For some reason, I feel compelled to start this review off with a few comments from someone else's. Following is a review of the previous CD release of Frampton Comes Alive:

"This album is so 70s that to listen to it would risk opening a time portal back to the days of afros, bellbottoms and - shudder - arena rock! Frightening, eh? Okay, this WAS the biggest selling album of all time at one point, and it DID get tons of exposure on FM radio all over the world. But it was totally PLAYED OUT by 1979! To be caught dead with this disc in your collection then - even moreso NOW - would be an invitation to the worst kind of (deserved) ridicule. The fact that this anachronism has made it onto the compact disc format is astonishing."

Hmm. What's funny is that everything this person said about this CD is the very reason I bought it. I've been tempted to buy it for years, but everytime I picked it up, I hesitated and put it back. Guess I wasn't ready to step through that "portal - back to the days of afros, bellbottoms and arena rock!." But then I saw the 25th anniversary edition on sale and decided to grab it. Guess enough time had passed for me.

The point is, this is a set of live music that does indeed teleport you to a specific time and place. How many recordings can do that so successfully? Whether or not you're a fan of 70s music is really beside the point. Listening to Frampton Comes Alive, you can close your eyes and almost relive those concerts of yore - the sights, the sounds, the people.... Where it was general admission seating and huge mushroom clouds of pot smoke always formed at the top of the venues. Sometimes the music itself was irrelevant. It was about the experience. This was before Ticketmaster wrangled control of the concert business and ruined it forever. Frampton Comes Alive is a stern rebuke to that, and the boy bands that now fill those over-priced, designated-seating arenas. Yes, FCA is a reminder of arena rock, but a reminder nonetheless.

As for the reviewer's comment, "to be caught dead with this disc in your collection then - even moreso NOW - would be an invitation to the worst kind of (deserved) ridicule." Geez, I'm not 13 anymore and feel quite secure in my decision to purchase this. So bring on the taunts, pal. My musical tastes are wide and varied and somehow this CD fits right in.

A great addition to any collection and especially for those who don't mind doing a little time traveling.

What can you possibly say about this album that hasn't already been said? A&M just released a new 'deluxe edition' of the album in commemoration of its 25th anniversary, complete with all-new packaging and four unreleased bonus tracks. For those of you who may not already be familiar with this record, I'll give you a little background on the musical phenomenon called Frampton Comes Alive.

The original plan was for it to be a single album. Five songs. Somehow, in retrospect, it just doesn't seem right. There were so many great tracks on this album, there's no possible way it could be edited down like that. Frampton invited A&M co-founder Jerry Moss to come down to Electric Lady Studios to preview the album. The first words out of Moss' mouth were "where's the rest?"

With Moss' blessing for a double album, Frampton went back out on the road to record more dates. Once the tour was over, Frampton went back to Electric Lady Studios to mix the album with Chris Kimsey. After everything was ready to go, he played the new version for several of his trusted friends and confidants. One of these friends was Rolling Stone music critic, Cameron Crowe. "Cameron was beaming from ear to ear," recalled Frampton. "He felt every track was better than the one that had come before it."

Now that the finished album was in the hands of the record company, it was time for a vacation. When he returned ten days later, things were already beginning to take off. Concerts were selling out, sales records were being shattered, and the album had the top spot on the Billboard chart for ten weeks straight--eventually surpassing Carole King's 'Tapestry' as the best selling album of all time.

For this new deluxe edition, the producers/engineers went back and remixed and remastered everything, and for the first time (without the time constraints of an album side), put the songs back in the proper order. As a special bonus, four songs--all previously unavailable and picked by Frampton himself--were added back into the set. From a musical standpoint, the album holds up quite well, even after all this time (not counting the tepid cover of "Jumping Jack Flash").

Having said all that, you're probably wondering... how's it sound? Outstanding. A&M really outdid themselves on this one. They did a great job in the remixing and remastering process. It's a bit strange at first hearing the songs in a different order, but the album sounds better than ever before. In addition to the new packaging, there's a new essay by John McDermott, plus a ton of new photos and lyrics to all the songs. All reissues should look and sound this good.

The Deluxe 25th Anniversary Edition of "Frampton Comes Alive" gets my highest rating and recommendation IF you are a devoted Peter Frampton fan or someone who is interested in the history of this remarkable recording. However, if you're merely a casual fan trying to choose the "best" version of this historic album you may be more satisfied with the original "Comes Alive". Here's why...

Back in 1976 Peter Frampton's niche market position coupled with the time limitations of the old 12" LP forced the original production team to make choices that resulted in a tight, well crafted, energy-filled, labor-of-love. The result was a breakthrough product that captured the attention of the mass market - the rest is history.

As a devoted Peter Frampton fan I find the 25th Anniversary repackaged album absolutely intriguing and very, very enjoyable. I like how they worked hard to maintain the original play lists/song sequence of the original performances. I love the new lengthy and enlightening liner notes. I'm impressed at how faithfully they translated that beloved old album cover to a very cool CD sized format. I am fascinated by the added songs that didn't make the first cut.

However I am looking all these things through nearly thirty-years of listening to, loving, and obsessing over the original aren't I? Frankly, if this album were the released in 1976 I'm not sure that I would even be a Peter Frampton fan today due to it's slower pace and addition of some less than top notch songs.

So my advice to the reader is this. First determine if you're "devoted" or just "casual" and then, "Emptor Caveat". Choose wisely, but whatever you do make sure that you have at least ONE copy of "Frampton Comes Alive" in your music library!

Over 25 years since its original release in 1976, Peter Frampton's live masterpiece "Frampton Comes Alive!" is still one of the best live albums of the 70s and remains the biggest selling live recording to this day. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of this classic album, A&M released an expanded deluxe version with an expanded booklet and four additional tracks bringing to album's running time to nearly two hours.
This album still never fails to please. From the Frampton standards "Show Me The Way" and "Baby I love Your Way" to the extended jams of "Lines On My Face", "I Wanna Go To The Sun" and the ultimate talkbox-guitar opus "Do You Feel Like We Do?", this album shows Peter Frampton in all his glory. Besides being a gifted songwriter and singer, Frampton's guitar work is up there with the greats. It's unfortunate that his guitar playing doesn't get as much recognition as his other two great talents.
The additional material on the expanded edition includes three additional live pieces as well as an unreleased studio track entitled "Day's Dawning".
What else can I say, "Frampton Comes Alive!" still sounds as fresh and exciting as it did back in the day. This is classic arena rock the way it's meant to be done. Check it out and relive the the glory days.

Who would have ever thought that this rock staple could be improved upon, but that's what has happened with this special edition of "Frampton Comes Alive". Me like many other people have bought this album more than once over the years, in fact I can remember playing my cassette copy of this album until it snapped!!! For this reissue the original running order of the some of the tracks has been changed slightly which may or may not delight purists but four songs that were not part of the original album have been included, which is a great bonus. The thing that impressed me most is how much brighter and clearer the sound is. Remixed from the original multitrack tapes the sound quality is almost explosive, and the original remastering done by Doug Sax five years ago was excellent, but this new version, WATCH OUT!!! The booklet that comes with the package is great and gives new insight to this classic album. Classic rock at it's very best.