PETER FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE--ONE MORE TIME

I wonder if I’m dreaming

I feel so unashamed

I can’t believe this is happening to me

--from Peter Frampton’s

“Show Me the Way”

When the live version of “Show Me the Way” and the concert album “Frampton Comes Alive!” became big hits in 1976, it did seem like Peter Frampton was living in a dream world. Frampton, who had previously known only moderate commercial success, was suddenly the rock personality of 1976. “Frampton Comes Alive!” went on to sell a then-staggering 10 million copies.

But the dream soon seemed more like a nightmare. By 1979, Frampton’s star had faded, due to what he feels were a series of poor artistic and business decisions. Several shoddy albums and a starring role with the Bee Gees in the 1978 flop film “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band” struck big blows to his career.

Personal problems--an acrimonious breakup with a girlfriend, a bout with alcohol and a serious automobile accident in 1979--also contributed to this bleak period.

After a four-year hiatus, Frampton is back for a fresh start with a new album, “Premonition,” and an opening slot on Stevie Nicks’ tour. Nicks and Frampton will be at the Pacific Amphitheatre on Sunday and at the Forum on July 18.

“I don’t wish to relive my life or have another chance at it, because I’m a survivor and I’ve proven that,” Frampton said during a recent phone interview. “Things have been going really well. Stepping up the ladder is very exciting, again. I’ve grown up. You’re not supposed to mature in rock ‘n’ roll, but it doesn’t hurt. Before, there were huge peaks of highs and lows. Now, things are much more stable.”

After three poorly received A&M; albums in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Frampton felt in 1982 that it was time to take an extended break from the grind of making albums and touring six to eight months out of the year. Up until then he had been working on the road or in the studio almost continuously for nearly 15 years.

“During that time I got married, had a child and bought a new house (in Westchester, N.Y.),” said Frampton, who is now in the process of moving to Manhattan. “I enjoyed not living out of a suitcase but out of a drawer in my bedroom. It was an incredible new feeling to just live at home for a while.

“Then I had to spend time reorganizing my business situation to prepare for a new era in my career. I signed with a new label (Atlantic) and brought in new managers. Plus, it was time to start writing Frampton-quality songs again. The last album (1982’s “The Art of Control”) really wasn’t what I should have been doing at the time.”

Though Frampton feels that he has done well in attracting new fans, he will probably always be known more for his “Frampton Comes Alive!” period.

In retrospect, the congenial 36-year-old Englishman feels his career could have been salvaged if he hadn’t released “Alive’s!” lifeless follow-up, “I’m in You.” Frampton sees that album as a lightweight work that betrayed the hard-core rock following he had worked diligently to establish.

Said Frampton: “I would have loved to have taken two to three years off and then been able to sit down and write seriously. The record company (A&M;) made it obvious that they wanted another album (right away). It’s pretty hard to have to go and write 10 or 11 just wonderful songs in six months. I think ‘I’m in You’ was lackluster and way too light.”

The singer-guitarist’s image also began to change during the Frampton-mania period. Frampton, who views himself as a serious guitarist and artist, was suddenly being marketed as a pinup boy.

“The ‘Alive!’ album cover was just a shot of me playing live and then all of a sudden all these teeny-bopper beauty shots came out,” Frampton recalled. “I think I let down those people who bought the live album. That was not how they saw me and it was a shock to them. Like the Rolling Stone cover shot with my shirt off disturbs me no end. That should have never happened.”

Frampton realizes there are people who are going to think of him strictly in the past tense. But he refuses to put himself in competition with his ‘70s accomplishments.

“Playing, writing and singing is what I do for a living,” he summarized. “Therefore, the end result is to make money. But what I’ve come to realize after what I’ve been through is that as long as I can pay the rent, the main thing is that I enjoy what I’m doing. Then I’m successful.”