PETER FRAMPTON - SHOW ME THE WAY

Publicació: juny de 1975, febrer de 1976 (en directe)

Llistes: Regne Unit: #10  EUA: #6

"Show Me the Way" és una cançó de Peter Frampton. Va ser llançada originalment el juny de 1975 com a senzill principal del seu quart àlbum d'estudi "Frampton", va guanyar popularitat després de ser gravada en directe i llançada al febrer de 1976 com a senzill principal del seu àlbum en directe "Frampton Comes Alive!" Publicat el gener de 1976; a l'abril, ja havia venut un milió de còpies a Amèrica i va ser l'àlbum més venut de l'any allà. "Frampton Comes Alive" va entrar a les llistes immediatament després de la seva publicació, i al febrer, el senzill de "Show Me the Way" va fer igual, assolint el número 6. L'àlbum va arribar al número u on hi romandria durant 10 setmanes. En aquest context, si estaves a prop d'una ràdio al 1976, escoltar a Frampton era inevitable.

La lletra podria relacionar-se amb una persona concreta, però Frampton en va mantenir sempre el nom en secret. "Acabo de conèixer algú que m’ha donat molta confiança", va dir a Melody Maker el 1976. "La meva vida ha canviat completament. Totes les lletres d'aquesta cançó parlen de mi i d'ella. No diré de què ni de qui tracta la cançó perquè podria espatllar la idea que en tens”. 

A la introducció de la versió en directe, Frampton va utilitzar un talkbox, un dispositiu connectat a la seva guitarra que li permetia crear sons vocals amplificats i distorsionats amb la boca. Es fa un talkbox amb un tub connectat a un controlador de compressió i l'altre extrem entrant a la boca de l'intèrpret. A continuació es connecta a l'amplificador de la guitarra.

En una entrevista amb Paul Brannigan, Frampton va dir: "Vaig començar a escriure “Show Me The Way” a Nassau, a les Bahames. El líder d'Humble Pie, Steve Marriott, tenia una cabana a la platja allà i em vaig mudar durant tres setmanes, amb una guitarra acústica i una guitarra elèctrica. Alvin Lee de Ten Years After va estar a l'illa alhora, així que durant les dues primeres setmanes, no vaig escriure gaire! Però l'endemà que l'Alvin marxés, vaig agafar la guitarra acústica i, en uns 20 minuts, vaig trobar la seqüència d'acords d'obertura de la cançó, i un vers i la tornada de la lletra. Em va agradar com anava, però el vaig deixar de banda per treballar-hi més endavant. Aleshores, aquella tarda, quan el sol es ponia, em vaig asseure sota una palmera i vaig escriure “Baby, I Love Your Way”. He estat intentant esbrinar de quin costat del llit em vaig aixecar aquell dia tan profitòs!" (Riu).

"De tornada a Anglaterra vaig acabar “Show Me The Way”. Va ser quan se'm va ocórrer el famós riff de talkbox, i vaig començar a experimentar amb ell. Estic content d'haver-ho fet! Vam gravar la cançó al castell de Clearwell a Gloucestershire, utilitzant el Mobile Studio de Ronnie Lane, bàsicament perquè Led Zeppelin hi havia gravat. Jo era un gran fan de Zeppelin i em va encantar la producció que Jimmy Page havia fet en aquell indret".

"Vam publicar “Show Me The Way” com a senzill de l'àlbum "Frampton", i va tenir un èxit moderat, no es va incendiar el món. Però tothom pensava que seria un èxit al igual que “Baby, I Love Your Way”, i ens ho vam creure! Així que el vam tornar a publicar quan s’havia de promocionar "Frampton Comes Alive" i llavors va esclatar. Va ser una sorpresa veure com et podia canviar la vida un àlbum supervendes. De sobte no podia anar a les botigues de discos, i fins i tot els ascensoristes dels hotels sabien qui era. Aneu amb compte amb el que voleu, perquè hi ha parts de la fama que no són tan desitjables”.

