By Rick Bird - The
At one point during his Riverbend concert with the Cincinnati Pops
Orchestra Saturday night, Peter Frampton played conductor. No, not leading the
orchestra, but the audience, waving his arms conducting a sing-a-long of his
classic "Baby I Love Your Way."
It was a Frampton love fest as the '70s guitar hero teamed up with the Pops to
open the orchestra's 22nd season at its summer venue. It made for a thrilling
evening with audience and performers alike mindful that risk-taking was in the
air.
It was the first time the
"Playing in your hometown is one thing," said Frampton, who lives in
Indian Hill. "Playing with 64 of my newfound friends is something
else."
The set opened with Frampton's "Something's Happened" and a version
of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered." Both were solid
bouncy openers, if perhaps formula treatments. By the third song - Frampton's
ballad, "Lines on My Face" - the orchestral excitement finally kicked
in as a true collaboration. Frampton's soaring guitar solos seamlessly meshed
with the gorgeous string arrangements.
Next, it was time for Frampton to get out his patented talk box where he sings
through his guitar. And time for comic relief. As the infamous opening
"wah-wah" lick on "Show Me the Way" began, a trumpet player
brashly began playing the familiar melody, to the good-natured catcalls of the
audience. Frampton stopped the song and admonished that, "Everyone thinks
they can do the 'wah-wah' part."
Yes, this was Frampton's night, showing why he captured rock arenas by storm in
the '70s with his incredible blues-based guitar work. At 56, he's as sizzling a
guitarist as ever and also showed his voice is still surprisingly strong.
Frampton delved far back into his catalog with two songs from his 1972 solo
debut, the acoustic-based "Oh, For Another Day" and the melancholy
"
The set ended with a thunderous and mind-numbing "Do You Feel Like We
Do" with the Pops rocking out with its own solo during the signature
anthem.
Through it all, the British-born rock star, who became a naturalized U.S.
citizen in 2004, was amiable and self- deprecating, introducing one song as
"something I think I did between the first and second world wars."
Once settled in Frampton and his four-piece band seemed to be enjoying
themselves as much as the audience, with Frampton saying, "Even for us,
this is amazing to listen to these songs this way." And during "Show
Me the Way," he sang, "I can't believe this is happening right here
and now."
The encore tune was another highlight, "While My Guitar Gently
Weeps," from Frampton's close friend, the late George Harrison. Rockers
and orchestra soared with the song.
Overall, the orchestral treatment of Frampton music had mixed results. The
Pops' sound was at times muffled and fuzzy with sound system issues. Visually,
the orchestra was somewhat annoyingly hidden behind a row of amps and a drum
kit surrounded by Plexiglas.
True collaborations can be tough in the often uneasy bonding of an orchestra
with gritty rock. At times the Pops seemed a full band partner, at others more
like it was just along for the ride. But in the end, it's hard to fault
Frampton's sizzling playing or Reineke's inventive scoring and arrangements
that brought new life to some of classic rock's most familiar anthems.
The Pops opened the night with a British invasion themed set heavy on Beatles
selections such as "Michelle," "Sergeant Pepper ..." and,
the highlight, a robust percussion-dominated "Eleanor Rigby."
(first published in The Cincinnati Post June 26, 2007)