PETER FRAMPTON : CARRY THE LIGHT

1. Carry The Light
2. Buried Treasure (with Benmont Tench)
3. I'm Sorry Elle (with Graham Nash)
4. Breaking The Mould (with Sheryl Crow)
5. I Can't Let It Be
6. Lions At The Gate (with Tom Morrello)
7. Islamorada (with H.E.R.)
8. Can You Take Me There (with Bill Evans)
9. Tinder Box (with Bill Evans)
10. At The End Of The Day

Label : UMe

Release Date : May 15, 2026

Length : 41:56

Review (Bourbon And Vinyl) : When most people hear the name Peter Frampton their first thought is of his popular 1976 live album, Frampton Comes Alive. It’s one of the most iconic (double) live albums ever released. I can remember going to parties in the early 80s when I was in high school and hearing the live version of “Do You Feel Like We Do” and stoners exclaiming, “He’s making the guitar talk!” Not exactly but rage on fellas. All these years later Frampton is back with an eclectic new album, Carry The Light, his first album of new material since 2010’s Thank You Mr. Churchill. This record veers all over the place and frankly, I love it. Of course we were big fans of his 2019 blues covers LP creatively titled All Blues. But then we’re big blues/blues rock fans around here. Between that and this new record, he released an all instrumental album, 2021’s Frampton Forgets The Words. Between listening to Peter Frampton and the Eagles’ new box set for One Of These Nights, I’m trapped in a mid-70s time warp, or so it seems. Oddly, I was in grade school back then. What’s next, a bologna sandwich on white bread for lunch? Frampton’s career up to that ’76 live album had some similarities to Bob Seger’s early career. Although, Frampton had been in a couple of bands prior to going solo, the Herd and most notably Humble Pie with Steve Marriott (Small Faces). Marriott leaving the Small Faces precipitated Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart’s joining the band and voila, the Faces were born. Frampton left Humble Pie to go solo in 1972 but like Seger, his early records just didn’t hit with the public. And make no mistake, those are some great albums: Winds Of Change (1972) and Frampton’s Camel (1973) were both exceptional, to name but two. Also like Seger it was that live album that blew him up commercially. Strangely for some acts, it’s the live LP that is the breakthrough. Even then the live versions of his songs from his early albums were always more popular than the originals. I only got into early Frampton (72-75) a few years ago, when All Blues came out and they are well worth the time. Frampton couldn’t sustain his success the way Seger did, unfortunately. It was in 2019 that sadly Frampton was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, a disease that attacks and weakens the muscles, especially in the hands. Very bad for a guitar player. I know he had to scale back live performances but I’m delighted we have gotten this new album – it’s a gift – that could perhaps be his last. The first thing that jumps out at me here is the absolutely wonderful guitar tone Frampton gets. He’s always had a warm and wonderful sound on guitar and it is here, fully present. He was always a gunslinger type guitar player but this album really brings that out in him. Maybe it’s because it surprised me a bit, but I really like this album. The album has a host of guest stars but the songs rarely get pulled in the direction of the guest. The tracks sound firmly like Frampton. I’m delighted with the protest undercurrent that we get in a few of these tracks. Leave it to the old rock stars to show up with protest music. It’s an eclectic mix of styles and tempos across the album, but it all hangs together. The opening song is the title track and I’ll admit, at first it threw me for a loop. It starts with some Indigenous People chanting. Frampton is English… but then I remembered the Cult utilizing similar vocals on Ceremony and pushed my expectations aside. “Carry The Light” ended up being one of my favorite songs on the album. It’s a “we’re better together” type track, urging us to come together in the sudden darkness we find ourselves in and well, “Carry The Light” forward. “Gotta listen to the Elders…” And it comes with a tasty guitar solo. “Buried Treasure” is a wonderful tribute to Tom Petty. Its title comes from Petty’s radio show where he played old, hidden gems from other artists. Former Heartbreaker keyboardist Benmont Tench is on board to add some great organ to the track. Frampton name checks so many Petty songs in the song – all of which could be considered “buried treasure” themselves – it’s hard to keep track. It’s a great rock song. Too bad he couldn’t also pull in Heartbreaker Mike Campbell for a guitar dual…dare to dream. “I’m Sorry Elle” is an acoustic number, written for his granddaughter and has a wonderful harmony vocal from Graham Nash, who just improves every song he’s on. I just wish he’d been used a little more on the track, he’s that good. The song itself is an apology from his generation to the newest generation for their failures – climate change, COVID, Democracy dying. The world we’re handing our grand kids doesn’t look terribly great right now. But then greed ruins everything. Sheryl Crow duets with Frampton on “Breaking The Mold.” I hadn’t thought of or heard Sheryl in decades. It’s a decent pop rock number but admittedly the only one that didn’t grab me. I like “I Can’t Let It Be” better. The guitar is wonderful… it’s all about not standing on the sidelines right now. “The Lions At The Gate,” featuring Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine/The E Street Band) is the only track that sounds more Rage than Frampton. It’s an all out protest song and it rocks. It’s a fabulous rock n roll call to arms. “Islamorada” is an instrumental with guest guitar from H.E.R. and I love the guitar playing on this song as well. Two fabulous electric guitars intertwined, crying out in the night, oh yes. Jazz sax man Bill Evans is featured on two tracks, “Can You Take Me There” and “Tinderbox.” Evans played with Miles Davis in the 80s. “Can You Take Me There” is an ethereal jazz thing with an impassioned vocal from Frampton. “Tinderbox” is another protest track. It’s more in Frampton’s rock n roll universe with a jazz middle. Love the sax Evans lays down. “Can you hear me now?” “At The End Of The Day” is another instrumental. It has some acoustic guitar in the background and some more soaring, beautiful lead electric from Frampton. It’s a perfect way to end the album, no guests, just all Frampton laying down beautiful leads. I knew this album was coming, but maybe it was my keeping my expectations low, but this album is a surprise gem to me. I really dug where Frampton’s coming from and his guitar playing, as usual, is sensational. I don’t know if this will be his last album but this one – much like his early stuff – is absolutely worth a spin. It’s a great, late career gem. Crank this one up loud with a tumbler of dark and murky fluids in front of a porch fire pit, it’ll hit home. Cheers!

