Peter Frampton Set to Release New Album 'Thank You Mr. Churchill'

Following his Grammy Award-winning instrumental album, 2006’s Fingerprints, Peter Frampton returns this spring with Thank You Mr. Churchill (A&M/New Door/UMe) on April 27, his most personal collection to date.

The 11-song set, co-produced and co-engineered by Frampton, features the legendary guitarist at his most incisive lyrically as he tackles the battles that wage within us and the outside forces that rage around us. His searing guitar work flows over every song, setting the mood. Nowhere is this clearer than on Churchill’s centerpiece, the evocative, two-part, eight-minute instrumental, “Suite: Liberte‘.”

“This album is very autobiographical,” Frampton says. “It starts with my birth, which I thank Mr. Churchill for bringing my father back from the Second World War. “Recorded at Frampton’s home studio in Cincinnati, Churchill is deeply intimate, weaving tales of loss, love and redemption and the lessons learned along the way.

Churchill also includes Frampton’s reflective take on troubling world events, including the Wall Street bailout (“Restraint“) and even the tragic case of Megumi Yokota, a Japanese girl kidnapped more than 30 years ago by South Korea (“Asleep At The Wheel“).

Frampton wrote all the tracks on Churchill, penning many with longtime collaborator Gordon Kennedy. His co-producer/co-engineer, Chris Kimsey, was the engineer on Frampton’s first solo record, 1972’s Wind of Change. It marked the first time the two, who reunited via Facebook, have worked together in 30 years.

Co-engineer Don Gunn (Death Cab For Cutie) also contributes to Churchill. Guests include Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron, who also played on Fingerprints, and the legendary Funk Brothers, who appear on Frampton’s Motown homage, “Invisible Man.”

Here’s Peter at a recent soundcheck with Bob Mayo (keyboards/guitar) , John Regan (bass) and Chad Cromwell (drums)