Peter Frampton 35 years after release of his seminal live double album.
Today, Frampton may be under-appreciated as a result, but the former Humble Pie frontman had a unique musical style, and his live double album earned critical praise and monumental sales despite his subsequent quick fade into rock history.
It was great news to hear that Eagle Rock Entertainment has released “FCA! 35 Tour: An Evening with Peter Frampton,” commemorating the anniversary of his album’s release.
Peter Frampton’s classic 1976 album.
After four solo discs, his manager, the late-great Dee Anthony, came up with the idea for such an audacious stunt. Released on Jan. 6, 1976, it debuted on the charts at 191 and climbed steadily. It hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 the week ending Apr. 10 1976 and held the top spot for 10 weeks.
It ended the year as the best-selling album of 1976, with more than 6 million copies sold in the United States. In fact, it still stands as one of the best-selling live albums to date.
Frampton Comes Alive! was also voted “Album of the Year” in the 1976 Rolling Stone readers’ poll. It stayed on the chart for 97 weeks and was still #14 on Billboard’s 1977 year-end album chart.
The most recognizable songs from the album are “Show Me the Way”, “Baby, I Love Your Way”, and “Do You Feel Like We Do”, all of which were released as singles, and continue to receive airplay on classic rock radio stations.
The Eagle Rock package includes staples “Show Me The Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do,” as well as tracks from Frampton’s most recent albums Thank You Mr. Churchill and the Grammy-Award winning instrumental album Fingerprints.
The DVD captures two February 2012 shows, a performance in Milwaukee at the Pabst Theater and another in New York at the Beacon Theatre. Pierre and François Lamoureux directed and produced.
“I have tried to find the best musical performances from as many different countries and cities as possible,” says Frampton. “My MO in choosing these tracks was to make this CD as representative as possible of the entire year of shows.
“Maybe there’s one you were at, whether you’re from Europe or the US. I’m still going through the 116 versions of ‘Do You Feel…’ as I write this! I might never want to play it again, so you better pick this CD up just in case!” Timeless music… from a golden era in rock
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