Review (Louder Sound) : The multi-faceted career of Peter Frampton, now surpassing 60 years, resembles the ‘Phenix’ Gibson Les Paul he eventually reclaimed from the ashes of a plane crash in 1980. Just when we think that’s the end of it, it comes alive time and again. Frampton’s golden goose looked to be cooked in 1978, after a car crash in the Bahamas brought a sudden, inglorious and desperately sad halt to two years sitting at rock’s pinnacle. Teenagers who had grown up listening to Sparky’s Magic Piano, the Sonovox children’s radio classic, fell in love with satin-trousered, fluffy-haired Peter and his talkbox on 1976’s Frampton Comes Alive!; at its peak, that double album was selling a million copies a week. He had previously had a respectable run in The Herd, Humble Pie, as a solo artist, and playing guitar on sessions for George Harrison, among others. The road back to health and happiness has been lengthy and fraught with obstacles, which he describes with humility in his 2020 memoir Do You Feel Like I Do?. His final tour, begun in 2019 after he was diagnosed with a degenerative illness, was interrupted by covid. Undeterred, he took a seat on stage and Frampton’s farewell shows went on into further victory laps. Carry The Light, his first album of new songs in 16 years, lands as the latest part of his Timelord-like regeneration. Its 10 tracks, including two instrumentals, were written and produced with his son Julian and feature a raft of starry guests. Leading the way is Buried Treasure, with ex-Heartbreaker Benmont Tench on keyboards, in a salute to Tom Petty, one of the fellow ‘good guys’ of the music biz. Tinderbox is a powerful anti-war warning about the shape of things to come, as is Lions At The Gate, a fiery, expletive-free rallying cry with the help of Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello. In this context, the ‘Listen to the elders’ refrain of the title track is puzzling, as the world is surely due another youth revolution. We see a gentler, more personal side on Breaking The Mold, on which he shares vocals with Sheryl Crow, and with Graham Nash on I’m Sorry Elle, dedicated to his granddaughter. As for guitar pyrotechnics, they’re more of a controlled blaze these days than the wildfire of youth, but the flame is still keenly felt. Frampton, once nicknamed ‘The Blouse’ by his Humble Pie confederate and chief roisterer Steve Marriott, has proved his mettle over the years. Long may the light shine and his adventures continue.

