They had an acoustic side and great songwriting
I had no idea when FCA broke

Saw him twice in the last 7 years - one opening for Yes
Very engaging hits and bits set - great performance and really gave off positive energy

The second was an acoustic show - very intimate.

 

When I dig FCA out, I mostly only play "Do You Feel Like We Do, Lines On Your Face", not too fussed about the rest of it.

 

What made the album so popular was a handfull of truly great songs with great melodies, performed well. Add the catchy voice box gadget which made everyone pay attention.

The chicks dug it. A great make-out album.

 

I thought the secret sauce was the audience sounds. I remember being blown away at the time just because you could hear how totally into it the crowd was. It was captured so well by the recording. You can really feel them all getting totally psyched when he starts the talkbox bit in Do You Feel....it's wild.

 

Fingerprints is my favorite

 

That’s pretty much how I feel about it: love “Do You Feel...” but can take or leave the rest.

 

Delete the biggest hit on the album to make it better? No thanks.

 

I rediscovered it so to speak earlier this year. Had it in heavy rotation.

 

I was in high school when it came out - it was huge, of course - but believe it or not, I’d never really heard any of it other than the hits until about 5 years ago or so when I came across the SACD. Oddly, I never heard it at a party that I recall nor did any of my close friends have it.

The hits were fine, I guess, but were nothing special for me. Hearing the rest of the album hasn’t really changed anything. There’s nothing wrong with it and it definitely still represents a moment in time, but that’s about it for me.

I’ve never heard it on vinyl.

 

I loved this album when it came out. Played it over, and over again. I find the live aspect of the album to be very realistic. Being a teenager back in the 70’s, I would crank the volume on my JBL 4311BWX monitors and it made me feel like I was right there in the concert hall, rocking out with 15,000 other fans!

I still think the album is great. Times have changed, and many people today don’t listen to Rock the way they did in the 60’s and 70’s, buy I still feel this album is as great as it was on the day it was released. Just my humble (pie) opinion!

(To put things in perspective, FCA has sold 11 MILLION copies worldwide. And, it stayed on the charts for 97 weeks in 1976/1977. To top things off, it was ranked 41 on Rolling Stone's "Greatest Live Albums of All Time" list. Not too shabby!)

 

I'm trying to clear out the cobwebs and remember to some extent what seemed to make the album so popular in the US at the time. A lot of it was that "Do You Feel Like We Do" got so much airplay. It was a unique track at the time in that it was a long live track, but it never veered far from being fairly commercial, melodic, catchy hard rock. The novel sounds of the talk box and the way Frampton used it was part of that, of course. It might seem weird now for radio stations to regularly play a 14-minute track, but back then radio was looser, and in the years prior to modern automation, it gave DJs a good bathroom (or whatever) break opportunity.

"Show Me the Way" and "Baby, I Love Your Way" got a ton of airplay, too, and they both fit really well into the musical climate of the US circa 1976. The stomp of "Show Me the Way" was almost discoey without being so discoey to turn off strictly rock fans, and "Baby, I Love Your Way" fit really well in a soft rock/yacht rock context, both of which were extremely popular in the US during the 70s.

So three songs that got a ton of radio play--where all three tunes are quite different in some ways, but where they still had a unifying underlying aesthetic to them, plus classic, melody-oriented catchiness, and where they all fit perfectly into the musical climate of the era, drove a lot of people to pick up the album. And I can't think of many other albums from that era that fit anything like that description--especially not from a live album. That novelty was part of the attraction.

 

I think FCA did so well because it captured the zeitgeist of 75-76 so perfectly and the album sounded so great. I've got three of his pre-FCA albums and I'm In You is such a mess, it really is. I don't thnk FCA being so big affected him as much as I'm In You being a dog did...

 

I like Peter Frampton and still enjoy songs from FCA. However, it was never an album that I enjoyed listening all the way through. My theory:

1. It’s initial success was made possible for guys due to the talk box gimmick on “Do you...” Period.
2. It’s initial success was made possible for girls due to the frantic squealing and screaming during “Do You...” ( See also Beatlemania.) Basically, if teen girls liked it, everyone would like it.
3. At the end of the day, Peter was a good looking dude. The cover never hurt.
4. How many ‘live’ LPs generated excitement at the time?
5. The band was tight, clean as was Peter’s performance at the time.
6. Hitting it big in LA or SF was always a good launch point for publicity and buzz (See also Elton John.)
7. There was probably a little bit of FM radio rogueness to playing an extended length song (see also DSOTM) that drove more exposure.
8. Yes, without iTunes or CDs, people would buy albums for only a single favorite song.
9. As for aging, it’s as enjoyable as Foghat, REO YGWYPF, Nugent Double Live, Skynyrd OMFTR, many of which have their moments but are slightly difficult now to play all the way through.
10. A good Les Paul player will always get heard and enjoyed.

