RIYL: Rainbow, Jeff Beck, Bad Company

It’s easy to judge anything Peter Frampton releases based on his body of work, which includes Frampton Comes Alive, arguably one of the greatest live albums in rock history. So we almost have to cut him a bit of slack if he’s lost a bit of that powerful rock voice and some of his ability to write good hooks. But as he shows on his latest, Thank You Mr. Churchill, Frampton can still play the guitar like a madman; and as he was reunited with producer/engineer Chris Kimsey (who produced Frampton’s 1972 solo debut), he can still deliver epic classic rock songs with guitar solos that linger like they did in the ‘70s. It’s also what Frampton calls an autobiographical record, as the title stems from him thanking Winston Churchill for bringing his dad back safely from World War II and therefore giving Frampton a life. Rockers like “Solution” and the slow burning “Asleep at the Wheel” are the best retro sounding numbers, but Frampton also shines on the powerful instrumental, “Suite Liberte,” and the funky “Restraint.” Oh, and don’t miss the old style fuzz box tone Frampton uses on “Invisible Man,” which evokes memories of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid album. On “Restraint” and a few other tracks, Frampton touches on world politics a bit (“Restraint” is about the Wall Street bailout), but admittedly his strength is in making his guitar scream, and the ability to make the classic rock meter needle jump like crazy. For the most part, Peter Frampton does just that, yet again. (New Door 2010)

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