Peter Frampton 'Comes Alive' for anniversary concert

Peter Frampton may have been the most unlikely teen idol of all time.
After 10 years of moderate success as a solo artist and with the band Humble Pie, Frampton became the biggest musician in America with the release of his 1976 album "Frampton Comes Alive." It remains the best-selling double-live album of all time.

amNY spoke with Frampton during his tour celebrating its 35th anniversary.
What do you like best about "Frampton Comes Alive"? I like that it still sounds great today. I like that it's ... in that time period when I felt that the band was at its peak. It's an audio snapshot of where I was and where the band was, and it was a great place to be.

As much as the album made your career, didn't it also hurt your career? I don't think it was the album itself - it was the publicity or image portrayed after it. When it first came out, the only picture people had of me was the album cover. After that, everyone wanted me on the cover of their magazine because it would sell a lot of copies. The looks got in the way of the music.

Is it weird to re-create a tour you did 35 years ago? The songs are the same, but each night is slightly different. Certain acts want to play their record note for note. My shows are living, breathing, changing.

You recently recovered the guitar you played on "Frampton Comes Alive." How did that happen? For 30 years, I truly believed it had gone up in a large [airplane] explosion on a runway in Venezuela, along with a lot of our equipment. About two years ago, someone sent an email with pictures that looked like my guitar. It took two years to talk whoever owned it into parting with it, because it was stolen merchandise. The Beacon will be the first show since then where I'll play it onstage.

If you go: Peter Frampton is at the Beacon Theatre on Saturday at 8 p.m. 2124 Broadway, 212-465-6500, $49.50-$100