A Pleasant Surprise

So I signed up to work during a Peter Frampton show at the Keswick Theatre tomorrow. I was never a big Frampton fan during his heyday, but he was OK. I figured "what the hell; check it out". He sounded good sitting in with Pearl Jam in 2004.On Tuesday, I found out he was releasing new material that day - why not pick it up and get a preview of what to expect Saturday.Fingerprints is surprisingly good and fresh. Mature music, not an attempt at a lame remake of Frampton Comes Alive. Rock musicians often age very ungracefully, trying to rehash old themes that made sense when they were 24, but sound pathetic coming from 60 year olds. Contrasting examples are The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen.Today Bruce isn't asking some girl to

Just wrap your legs round these velvet rimsAnd strap your hands across my engines

He writes and performs music suitable for a guy his age with a wife and grown kids. The Stones, on the other hand, don't seem to understand that it sounds pathetic and lecherous when guys too old for AARP covers try to sing retreads of "Stray Cat Blues".But I digress...The new Frampton album is a great collection of guitar instrumentals, from the jazzy opener "Boot It Up" (featuring Courtney Pine's horn) to "Blooze" (featuring Warren Haynes) and even a cover of "Black Hole Sun" (featuring Matt Cameron & Mike McCready) (the last one, a little crapped up with the patented Frampton "guitar tube vocal" on a small part).I haven't heard it enough times to tell how long the shine will last, but this is a really good CD - buy it.