"Vaig conèixer a Bono d'U2 una vegada i li vaig preguntar si era cert que U2 solia tocar "Show Me The Way" quan començaven, perquè molta gent m'ho havia dit, sobretot quan anava de gira per Irlanda. Va dir: "Sí, sempre vaig pensar que era una pregària". Em va emocionar que ho veies així”.

"Estic orgullós de la cançó, i encara la toco, òbviament. Probablement sigui el primer èxit que toquem en els concerts cada nit, i sempre fa que la gent es connecti".

PETER FRAMPTON - SHOW ME THE WAY

Released: June 1975, February 1976 (Live)

Charted:  UK: #10 US: #6

"Show Me the Way" is a song by Peter Frampton. Originally released in June 1975 as the lead single from his fourth studio album “Frampton”, it gained popularity after being recorded live and released in February 1976 as the lead single from his live album “Frampton Comes Alive!” released in January 1976; by April, it sold a million copies in America and was the best-selling album of the year. “Frampton Comes Alive” charted immediately after it was released, and by February, the single of “Show Me the Way” was skittering up the charts, eventually landing at Number 6. The album itself would hit Number One and stay there for 10 weeks; its success also catapulted the Frampton album to Gold status. If you were anywhere near a radio in 1976, Frampton was inescapable. 

The lyric could relate to a specific person or to a higher power; Frampton kept it universal on purpose, but he did have a specific inspiration in mind. "I just met somebody that gave me such confidence," he told Melody Maker in 1976. "My life is completely changed. All the lyrics in that song are about me and her."

On the intro to the live version, Frampton used a talkbox, a device hooked up to his guitar that allowed him to create amplified, distorted vocal sounds with his mouth. A talkbox is made with tubing connected to a compression driver (meant to be part of a P.A. system), with the other end going into the performer's mouth. The unit is then hooked up to the guitar amp.

In a interview with Paul Brannigan, Frampton said: "I started writing Show Me The Way in Nassau, in the Bahamas. Humble Pie’s frontman Steve Marriott had a cottage on the beach there, and I moved in for three weeks, with an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar. Alvin Lee from T’en Years After happened to be on the island at the same time, so for the first two weeks, I didn’t get very much writing done! But the day after Alvin left, I picked up my acoustic guitar, and within about 20 minutes I came up with the opening chord sequence to Show Me The Way, and a verse and a chorus of lyrics. I liked how it was going, so I set it aside to work on later. Then that afternoon, as the sun was setting, I sat under a palm tree and wrote Baby, I Love Your Way. I’ve been trying to work out which side of the bed I got out on that day ever since!"

"I finished writing Show Me The Way back in England, and I came up with the famous talk box riff when we were experimenting with it. I’m glad I did! The talk box has a certain comedic potential, and people go nuts every time they hear it. We recorded the song in Clearwell Castle [in Gloucestershire], using Ronnie Lane’s Mobile Studio, basically because Led Zeppelin had recorded there. I was a huge Zeppelin fan, and I loved that open production that Jimmy Page got”.

"We put out Show Me The Way as a single from the “Frampton” album, and it got some airplay, without setting the world on fire. But everyone thought that it and Baby, I Love Your Way should be hit records, and I believed them! So we put it out again when it came to promote “Frampton Comes Alive” and it just took off. It was a shock to see how life-changing a big-selling album could be. Suddenly I couldn’t go to record shops anymore, and even the elevator operators in hotels knew who I was. Be careful what you wish for, because there are parts of fame that are not so desirable”. 

"I met Bono from U2 once, and I asked him if it was true that U2 used to play “Show Me The Way” when they formed at school, because a lot of people had told me that, particularly when I toured in Ireland. He said, 'Yes, I always thought it was prayer.' I was thrilled that he thought of it that way”. 

"I’m proud of the song, and still play it, obviously. It’s probably the first hit that we play in the act each night, and it always gets the evening going."