British musician Peter Frampton admits he was once jaded about the success of Frampton Comes Alive, his hit 1976 album that eventually sold 17 million copies.

In the years after its success, Frampton — just 26 when the album was released — often doubted his own abilities, saying he felt he could never top himself. But 35 years later, he’s ready to revisit the classic rock album and hits such as Show Me the Way and Baby, I Love Your Way.

His latest release is a live triple record titled Frampton Comes Alive 35. Along with Frampton Comes Alive from top to bottom, it includes songs from 2006's Fingerprints, his former band Humble Pie and other recent projects.

“I had many, many years to come to terms with what went on with the success of it,” Frampton said in an interview with CBC’s Q cultural affairs show.

“I was jaded, but when I started rehearsing, I realized that it was exciting.”

New material

After long resisting the appeal of nostalgia — fearing he might be locked into old music — Frampton's new live project marks the first time he’s performed his landmark album live since 1977.

Feeling let down when his subsequent record I’m In You sold only three million copies, he felt “dulled by fame” and unsure of which direction to take his music. The intervening years have helped him resolve those doubts. He plays guitar every day, continues writing songs and says he’s creating music for a dance by the Cincinnati Ballet to be performed next April.

“That’s what drives me now. I spent too long trying to figure out what people might want from me after Frampton Comes Alive. Now I just want to do things that please me creatively, emotionally.”

Frampton talked to Q about his brief burst of fame, his long friendship with David Bowie and the mistake he made of posing shirtless for Rolling Stone.