NOW is the title of Peter Frampton's new disc, his first studio effort in nearly a decade. But no matter how the all-capitalized title may scream for the present, with Peter Frampton the first thing everyone always think about is then, the '70s, the cover of Frampton Comes Alive with the flowing locks and the sound of that talk-box guitar.
"It is a different era of my life," Frampton says now of his glory days as a teen heartthrob and pioneer stadium rocker. "It is something that is almost not me, now. I am in such a different phase of my life, now. It is a part of my career and it will never not be. I am very honored to have had such a big success. I appreciate it. I respect it. But, on the other hand, it had its downfalls, because when you become the biggest of anything—whether it's Rubik's Cube, or it's the greatest book written, or it's the greatest painting, or it's the greatest album-—you still have to come up with another one."
Of course, few artists ever reach the success of Frampton Comes Alive, that in 1976 became the best-selling live album of all time, a record it held until Garth Brooks came along with Double Live over a decade later. Even more remarkable is that until the live disc, Frampton's solo career which began five years earlier had enjoyed—to be charitable—only middling success. But his studio performances failed to capture Frampton's charisma, not to mention the chops the guitarist displayed in concert. While other concert recordings sell because they also appeal as a greatest hits collection, the success of Frampton Comes Alive made hits out of "Show Me the Way," "Baby, I Love Your Way," and "Do You Feel Like We Do." This made making a follow-up especially awkward.
"It was very frustrating in my own mind to never have really proven myself in the studio environment," Frampton says. "As far as I was concerned, I had to go back to a media form that was different. The studio is completely different from live, and I've always felt a little intimidated by the studio. But you can't do live albums all your life."
In recent years, though, it seemed like that was precisely what Frampton was trying to do. In 1995, there was Frampton Comes Alive 2, followed a few years later by Beat the Bootleggers: Coming Live (1999), and then Live in Detroit (2000), followed the next year by an expanded 25th anniversary edition of Frampton Comes Alive. The completion of a home studio a few years ago finally brought an end to Frampton's aversion to the studio.
"Now, I've got it down both ways," he says. "I enjoy recording because it is completely under my control and it's my own studio. This is the first record where I've been able to do everything in the studio. The entire record from beginning to end was done at home. There was a huge learning curve. We were the guinea pigs for this studio, but I now know how to make a good-sounding record at home."
But, Frampton knows the business reality is that, even if he is finally making studio recordings as inspired as his concerts, NOW will never get heard on the radio playlists still dedicated to them.
"I know the profits from this record probably won't pay for the studio. But along the road it will pay for itself," Frampton says. "The bottom line is that I got a website, I got a studio and I got a band. I can do it myself. I am completely self contained now."