FCA! 35 Tour: An Evening with Peter Frampton

FCA! 35 Tour actually features two evenings with Peter Frampton, the former Humble Pie guitarist who went solo in 1971, releasing four lukewarm-selling albums before striking gold (and multi-platinum) with 1976's Frampton Comes Alive! double LP—for many years the bestselling live record of all time. In the first of two shows from February 2012, Frampton and his band (including original bass player Stanley Sheldon) perform FCA! in its entirety before an appreciative audience at Milwaukee's Pabst Theater. Backed by Rob Arthur on keyboards/guitar, Adam Lester on guitar, and Dan Wojciechowski on drums, Frampton rocks his beloved long-lost-and-recently-recovered Les Paul guitar—nicknamed the Phoenix—during the 14-song set that includes the megahits “Show Me the Way,” “Baby, I Love Your Way,” and the anthem “Do You Feel Like We Do” (featuring the famous “talk box” tube that mixes the guitar's sound with Frampton's voice). Frampton, who was never a distinctive singer, is no great shakes on the mic here, but his nimble fingers fly on “Lines on My Face,” “(I Wanna) Go to the Sun,” and the rousing cover of “Jumpin' Jack Flash.” A 12-song second set filmed at New York City's Beacon Theatre draws primarily from Frampton's 2006 Grammy-winning CD Fingerprints (including “Double Nickels,” “Float,” and a cover of Soundgarden's “Black Hole Sun”) and 2010's Thank You Mr. Churchill (including the lovely autobiographical “Vaudeville Nanna and the Banjolele,” “Restraint,” and “Road to the Sun,” featuring Frampton's son Julian on vocals), closing out with a stirring encore performance of George Harrison's “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Presented in DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital stereo on DVD and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include a featurette on Frampton's reunion with his Phoenix guitar. A wonderful stroll down memory lane for FCA! fans and welcome introduction to contemporary Frampton, this is highly recommended. [Note: also newly available is Frampton: Live in Detroit.] (R. Pitman)