🎵 AotW AOTW: FRAMPTON'S CAMEL (A&M SP 4389)

[LPJim]

Peter Frampton
FRAMPTON'S CAMEL
A&M SP-4389

Peter Frampton -- piano, vocals, guitars, percussion
Rick Willis - Fender bass
Mick Gallagher -- Hohner Clavinet, Hammond Organ, Wurlitzer Electric Piano,
John Siomos -- drums

SIDE ONE: I Got My Eyes on You 4:26/ All Night Long 3:15/ Lines on my Face 4:47/ Which Way the Wind Blows 3:33/ I Believe When I Fall in Love it Will be Forever 4:03.

SIDE TWO: White Sugar 3:36/ Don't Fade Away 4:38/ Just the Time of the Year 4:56/ Do You Feel Like We Do 6:32.



Frank Carillo (12-string acoustic guitar) appears courtesy of Metromedia Records.
Produced by Peter Frampton/ Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York, and Olympic Studios, London
Engineered by Eddie Kramer, Chris Kimsey, Dave Wittman.
Re-mixed by Eddie Kramer, Peter Frampton, Doug Bennett.

All selections by Peter Frampton, except "All Night Long" (Gallagher-Frampton) and "I Believe" (Wonder-Wright; Stine & Van Stock Inc. and Black Bull Music ASCAP); all other selections published by Fran-Dee Music Ltd./Almo Music Corp. ASCAP.

Art Direction: Michael Doud/ Design: Paul Colsell/ Poster Photo: Justin de Villeneuve/ Back Cover Photo: Richard Fitzgerald.

SP 4389 entered the Billboard Top 200 on June 9. 1973, peaked at # 110 and charted for 22 weeks, according to Whitburn's "Top Pop Albums."

CD Reissue: A&M 069 490 7152 -- released 2000

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I always felt this album was a victim of a bad cover design. If it'd had a picture of Frampton, plus his whole name, it might have had a chance. As is, it just looks ... dumb.

I remember the ad campaign, the slogan was something like "The sound of a man and his camel." It was even dumber than the cover. No wonder it stiffed. But no big deal, he hit it big the next year with "Frampton Comes Alive."

 

[W.B.]

The next year? I thought Frampton Comes Alive was three years after this LP. B.T.W. (and speaking of which) . . . I see "Do You Feel Like We Do?" originated from here.

And was "White Sugar" (in terms of title, at least) something of an answer to another song from a group calling itself "The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World" as from two years prior? Just curious . . .

 

[Dave]

Peter Frampton's A&M Studio Albums never quite seemed to do him justice, in my opinion... The four Frampton made, leading up to ...COMES ALIVE, just seem to be "holding patterns" until a Live Recording Opportunity--and of TWO DISCS--came along... The material ranged from OK-to-Good-to-Somewhat-Inspiring, but the album covers were just a little bit...Creepy!!! :scared:

Wonder where the idea of "Frampton's CAMEL" came along...? "Lines On My Face" is the quinessential heart-on-my-sleeve ballad, and my favorite, (and both the studio and live takes are Top-Notch!) while "I've Got My Eyes On You", with the catchy line: ...Keepin' my eyes on you, girl... and the remake of Stevie Wonder's "I Believe When I Fall In Love" are also good. But "Do You Feel Like We Do" was done a lot better Live...!


Dave

 

[Mike Blakesley]

W.B. - You're right of course. I was confusing CAMEL with the later album simply titled FRAMPTON, which led up to the COMES ALIVE album.

 

[Dave]

...W.B. - You're right of course. I was confusing CAMEL with the later album simply titled FRAMPTON, which led up to the COMES ALIVE album...

Yes, and let's also not forget SOMETHIN'S HAPPENIN'... (oR iS iT sOMETHING'S hAPPENING...? ...oR sOMETHIN'S hAPPENING? ...oR sOMETHING'S hAPPENIN'?--hEY, wHAT'S hAPPENIN'??!!)


Dave

 

[W.B.]

W.B. - You're right of course. I was confusing CAMEL with the later album simply titled FRAMPTON, which led up to the COMES ALIVE album.

And I.I.N.M., Frampton was from where "Show Me The Way" had originated.

 

[jfiedler17]

Peter Frampton's A&M Studio Albums never quite seemed to do him justice, in my opinion... The four Frampton made, leading up to ...COMES ALIVE, just seem to be "holding patterns" until a Live Recording Opportunity--and of TWO DISCS--came along...