Review (Riff Magazine) : In an industry that’s come to define itself not by the quality of its product but by the bottom line, many artists experience complete loss of creative identity and self being. Thankfully, Peter Frampton is not one of those. Nearly six decades into his career, Frampton’s identity now shares a likeness to the characteristics of a battle-tested Swiss army knife. His new album, Carry The Light, deploys a vast array of stylistic backdrops for Frampton to fill with life and animation, which he does with his signature style of rich, melodious playing and his keen awareness of tasteful chord progressions and song structures. No matter the genre or mood, Frampton just seems to make it work every time. The album kicks off with a primal chant in the introduction of its title track before diving into a heavy, enchanting political anthem that urges unity across generations “to learn from our mistakes” and “change the darkest days.” Frampton takes the opportunity to show off his chops, blending gritty blues runs with atmospheric colors in ways that could only he could do. It’s comforting to hear the solo and know that his familiar style hasn’t changed. While his playing might be considered virtuosic by today’s standards, it remains distinctly fresh and gleaming. Every note is full of refined intent and significance, breathing life into instrumental songs like “Islamorada” and “At The End Of The Day.” It seems like Frampton, now 76, has never played the same lick twice. Everything about Carry The Light screams of celebration and triumph. Frampton and his son Julian have assembled an all-star cast of supporting musicians that all bring something new and impactful in their roles. Benmont Tench, of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, lends his keys in “Buried Treasure,” on which Frampton pays homage to the late Petty. If you listen, you can even hear some of Petty’s vocal cadence in Frampton’s singing, especially during the break after the guitar solo. Fellow British songwriting legend Graham Nash sings harmonies on “I’m Sorry Elle,” and Sheryl Crow duets with Frampton on “Breaking The Mold.” Crow isn’t the only ’90s star that Frampton calls on for support – Tom Morello provides his rebellious intuition to single “Lions At The Gate,” on which Frampton flips the bird to the elite and ultra-powerful. The song is charged with anthemic energy, protesting careless warmongering tendencies ripe in today’s world. “Send them off to war, send off to fight/ We turn the page when they’re out of sight,” he sings. Even on heavier songs, Frampton makes his passion and enjoyment plainly obvious, resulting in unexpected twists and turns. On “Tinderbox,” he and saxophonist Bill Evans break down into a jazz movement before cranking the volume back up to 11 for the outro. On “Islamorada,” he and Vallejo guitar icon H.E.R. settle into a Latin American groove that longs for warm water and soft breezes. Frampton’s music will always be timeless, but it doesn’t hurt to be accompanied by a multi-generational collection of artists to achieve his creative vision. Frampton’s musicality is at its most potent on the more reserved songs like “Islamorada” and “Breaking The Mold,” which leave space to be filled by the rich tone of his signature triple-humbucker Les Paul. He elevates his companions on the riff-driven songs like “Lions At The Gate” and “Tinderbox,” providing essential texture to the blank canvas that helps max out the pressure gauge and demonstrates that the rock still “comes alive” on high energy songs. Carry The Light is classic Frampton, and in that regard it’s great. He addresses prevailing social issues, writes of love lost and passion, and maintains his status as an iconic and versatile songwriter. His supporting cast, featuring a star from each of the last five decades, brings a sense of stoic friendship and collaboration toward a greater purpose. Above all else, Carry The Light is most certainly not a farewell album of any sorts. Peter Frampton has got plenty of rocking left to do as long as his health holds up, and a wealth of both musical and general wisdom to share with the world.

