This is primarily an admission that I can’t properly use the search engine on this site, because I’m certain this one has come up before. Nevertheless, I’ll restate the question:
Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive is surrounded by rumor. First, is this two-hit wonder of an album really the best selling live album of all time? Says who?
Second, is it really live? I’ve been told time and again by people who can’t name a source that Frampton recorded this in the studio and then had a “live” soundtrack dubbed in to make it appear as if everyone knew and loved his songs. (Supposedly, according to one person, this was done with the help of Donald Fagin from Steely Dan–a pure studio band for most of its career.)
So who’s got the Dope, man? You can de-seed it on my double album.
Sofa King, along these lines, what’s the deal with his “voice synthesizer”? Some say he stuck some device down his throat to create the effects in “Do You Feel Like We Do”?, but I can’t imagine how without gagging, etc. Maybe it was simply placed over the exterior of his Adam’s Apple? What’s the straight dope on Frampton’s frolicks?
“They’re coming to take me away ha-ha, ho-ho, hee-hee, to the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time… :)” - Napoleon IV
It may have been at one time, but a listing I saw (as of January 2000 at http://www.neosoul.com/riaa/faq.html)) shows Eric Clapton’s “Unplugged” at number 51, with no mention of Frampton in the top 75.
As far as I know, Frampton did record the album live, though he may have added overdubs in the studio.
I’m not sure what the “voice bag” is that he uses (that was the term when the album was out). I assumed it was like a “wah-wah” pedal – something he operated with his foot as he played notes on the guitar.
“What we have here is failure to communicate.” – Strother Martin, anticipating the Internet.
The “voice bag” used on “Do You Feel Like I Do” (also used in “Tell Me Something Good” by Rufus…et al) doesn’t go down your throat. It’s more of a tube that goes in your mouth much like a lollipop would. (You may have seen one taped onto a mic. stand) Anyway, when the mic. pot (level) is lowered and only the voice-bag has amplification, you hear a mixture of synth voice and guitar. (If that is the instrument used…it can also filter through keyboards, drums, violins, etc.) Using one is pretty easy, imagine talking with your mouth full.
I think it’s still the most popular double live album ever. I think it was the first, as well, with either Kiss Alive or Alive II perhaps taking over the title. It was the first ridiculously excessive double-live album, and spawned a ton more, including a guilty pleasure of mine, Ted Nugent’s Double Live Gonzo.
And, I think the Kiss albums were the most tinkered with, IIRC.
Anyone confirm/deny??
-sb
“This is going to take a special blend of psychology and extreme violence.”
I do believe it’s the biggest-selling live album of all time. “Frampton Comes Alive” has sold over 15 million copies.
The discrepancy with the numbers posted a few messages above are probably the difference between U.S. sales and worldwide sales. Frampton was hugely popular in Europe, Australia, and many other countries.
The “voice bag” you all are referring to is actually called a “talk box”. The soung from the amplifier is switched from the speakers to a small horn driver in the box on the floor by the microphone stand. The guitar sound actually comes out of the tube and is picked up by the microphone. No synthesizers or other trickery involved.
The odds that the bread will fall butter side down are directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
Woodstock and Bangladesh (Bang was a double?) were prior, true, but were more like compilations than the whole performance. I think that’s where folks draw the line. You could almost imagine an entire set done exactly as it was on Frampton’s album-something you couldn’t really do with the Woodstock or Bangladesh albums…
-sb
“This is going to take a special blend of psychology and extreme violence.”
I think we need some old tim–I mean, former long-haired rebels of the ‘70s who are still keepin’ on truckin’–to weigh in with their personal knowledge on this subject.
It seems pretty cut and dried that the album was recorded live. According to Pete’s own site, http://www.frampton.com/70.html, the album was recorded at Winterland, in San Fransisco, in 1976. So when and why did this pervasive rumor, which I’ve been hearing since the early 80s, first appear? Any of you folks out there actually see the show?
My hair is no longer quite so long, but I’ll take a stab…
From the very moment of it’s release, I recall reading/hearing that after the basic live recording, certain overdubs (particularly backing vocals) were added in the studio. This was a fairly common practice – I recall “Wings Over America” getting similarly blasted for such doctoring.
“The dawn of a new era is felt and not measured.” Walter Lord
I believe it was made by a company called Heil (the Heil Talk Box). Also used on such rock “classics” as Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith, and Livin on a Prayer - Bon Jovi…just for color the Scorpions used it on “The Zoo”
heil talkbox is right . . joe perry and joe walsh used it. at the time (1976) frampton comes alive was the biggest selling album of all time . . other high sellers at the time were hotel california and rumours. where his stands now. . dunno. . i suggest checking billboard. dark side of the moon was also on the charts for years. overdubs are neccesary now as they were then. studio or “live” releases.
I double checked the list and found I had overlooked “Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band Live,” which is listed as #28 all time. Though that is only US sales, I can’t imagine Frampton has is beaten, since it most certainly sold well elsewhere, too. Remembr, Frampton isn’t even on the list.
Re Woodstock and Bangla Desh: They may have predated Frampton, but they didn’t outsell it.
The top selling albums:
Eagles Greatest Hits
Thriller (M. Jackson)
The Wall (Pink Floyd)
Led Zeppelin IV
Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits
Rumours
The White Album
Whitney Houston – The Bodyguard
Boston
AC/DC Back in Black
Jagged Little Pill
No Fences
Hootie and the Blowfish – Cracked Rear View
Shania Twain – Come on Over
Born in the USA
Dark Side of the Moon
Guns ‘n’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction
Elton John’s Greatest Hits
Hotel California
Saturday Night Fever
“What we have here is failure to communicate.” – Strother Martin, anticipating the Internet.
I’ve heard several times that Frampton Comes Alive set all sorts of sales records. Judging from RealityChuck’s list, I’m guessing that it sold record numbers over a short period of time. Maybe it was the “fastest selling” album up to that point. I remember seeing that blue tinged album cover in dozen’s of different homes back in the '70s but I have yet to see anybody with it on CD.
Am I the only one who remembers feeling ripped off after shelling out 3 weeks allowance for a double album with only 14 songs on it.
I’m going to have to differ again. I know that Frampton’s album sold at *least 15 million copies. That’s a mega-seller, and probably puts it near the top 10 in overall album sales.
So why isn’t it on the list? Could be a couple of reasons. One is that it could have had amazing non-US sales, which aren’t reflected in that list. Another is that it may have been printed by a record label that isn’t part of whatever organization Reality Chuck’s message used. I think that web page even mentions that there are a few mega-sellers not on the list for this reason.
Another list giving actual figures lists Frampton as 6 million in sales. Springsteen Live had 12 million. Even factoring in overseas sales, that’s a lot for Pete to make up. Source: http://cjonline.com/stories/072699/mcc_topalbums.shtml and elsewhere on the net.
You KNOW it’s made 15 million? Source? That means Frampton did 9 million overseas. Highly unlikely. And it would also mean that Springsteen didn’t sell over 3 million overseas. Also highly unlikely.
Frampton would have had to have sold 1.5 times as well in the rest of the world as he did in the U.S. Bruce would have had to have sold only 1/4 as many overseas as he did in the U.S. to stay ahead. Frampton would have to be six times more popular than Bruce overseas to catch him – more unlikeliness.
“What we have here is failure to communicate.” – Strother Martin, anticipating the Internet.
