Peter Frampton
Fingerprints
(A&M/New Door)
First Appeared in The Music Box, October 2006, Volume 13, #10
Written by John Metzger
Peter Frampton is an astonishingly good guitarist, though this notion frequently has been lost amidst the bright lights of his meteoric rise and cataclysmic fall during the latter half of ’70s. Nevertheless, his first all-instrumental outing Fingerprints is designed specifically to remind the world of his prowess. Granted, these sorts of endeavors generally have a tendency toward becoming overstuffed with egomaniacal showboating, and had it come at an earlier point in Frampton’s career, the album very well might have suffered a similar fate. However, although the liner notes contain the usual technical mumbo jumbo of who played what vintage instrument, the set itself is surprisingly approachable.
Surrounded by an array of his pals, including Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, and the Rolling Stones’ Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, Frampton covers a tremendous amount of ground as he explores the various combinations of jazz, blues, and rock. Fortunately, the gimmicky talk-box effects that made him famous are relegated to only a pair of Fingerprints’ tracks: Grab a Chicken (Put It Back) and a cover of Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun. Although his eerily textured vocals paints the fringes of the former’s loose, funky groove, the latter song serves as one of the album’s least interesting moments — in spite the squalling interplay between Frampton and McCready. Faring far better is the Django Reinhardt-infused acoustic track Souvenirs de Nos Pères (Memories of Our Fathers), on which Frampton and John Jorgenson highlight their graceful, lyrical styles. Likewise, My Cup of Tea begins as a straightforward survey of contemporary jazz, but it slowly picks up steam as Frampton and Hank Marvin engage each other in a manner that recalls the give-and-take of Duane Allman and Eric Clapton in Derek & the Dominoes. Elsewhere, the melancholy mood of Float is reminiscent of David Gilmour’s work with Pink Floyd, and the breezy Ida Y Vuelta (Out and Back) brings Mark Knopfler’s epic journeys to mind.
Clocking in at more than 55 minutes in length, there’s little doubt that
Fingerprints is a tad bloated. Even so, Frampton’s playful approach to the
project succeeds in keeping the set aloft. Better still, anyone who thinks that
Show Me the Way, Do You Feel Like We Do, and Baby, I Love Your
Way demonstrate the full range of Frampton’s abilities likely will be
delighted by Fingerprints’ wide-ranging contents as well as by the
dexterous fluidity and emotional edginess of his playing. 
49th Annual Grammy Award Winner:
Best Pop Instrumental Album
Of Further Interest...
Jerry Lee Lewis - Mean Old Man
Les Paul & Friends - American Made World Played
Fingerprints is available from Barnes & Noble.
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006 The Music Box