Peter Frampton-Frampton Comes Alive! (1976)
Artist: Peter Frampton
Title: Frampton Comes Alive!
Year of Release: 1976
Country and Year of Edition: US 1976 Monarch pressing
Sell Price: $7.73
Sell Date: 3/3/26
Condition: VG+/VG+
Discogs Last Sold: 2/24/26 NM/VG $14.95
Low: $1.38
Median: $9.49
Average: $11.95
High: $35.00
Current low price: $2.00 G+/G+
Current Number on Sale at Discogs:30
Have/Want:1037/147
Where Sold: Danville, CA
Time It Took To Sell: 4 years
Where and When Bought: Facebook marketplace $3 lot
Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: B
Sad To See It Go: No
When I got my first copy of Frampton Comes Alive! in the early 80's, it was used for 99 cents in excellent condition. The used market at the time was oversaturated with used copies of this and Worcester was no different. By 1984 there were 6 million certified sold in the US and the brunt of them were in the 70's although that meant 3 million double records. Although demand slowed down in the CD era, it was steady enough to sell another million copies in the US between 1984 and 2011 to get to 8 times Platinum. Even though I sold that copy a while back, at some point I got this copy for a few dollars in a lot thinking that it would someday sell again. That day has come, although surprisingly for under $8--I thin the last one went for $15. Tellingly, the buyer had a note they wanted no invoice in the package. A source and flip if not a gift. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Frampton Comes Alive! was looked down upon in the early 80's mostly due to Frampton's pop shift with I'm In You followed by his Robert Stigwood appearances in the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band film and on the Grease title track. He was a traitor to Rock and all Humble Pie stood for. Eventually time healed all wounds and cleaved from oversaturation and the rise of classic rock radio's embrace of the key live pop hits "Baby I Love Your Way, "Show Me The Way," and "Do You Feel Like We Do," the albums general popularity and respectability was reestablished. The narrative that Peter was in debt to A&M and about to get dropped was only partially true since the album immediately preceding this peaked at #32 on Billboard. However, it didn't reach RIAA Gold status until later in 1976 after this hit the Platinum mark. The first 3 didn't crack the top 100 or go Gold ever. Frampton's Humble Pie were finally RIAA Gold with Performance: Rockin' The Fillmore when he departed. Humble Pie had their most commercial chart success with Smokin' in 1972 while Frampton went down a few pegs building his solo career.
There were 4 solo records each year. Wind of Change in 1972 (The Rolling Stones "Jumping Jack Flash" cover, "All I Want To Be (Is By Your Side)" and the title track), Frampton's Camel in 1973 ("Do You Feel Like We Do" and "Lines On My Face"), Somethin's Happening in 1973 ("Double Wah" and "I Wanna Go To The Sun") and Frampton in 1974 ("Show Me The Way," "Baby I Love Your Way," "Nowhere's Too Far For My Baby" and the 1-2 closer "Penny For Your Thoughts" and "I'll Give You Money." Humble Pie gets a nod with "Shine On" from Rock On.
This is one of those albums I instinctively thought were overlong and meandering. A lone firecracker that explodes during "Winds of Change" to cheers. The hits were likeable enough, but when you get in the weeds with some of these tracks and you hear the audience screaming on some something like "All I Want To Be (Is By Your Side)" the thought comes to mind--is this real? Is everyone who "plays Rock" a "Rock Star" worthy of every utterance cheered? Listen start to finish a few times in a row like I just did and you'll see what I mean.
In the 70's, live albums got careers on track by manufacturing this sort of excitement for acts with 4 albums that scraped the lower regions of the charts perhaps with one breakout record right before it. Kiss and Cheap Trick certainly also benefited from this to become Pop stars. In recent years I've gotten those initial Frampton studio albums and I swear my eyes glazed over with boredom hearing each one. It gets better when he "gets heavy"--stuff like it's "It's A Plain Shame" or "I'll Give You Money" into Humble Pie into Stones is are enjoyable. Closing out with the cheer augmented "Lines On My Face" and the feeling hit made me wonder "was something really happening?"
It's alright.
FOR FURTHER REVIEW:
Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band-With A Little Help From My Friends (The Anthology...So Far) (2000)
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