Peter Frampton
Acoustic Classics
(Phenix Phonograph)

Taking an unplugged approach to his catalog, Peter Frampton presents an 11-song, gem-of-an-album entitled Acoustic Classics. It opens with the tight, but solid “Fig Tree Bay,” then leads into “Wind of Change” with its very high-end, flicky, acoustic strumming. It’s slightly slower than recorded, but still features the funky talk box lead. On “Show Me the Way,” Frampton sounds in very good voice here and his acoustic guitar noodling is spot-on. A song like “Baby, I Love Your way,” while sounding sweet for sure (if even on this one Frampton occasionally doesn’t make the highest of high notes), is not so far and away different from the original ballad. “Do You Feel Like I Do,” another huge hit for this man when it appeared on his seminal Frampton Comes Alive! is delivered with a double guitar mix. We get the distinctive melody opener on the guitars and then we are into almost a bossa nova-like sway. This was one song I expected to love as this is my most favorite Frampton, and here it doesn’t disappoint. The main riff is so tasty, as is the pull-off intricate leading, but the song’s famous retard is simply killer. The ballad, “I’m in You,” ends with some great acoustic leading, this time mixing in well with piano. One doesn’t need to be reminded of how brilliant a guitar player Peter Frampton is, but on Acoustic Classics we hear his genius without any artifice.