Peter Frampton

Testing the limits of the ’70s nostalgia wave, Frampton’s first studio effort in five years aims right for the heart. The first single, the spare, driving ”Day in the Sun,” shows he still has a knack for sweeping, arena-rock hooks, while the two instrumentals prove his fingers are nimble as ever. But Peter Frampton (Relativity) mostly plods his way through blustery love ballads that sway with hand-holding elegance, but not enough to overcome his cotton-candy sentimentality. B-