Ahhhhhh...1976...America was celebrating its 200th birthday, Farah Fawcett hairdos were all the rage, everyone wore either pooka shells or a mood ring (or both) and this album was EVERYWHERE.

I was eleven years old.

I remember sitting in the garage of my aunt's house listening to this album with my significantly older cousins. We'd have the garage door shut and Mike would light incense so that his mom, my aunt wouldn't smell the.....uhm, the biscuits that we were baking, in the garage...well, maybe it wasn't biscuits, but something was getting baked.

I just remember shutting my eyes while the music was going and feelung like everything was just this weird and wonderful dream. The music just kept on going and going even though I knew that my cousin periodically pulled himself up from the avocado colored beanbag he was sitting on to change the record. This music just seemed to register into my pre-teen brain. It even made me want to take guitar lessons even though my dad insisted that I should learn a more "practical" instrument first and then move on to the guitar.

Since when is the accordian practical?

But I never learned to play either of those instruments. Kind of sad, really. But cue up Show Me the way and I play a real mean Fender "air-caster". This album is just loaded with gems and even though later on, I was informed that a lot of stuff was done in a recording studio with stadium effects put in later, it still didn't sour my memories any.

I had this on vinyl and my friend at the time begged me to let him borrow it, after much pleading and promising, I succumbed to his whining. He promptly left it on the seat of his truck on a 105 degree Southern California Summer day. Oh, the carnage. He didn't even offer to replace it. He just told me it was an unfortunate accident. No, his mom not keeping her legs closed 20 years ago was an unfortunate accident. I did find another copy in a used record store, but it's still not MY copy. My copy had vibrations of my love, my joy, my gladness seeping through the album cover onto the album itself. The album that I was now holding had vibrations of someone desperate for a little cash money to buy their next beer so in their desperation they pawned this record for a buck...maybe even less. There's no love coming from this. Only desperation.

So I bought a CD version. Still not the same. At least it's mine, though. My little nephews get a kick out of this music. My youngest likes to pretend he's playing drums and my oldest is a chip off the old block playing his Fender air guitar just like his uncle. It makes me proud that I was able to provide them with some groovy music for some groovy memories later on.

Not too long ago I asked my cousin whatever happened to his vinyl version of this recording. Tears welled up in his eyes as he recounted a very sad tale of him being so desperate one night for cash. He said he sold it to a used record store for a buck so he could get a beer.

Buy this album. Make it yours and never sell the things that move your soul.

Peace & Blessings

Frampton Comes Alive came out of nowhere to become one of the biggest albums of all time. Peter Frampton released several albums in the early to mid 70's, a couple of which sold respectively. When this album was released in early '76, it exploded and stayed in the top ten for over a year. The album offers something for everybody from straight forward rockers like "It's A Plain Shame", "Something's Happening" & "Doobie Wah" to ballads like "Baby, I Love Your Way" & "Show Me The Way" to extended jams like "I Wanna Go To The Sun", "Lines On My Face" & "Do You Feel Like We Do?". It also has that voice-box. Frampton is a great guitar player and an energetic performer and those traits didn't always come across on his studio albums. They were front & center on the live album and people tapped into that. Frampton never again reached the heights he reached with this album, but it stands today as a touchstone of 70's rock music.

This album contains inspired tunes played in one of the best live performances ever. If you've never heard this album from beginning to end you may think you can sum it up with "Baby I Love Your Way" and "Do You Feel Like We Do?" but you would be wrong. This album is pure magic all the way through. The best way to describe it is "laid back rock n roll", mellow songs that still manage to jam. There are also a few of the best acoustic numbers on this album. The lead guitar work is some of the most stunning ever captured on a live album and Frampton's voice is flawless. This album is the reason everyone makes such a fuss about the live sound, when it is done right it delivers something a studio album cannot. Also,the recording is done perfectly so every instrument is heard clearly. Frampton Comes Alive is a must if you are looking for a classic live album.

Take it from someone who was there at Winterland in 1976, the audience track is not faked! That evening was magical the crowd was definitely in tune with the man and his band, and we were all so blown away by what we were hearing that night it only makes sense that the crowd sounds sweetened to you. The sound engineers did a masterful and up until that time unachieved level of perfection in capturing the real sounds of a live performance. That is why the album sold so well, it does not have the hollow sound of typical live performances. His guitar was ringing loud and clear that night as was his voice. It is such a pleasure to be able to listen to a live perfomance that ranks as one of the best concerts I have ever been to, (and believe me I have been to a lot of them) any time I want to, and be able to relive that very special performance in San Francisco. Thank God they recorded this show!

This truely was one of the best albums of the 1970's. Peter Frampton's live album was immensely popular when it was released and its not hard to see why. It is still awesome to listen to 20 plus years after it was released, and the remastered version brings out the sound of Frampton even better. From "Show me the way", to "Shine On" and his immortal classic "Do You Feel Like We Do" each and every song showcases Frampton's great guitar playing and wonderful voice. You can tell Peter Frampton was having a great time at this concert and his guitar playing was never better.

This is a great CD that has finally been remastered and it will delight all Frampton's fans and any fan of good Rock and Roll. Highly Recommended!!