"I can't say why the studio versions of the [Comes Alive] songs that became hits weren't successful. All I can think of when I hear the recordings from San Francisco venue Winterland is that there is so much passion and energy.

"The funny thing is how it was back then," Frampton tells TBO.com. "Live albums didn't count as part of your record deal but that particular album turned my career around and I was told that wasn't part of my deal."

But Frampton reports he's now happy playing a tour called Guitar Circus with some stellar talent. "People forget or don't realize that I was a guitarist first and then I became a singer. I never wanted to become a singer," he says.