Peter Frampton began his long career as an ace guitar player—a role that won him notice in first The Herd and then Humble Pie—who only gradually blossomed into an accomplished singer-songwriter. The most distinctive characteristic of Frampton’s very British style of blues-rock has always been his superb guitar work, whether the song is light and acoustic or heavy and electric.
Three albums into his nascent solo career, though, Frampton had barely made a ripple on the charts and was likely feeling some urgency from his label. The result, 1974’s Frampton, both drew broader notice than its predecessors and teed up his true breakthrough, 1976’s iconic live double album Frampton Comes Alive.
Frampton’s opener “Day’s Dawning” is characteristic of his early solo work: good-natured, workmanlike, skillfully played and somewhat interchangeable. The same could be said about roughly half this album; “One More Time,” “The Crying Clown,” “Fanfare” and “Apple of Your Eye” are all pleasant, inoffensive album tracks that amble along without making a big impression.
The other half of the album, though, was gold.
The first thing you notice listening to the original studio version of future hit single “Show Me The Way” is that even on solo album number four, Frampton’s lead vocals remained a work in progress. He feels tentative at the mic in places here, as opposed to the sunny confidence of the better-known live version. The way they handle the chorus is instructive—in the studio, they double-track his vocals for extra punch, but onstage, without that crutch to lean on, he accomplishes the same effect with pure vocal power—part of the reason the song has much more life and bounce on Alive. That said, “Show Me The Way” is a virtual cascade of hooks, a hit single-in-waiting lacking only the right performance to make it happen.
The other thing that seemed to catch some listeners by surprise on Alive is how hard Frampton was capable of rocking. On Frampton, the thrumming “Nowhere’s Too Far (For My Baby)” offers all of the necessary evidence: a pumping beat propelling a series of fat electric hooks, capped by a sweet romantic affirmation. Closer “(I’ll Give You) Money” doubles down on much of the above with a thundering electric blues jam that grinds and blusters like it just fell out of Jimmy Page’s notebook.
The other future hit premiered here, “Baby, I Love Your Way,” is paired with an introductory piano instrumental called “Nassau,” which is fine but slight. Once you get to the main event, “Baby, I Love Your Way” seamlessly layers acoustic and electric guitars for a rich melodic bed under the earnest entreaties that would cause many a swoon in the years ahead. (A more successful instrumental features later: the studio version of Alive’s acoustic guitar showcase “Penny For Your Thoughts,” sprightly and superb as ever.)
Frampton was the man’s first hit album in the US, reaching the Top 40 and going gold. While it’s undeniable that the best songs it contains can all be heard in even better live versions on Alive, Frampton remains the strongest of the original quartet of solo albums that made up most of the former’s track list. As such, it’s both an intriguing musical artifact and a signpost pointing upward toward the heights its author would soon achieve.