PETER FRAMPTON - Breaking All The Rules [remastered] (1981)

Requested in "REQUEST & FILL CORNER" section...

"Breaking All The Rules" always has been PETER FRAMPTON's lesser known / heard album in part due to the record company clumsiness to properly promote the record and because Frampton indeed broke some rules here; he decided to make a rocking LP instead a Top 20 hit generator.
Of course there's a brilliant sweet melody in the slow, touching 'Going To L.A.' which should have been a hit in the charts, but most the material here rocks, and pretty hard.

For this matter Frampton enlisted a terrific back-up band including the half of Toto; Steve Lukather & Jeff Porcaro.
Lukather trade some killer licks with Frampton (the title track is awesome) but also contributing with his trademark, distinctive rhythm guitar, while Porcaro provide his unique 'groove-touch' all over the recording.

A proof of the guitar driven nature of this album is opener 'Dig What I Say', starting the record in a rocking mood with solos all over it, something unusual for a Frampton release. Here he also uses guitar synth to good effect.
The cover of 'I Don't Wanna Let You Go' is done in an absolutely classic Frampton vein but even here the guitar swirls like never before. Check Porcaro's hi-hat fills here, a master in this game.

Written by the Alessi Bros 'Rise Up' is another tune with a hit potential, there's an elegant midtempo on 'Wasting The Night Away', a rocky version of the classic 'Friday On My Mind' (also done by Gary Moore), while 'Lost A Part Of You' is the ballad on the album with some hints to Frampton's biggest hit I'm In You.



For the end we have the aforementioned title track 'Breaking All The Rules', a seven minute tour de force plenty of killer riffs, a melodic verse and a superb Frampton / Lukather duel in an almost hard rocking piece.

This is the 2005 release of the album for the first time on CD, and there's has been some controversy about the 'remastering' statement.
Obviously you need to digitally master the original analog tapes for a digital transfer, but that's not necessarily a re-mastering. I have read in some audiophile forums some people arguing the album was digitized 'as it is', some saying it was indeed re-mastered.
To my ears, this hard-to-find 2005 CD edition of 'Breaking All The Rules' has been re-mastered, with some 'air' added to the sonic atmosphere, but overall preserving the original feel of the LP.
Anyway, this baby rock, and rocks good.


01 - Dig What I Say
02 - I Don't Wanna Let You Go
03 - Rise Up
04 - Wasting The Night Away
05 - Going To L.A.
06 - You Kill Me
07 - Friday On My Mind
08 - Lost A Part Of You
09 - Breaking All The Rules

Peter Frampton - vocals, guitar, keyboards, guitar synthesizer
Steve Lukather - guitar, background vocals
Jeff Porcaro - drums
John Regan - bass guitar
Arthur Stead - keyboards, background vocals
Ed Mantleone - add. guitar




PETER FRAMPTON - Breaking All The Rules [remastered]
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