Totally agreed. I think Frampton's awesome, but there's just something - I can't quite put my finger on it - about his A&M studio albums that makes them hard to listen to. It's either the production or engineering - I'm not sure which. The albums just don't "breathe" at all (if that makes any sense; I know that's a weird way to put it.) They have a claustrophobic sound to them, and too many of the songs don't sound as "breezy" as they ought to. Even after Frampton Comes Alive, they still ran into the same problem. I'm in You has some great material on it, but I just find the album really hard to listen to.
I think Frampton sounded much better in the studio after he moved over (briefly) to Atlantic. When All the Pieces Fit is easily my favorite of his studio albums, though Comes Alive is unequestionably his best overall album, period.

As the case with just about all of his A&M releases, I think Camel's got some great songs on it, but the live renditions blow the studio recordings out of the water. ['specially the case with "Do You Feel Like We Do"!]

Jeff F.

 

[Dave]

...There's just something about his A&M studio albums that makes them hard to listen to; either the production or engineering - I'm not sure which, but the albums just don't "breathe" at all... (I know that's a weird way to put it) ...They have a claustrophobic sound to them, and too many of the songs don't sound as "breezy" as they ought to...

Yes, that's the first thing I notice about those Studio Albums leading up to ...Comes Alive, though Frampton's debut, Winds Of Change, seemed a lot less restricted, but after the repeated listenings I gave it, (once I finally found a GOOD copy) it still seemed pretty hard to grasp...

...I'm in You has some great material on it, but I just find the album really hard to listen to...

Well, I thought that was actually his most listenable effort... (after ...Alive, of course) I actually got it in that "pile of unwanted albums" from a neighbor of ours before she got married, along with Joe Jackson's Night & Day and a few Cheap Trick albums (the first of THEIR Studio LP's AND Live At Buddokan, complete with a booklet and other "goodies") and out of all those LP's, Frampton's I'm In You was all I really kept... (the rest I gave away or managed back then to sell off)

...I think Frampton sounded much better in the studio after he moved over to Atlantic; When All the Pieces Fit is easily my favorite of his studio albums...

Yes, When All The Pieces Fit is "where it all came together", while another Atlantic LP of his, Premonition (which I found new in a Cut-Out bin) is totally Unforgettable! His final A&M LP's, Where I Should Be and Breaking All The Rules at least aren't as "stuffy"--but "I Can't Stand It No More", the soulful "Everything I Need" (A Sam & Dave cover) and "It's A Sad Affair" (which I wish had gone on a single), all three from Where... are about as good as it gets... The Art Of Control, I think his very last for A&M, I thought was just too "High-Tech" (and OUT OF Control) sounding...!

...As is the case with just about all of his A&M releases, I think Camel's got some great songs on it, but the live renditions blow the studio recordings out of the water...

Jeff F.

Yes, Camel did seem almost the most "together" of the bunch, but again, like the conclusion of the liner notes in Frampton Comes Alive state: ...The Stage and a Live Setting is Frampton's NATURAL HABITAT...!


Dave

...who has a "Natural Habitat" for meeting girls that's NOT the Bar or Club Scene... (though it hasn't WORKED in a while...)

 

[jfiedler17]

Well, I thought that was actually his most listenable effort... (after ...Alive, of course) I actually got it in that "pile of unwanted albums" from a neighbor of ours before she got married, along with Joe Jackson's Night & Day and a few Cheap Trick albums (the first of THEIR Studio LP's AND Live At Buddokan, complete with a booklet and other "goodies") and out of all those LP's, Frampton's I'm In You was all I really kept... (the rest I gave away or managed back then to sell off)

True, true; I'm in You doesn't sound nearly as poorly as the albums that preceded Comes Alive , and it is quite a bit improved, but there are a few isolated tracks on that album that sound like they were recorded pre-Comes Alive . "Tried to Love," for one, while a great song, sounds pretty badly recorded to me. But that might just be me. The title track was definitely a leap forward in the right direction, though; probably the best-recorded song of his studio output to that point. And, like I said, the songs themselves are great. (Heck, I even like "Rocky's Hot Club"!)

Yes, When All The Pieces Fit is "where it all came together", while another Atlantic LP of his, Premonition (which I found new in a Cut-Out bin) is totally Unforgettable! His final A&M LP's, Where I Should Be and Breaking All The Rules at least aren't as "stuffy"--but "I Can't Stand It No More", the soulful "Everything I Need" (A Sam & Dave cover) and "It's A Sad Affair" (which I wish had gone on a single), all three from Where... are about as good as it gets... The Art Of Control, I think his very last for A&M, I thought was just too "High-Tech" (and OUT OF Control) sounding...! )

Premonition I've never heard, actually! I may have to check that one out!
I didn't like his last two A&M albums myself, but Where I Should Be, while inconsistent, has got enough good moments to redeem it. "I Can't Stand It No More" was his last truly great single until his move to Atlantic, and "It's a Sad Affair," I agree, definitely should have been a single.

Jeff F.