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Peter Frampton Fingerprints
CD Review by Mark Witner / 12/2006

I was never all that fond of instrumental rock albums, but there have been some that do stand out as being essential additions to any music collection Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow" from 1975 and Joe Satriani's "The Extremist" from 1992 are among them. Now in 2006 comes "Fingerprints," a new instrumental disc by none other than former 70's teen idol Peter Frampton, and folks this one really smokes. Frampton had opportunities aplenty to show off his chops on the double live smash "Frampton Comes Alive" from 1976 but he was never able to follow it up with anything quite as satisfying that is until now.

"Fingerprints" is the perfect showcase for Frampton to demonstrate once again that he truly is a stellar guitarist. Backed by a solid band, he is also accompanied by some of the best musicians in the business including Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman who provide the rhythm section for "Cornerstones" and Warren Haynes who plays a mean slide guitar on "Blooze." Among others performing on various tunes are Mike McCready and Matt Cameron from Pearl Jam, Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett from The Shadows, and British saxophone legend Courtney Pine. Up front and in the spotlight however is Frampton, who displays sheer musical virtuosity on tunes ranging in style from blues, Latin, jazz, and all-out rock and roll. Every track from beginning to end is a winner, and Frampton even pulls out the old talk box which is utilized to great effect just like it was on the "Comes Alive" album.

Frampton is exceptionally proud of his work on "Fingerprints" and was quoted as saying: "This has been the CD I've been waiting to make all my life. Every track has been a wonderful challenge, pushing me to raise my own bar again and again." Raise the bar he did and the result is one of the best instrumental discs to appear on the scene in quite some time.