Review (AntiMusic) : The first time you hear "Carry the Light," the title cut and opening track on the new Peter Frampton album, you may momentarily think you're listening to the wrong album. You might think you're listening to something like a Smithsonian field recording as the song begins with a sort of chanting that conjures images of a primitive hunting party. But the sounds are not so much tribal as they are ancestral; the cut is about learning from the past and includes the lyric "Gotta listen to the elders," meaning not just parents and grandparents but humankind's entire lineage. It's a great attention-getter and bit of positivity to kick off this very strong effort. Frampton has loaded up on guest players for the record and the rocker "Buried Treasure" not only features former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Benmont Tench but also pays homage to Petty with all of the song's lyrics coming from Petty song titles. Furthering the tribute is the fact that the song is performed very much in a Petty style. Next up on the guest list is Graham Nash who adds vocals to the slow, touching cut "I'm Sorry Elle" while Sheryl Crow joins Peter for "Breaking the Mold," a song about desperately trying to change one's life. Frampton's guitar work is sublime throughout and he waxes a little Santana-ish on "I Can't Let it Be" and throws in some psychedelia on the politically-charged "Lions at the Gate" with guest Tom Morello. Another guitar showcase is the jazzy instrumental "Islamorada" where Peter trades licks with H.E.R. Frampton is joined by saxophone player Bill Evans on two cuts; "Can You Take Me There" is exceptionally dreamy while "Tinderbox" is just the opposite with twangy and ominous guitar parts accompanying lyrics about how everything is about to explode. Closing cut "At the End of the Day" is an appropriately mellow sundowner, an instrumental that lets the mind wander. It wasn't so long ago (about seven years) that Frampton was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, a condition that could have permanently robbed him of his ability to play guitar. He basically said "I don't accept that" and worked through it to the point where fans now have more stellar music to forever enjoy. Carry the light indeed.

Review (Rock And Blues Muse) : Legendary guitarist Peter Frampton releases his first all-new rock music in 16 years, and the album ‘Carry The Light’ is certainly his best. His son Julian Frampton joins the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy winner as co-writer and collaborator on ten songs featuring guests Sheryl Crow, Bill Evans, H.E.R., Tom Morello, Graham Nash, and Benmont Tench. Out May 15, Frampton’s ‘Carry The Light’ is deeply personal in so many ways. His triumphant and musically brilliant first number “Carry The Light” foreshadows a theme of hope in the midst of darkness that moves throughout much of the album. A primal chant and acoustic guitar kick off the show, the groove unmistakable. Background singers chime in with the phrase “Carry The Light” and rhythmic shouts punctuate the rhythm. It’s a reminder, as are a few of the other tracks on the album, to reach for the good in humanity despite the world’s issues. Frampton’s guitar riffs hit you in the gut, melodic rock with space between the notes. All passion, no hurry. Should we expect anything different from him? Nope. If you listen carefully to his guitar playing on the record, you’ll see what I mean. “Buried Treasure” is a tribute to Tom Petty crafted from a collection of Petty’s song titles. Another blockbuster, this song features keyboardist Benmont Tench from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. A catchy guitar riff rattles throughout the hard-driving rock song, with Frampton singing, “I keep on listening.” Almost six decades into his music career, the English singer-songwriter and guitarist is still going strong despite a degenerative disease that might slow others down. He’s released 18 studio albums, four live albums, seven compilation albums and more, plus he wrote an acclaimed memoir in 2020 ‘Do You Feel Like I Do?’ for which he was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. And he’s still performing. Frampton sounds fresh on ‘Carry The Light’, his originals invigorating and thoughtful. The noted guests boost each song, but it’s Frampton who stands in the forefront of each one. His songwriting is at times superb. On the moving acoustic number “I’m Sorry Elle,” Graham Nash joins Frampton on harmonies. It’s a song of heartbreak that we can all relate to in some form, about being separated from loved ones during Covid. Frampton brings in guitarist Tom Morrello (Rage Against The Machine) on “Lions At The Gate,” a dynamic protest song that draws inspiration from garish lion statues outside Hollywood mansions in the 1920s. It’s a middle finger to the elite and a definite rocking star on the album. Another anthem really, rebellion against war and sending in people to fight who don’t have the means to avoid it. The guitar solo is as you’d expect—angry riffs with laser focus on the melody, feel and phrasing. The album is well choreographed with supple tracks to break up the intensity. “Islamorada,” an instrumental featuring H.E.R, is a beautiful example. “Tinderbox” is a hard rocker featuring Bill Evans on sax. In a minor key, it’s a protest song to close the album before a second instrumental. Musically, this song is masterful. It’s a call to arms–“Alone we stand no chance. We can shine so bright together.” And then…. the song shifts into a jazzy progression with elegant guitar riffs. It’s just badass guitar playing if you ask me. Melody isn’t always the first thing a guitarist focuses on but that isn’t the case for Frampton. His songs combine melody and lyrics, and everything else is icing on the cake. A winning combination.