 

“Bob Mayo on the keyboard, Bob Mayo!”

 

Haven't read all the commentary on this thread but here's my take----

Agree with Steve Philips. That 1977 lp was a letdown, I came close to buying it a time or two, but didn't. But what REALLY hurt his popularity was his participation in one of the biggest flops in Robert Stigwoods "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band." I remember in a 1980 interview George Harrison had said in an interview "this movie didn't do Peter Frampton or the BeeGees any favors and in fact harmed their careers a bit." I agree with Harrison. The soundtrack of that lp was a flop as well.

43 years later I still like "Frampton Comes Alive." His first few albums were good, certainly the live lp pushed him to the top. What few record/cd shows I do I noticed a lot of sellers still sell that lp, maybe not for big bucks, but they sell them.

 

Why hide? Good list. But I'd punch up #10 a bit. The black triple pickup Les Paul was cool to be sure, but Frampton was/is an outstanding guitarist, with a gift for melody up there with, say, Mick Taylor. That was the big draw for young teenage me in the late 70's, when FCA was my absolute favorite album for more than a year. I was horrified at I'm in You.

As for how it aged, I thought the lyrics were gibberish back in the day, but it struck me recently they might actually be brilliant hip shorthand that went over my head when I was young.

 

Agreed! I finally found a NM LP set a few years ago that has TML-M stamped on all 4 runout areas. Not that any of the others don't sound great, but it is comforting in knowing that I have the TML. The theoretical best? My old Monarch records pressing sounds wonderful too. I kept them both!
I have wanted to try out the deluxe CD set with the added tracks and the "intended" running order, but if it sounds like dogs**t or any other kind of s**t then I will be happy with my LP versions.

 

When FCA was released I too was in high school. This was also around the time when free-form rock radio existed, WNEW-FM for the NYC Metro area, and Peter Frampton, prior to the release of FCA, could be heard stopping by the radio station to talk and play tracks from his up-till-then catalog. Based on Mr. Frampton’s cred from his Humble Pie days and before his management killed his career by making him into something he was not post-FCA, Peter Frampton was a respected and moderately successful artist.

I also saw PF at MSG during his followup tour to FCA. The final encore song he performed was “I’m in You” which wasn’t released yet and nothing was yet pre-released from the forth coming album to the radio stations. Just Mr. Frampton, probably Bob Mayo on keyboard strings, PF sans guitar but crooning to the crowd with a send-off that, for Mr. Frampton as well as for many in the MSG crowd that night, was the end of a chapter as well as the beginning of the end.

I think Peter Frampton took the long, circuitous and ill-conceived route back to be what he always was: a respected and moderately successful artist. Some artists, perhaps Bono for example, are desirous and comfortable with the trappings and demands of rock superstardom. Frampton’s management perhaps wanted to make the same for him. And we all know how that turned out. But Frampton is still making music after all these years, without the private jets and entourage, and he seems happy for it.

No matter what you may think of Peter Frampton, cut the guy a little slack. He kept doing what he loved and he eventually found his way home.

 

I have a hilarious Peter Frampton story that I can't share because it happened to a friend at Peter's house but as far as the LP ...I did buy it and I think it was because of the hits and acoustic guitar. I have a bunch of copies because when I buy collections from that period it's always in there along with Rumors,Fly Like An Eagle,Hotel California,GBYBR,etc.. I haven't listened to it in forever, quickly faded for me. IIRC, I bought it at the same time as Leon Russell's Will O' The Wisp which stuck with me longer.

 

I enjoy Comes Alive till this day, but when I want to hear a live album with Peter, Rockin The Fillmore is where it’s at

 

I was a senior in high school when Frampton Comes Alive was released. Show Me the Way was the lead off single and a hit in Milwaukee. I bought the LP at Galaxy of Sound for about $5. For a double LP! Many of my friends also bought it because it was priced so low we couldn’t pass up such a bargain!

I haven’t listened to it in a few years, but I could say that about many recordings I own. This thread has me thinking that I should give the SACD a spin later today.

 

Of course they did... He played Homerpalooza:

 

I have to agree that the vinyl sounds good...mastered by Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab. Al lot of great vinyl was mastered there...by Mike, and also Doug Sax.

I have my dad’s copy and it certainly has a sound, which no cd has come close to.