Frampton Comes Alive!
Peter Frampton's breakthrough double live album from 1976.
Frampton Comes Alive! is a double live album by the English musician and songwriter Peter Frampton, released in 1976 by A&M Records. Following four studio albums with little success and sales, it was a breakthrough for Frampton and is one of the best-selling live albums ever. The singles "Show Me the Way", "Baby, I Love Your Way", and "Do You Feel Like We Do" all reached the top 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and frequently receive airplay on classic rock radio stations.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- Peter Frampton
- Released
- 15 January 1976 (US)
- Recorded
- 13–14 June, 24 August and 22 November 1975
- Genre
- Rock
- Label
- A&M
Facts from the source article.
Track listing
Side one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction/Something's Happening | 5:54 | |
| 2 | Doobie Wah | Frampton, John Headley-Down, Rick Wills | 5:28 |
| 3 | Show Me the Way | 4:32 | |
| 4 | It's a Plain Shame | 4:21 |
Side two
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | All I Want to Be (Is by Your Side) | 3:27 |
| 2 | Wind of Change | 2:47 |
| 3 | Baby, I Love Your Way | 4:43 |
| 4 | I Wanna Go to the Sun | 7:02 |
Side three
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penny for Your Thoughts | 1:23 | |
| 2 | (I'll Give You) Money | 5:39 | |
| 3 | Shine On | 3:35 | |
| 4 | Jumpin' Jack Flash | Mick Jagger, Keith Richards | 7:45 |
Track listing from the source article.
Background and recording
The album was recorded between June and November 1975, primarily at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, with additional performances at Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael, California, Long Island Arena in Commack, New York, and a concert on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus in Plattsburgh, New York. Winterland songs were captured on a 24-track recorder, while other concerts used 16-track recorders. Master tapes were recorded at 15 inches per second with professional Dolby "A" noise reduction. Originally intended as a single LP, A&M Records suggested recording more shows, expanding the release to two LPs. During mixing, a cable to the bass drum microphone had been inadvertently pulled, causing the microphone to face at a 90-degree angle from the drumhead. Frampton noted that the album is mostly live except for the first verse of "Something's Happening", the electric rhythm guitar on "Show Me the Way", and the intro piano on "I Wanna Go to the Sun", which were fixed in the studio.
Release
When Frampton Comes Alive hit stores in 1976, it was priced at $7.98 for a double album—just a dollar more than the typical $6.98 single-disc record. The vinyl was arranged in automatic sequence, putting sides one and four on one disc and sides two and three on the other, so automatic changers could play the tracks in order. The album spawned three hit singles: "Baby, I Love Your Way," "Do You Feel Like We Do," and "Show Me the Way." The talk box effect on the latter two tracks became a signature sound for Frampton. The single edit of "Do You Feel Like We Do" clocked in at 7:19, trimmed from the original 14:15 album version, making it one of the longest top-40 singles ever. In January 2001, a 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition came out with four extra tracks, including one recorded in a radio studio, and a reordered track list that matched the original concert set. Frampton himself produced the remixed release and played a live show with his original band at Tower Records in Los Angeles to promote it.
Track listing
All songs were written by Peter Frampton except as noted. The original LP release included two discs. Disc one contained tracks from "Introduction/Something's Happening" (5:56) through "I Want to Go to the Sun" (7:15). Disc two included "Nowhere's Too Far (For My Baby)" (4:49) through "Day's Dawning/Closing" (3:34). The 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition added four tracks marked with an asterisk: "Just the Time of Year", "Nowhere's Too Far (For My Baby)", "White Sugar", and "Day's Dawning/Closing", plus an extra track "Do You Feel Like We Do" featuring Warren Haynes. "Do You Feel Like We Do" was recorded at SUNY-Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, NY, on 22 November 1975.
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