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PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Pavone’s stellar
writing carries the
day in ‘The Travelers’
This book cover image released by Crown shows “The Travel-
ers,” by Chris Pavone. with its distinctive distorted
JEFF AYERS
Associated Pres
Chris Pavone’s latest novel,
“The Travelers,” showcases
international locales with
reluctant spies.
Writer Will Rhodes works for
Travelers magazine, and
his duties take him around
the world. He’s married
to Chloe, who deserves
better since Will utilizes his — and things become in-
charm to get the story and
enjoys being in the com-
pany of beautiful women.
Surprisingly, even though
his marriage is starting to
crumble, he hasn’t cheat-
ed. Yet.
Temptation wins when Will
meets Elle, an Australian
fashion model. The next
morning he discovers he’s
been set up.
Ellie isn’t a model, and
their passionate night was
a lie. To insure that Chloe
doesn’t find out, Will must
now utilize his job to spy for carries the day.q
Friday 11 March 2016
Peter Frampton on that
crazy summer 40 years ago
MARK KENNEDY
AP Entertainment Writer In this Feb. 25, 2016 photo, musician Peter Frampton poses for a
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s been
40 years since Peter Framp- portrait in New York.
ton’s life was turned upside
down — in a good, crazy Associated Press
way.
The former Humble Pie early on, I learned that you with George Harrison and
member was enjoying
some modest success as a can have a great band, toured with old friend Da-
solo artist when he followed
the then-conventional wis- you can have a great pro- vid Bowie, whom he had
dom and followed up his
four studio albums with a ducer, great studio, ev- known since he was 12.
double live album.
That’s when all hell broke erything can be right, but Bowie, who invited Framp-
loose.
“Be careful what you wish if you don’t have great ton on his Glass Spider Tour,
for,” says Frampton now
with a rueful smile. songs, you’ve got nothing.” was a mentor. “For all of us,
Within a month of its Janu-
ary 1976 release, the al- After the monster success we’ve lost a genius, a one-
bum “Frampton Comes
Alive!” was in the Top 10 of the 1976 live album, the of-a-kind.
and getting stronger as the
weather warmed. He spent singer’s big hair and good He taught so many people
a record 17 weeks at the
top of the charts, thanks to looks led his record com- how to redirect your career
the singles “Show Me the
Way,” ‘’Baby, I Love Your pany to repackage him as — including me,” Frampton
Way” and the 14-minute
“Do You Feel Like We Do,” a pop star. His next album said.
vocal effect. was rushed, against his ob- Redemption came in
Associated Press One day, his manager
called and asked if he was jections, and didn’t do as 2007 when Frampton’s
sitting down.
the CIA. And keeping his “I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, well. Nothing could. instrumental album “Fin-
missions secret from his wife ‘Well, you’ve just made his-
will strain their marriage. tory. It’s the biggest-selling “I’ve learned that a pop gerprints” won a Gram-
The first quarter of “The album of all time. You’ve
Travelers” has too many just beaten Carole King’s star’s career is about 18 my Award, his first. “I was
characters and situations ‘Tapestry’ record,’” Framp-
to resolve, and Will Rhodes ton said. months but a musician’s speechless at that time
and the other charac- “That’s when I got ner-
ters are a bit hard to like. vous and a little bit anx- career lasts a lifetime. I kind because it meant so much
Pavone finally kicks up ious because to have the
the narrative when Will is No. 1 album was unbe- of morphed — as quickly as to me to get that vote of
forced to become a spy lievable. I mean, I never,
ever thought that I could I could — into a musician,” confidence as a player,”
teresting. approach that. But then
to hear that, that’s sort of he said. “It was a crazy pe- he said.
Even with all of the un- surreal.”
predictability, reliance The English-born Frampton, riod.” “Over the last few years —
on coincidence and now 65, is celebrating that
strained credulity after Will crazy summer with a new Gordon Kennedy, a Nash- since ‘Fingerprints’ — things
is recruited, the ending is release, “Acoustic Clas-
telegraphed from a mile sics,” a CD of stripped- ville, Tennessee-based kind of sped up. There’s
away, hinting at possible down versions of his best-
future stories. known songs that includes songwriter and musician more demand for me out
However, despite all the is- one new tune, “All Down
sues surrounding the story, to Me.” He wanted his be- who has written songs for there live. I’ve been work-
nobody brings the human loved songs to sound fresh
aspect of the spy world and intimate, as if they Eric Clapton, Garth Brooks ing really well every year.
into focus better than Pa- were written the night be-
vone, and his stellar writing fore. and Ricky Skaggs, has It’s fantastic because I love
“I was very pleased that
the songs held up,” said worked with Frampton to play live.”
the singer-guitarist. “Very
for 16 years. He calls him Frampton these days lives
“above everything else, in Nashville, Tennessee,
this ferocious musician.” and is father to four kids,
“He is a guy who, in some the youngest a college stu-
ways, had to overcome his dent at 19. He’s come to
own image. And it wasn’t terms with the album that
an image that he neces- defined his career.
sarily created,” said Ken- “When I kick the bucket,
nedy. “All the while, he’s the first sentence will be,
just wanting to play guitar.” ‘known for the live album
Over the years, Frampton ‘Frampton Comes Alive!’
acted a little — he had a I know that,” he said. He
part in “Almost Famous” also knows how beloved
and mocked himself in his songs are, especially
Geico ads — and worked “Baby, I Love Your Way.” q