FRENCH TV

3.5 stars. FRENCH TV are from Kentucky and have been around releasing albums since the mid eighties. An avant band with the focus on humour, these guys are a lot of fun led by bass player Mike Sary. A four piece here but three of them are multi-instrumentalists plus we get six guests adding instruments, plus a couple of vocalists helping out. The guitarist adds a lot here with mandolin, banjo, cello, viola and electric violin. The violin sounds so much better than the hick playing on that more popular mid-western band. Sophisticated here, country sounding there. No comparison. The keyboardist by the way adds horns.

It's hard unfortunately not to compare any FRENCH TV album with their "Violence Of Amateurs" from 1999. Their high water mark by far. Still, there's so much that I like here but hit and miss overall, mostly hit hence the 3.5 stars. An hour of music and only five tracks but there's that 17 minute suite where they cover eight different songs by French bands. A lot of respect for this from yours truly. I mean bands like ANGE, SHYLOCK, ETRON FOU LELOUBLAN, ATOLL, PULSAR and CARPE DIAM get the FRENCH TV makeover. This is called "The Pardon Our French medley.

There's a lot of variety on this recording, in fact the opener sounds like a Spanish or Mexican song called "Everything Works In Mexico" yes the humour is all over this record. The closer is my favourite because they seem to be more adventerous on this one with more depth. If your into avant music with humour, than this is a band for you. Not as good as say CHEER-ACCIDENT who play in a similar style, but I'll leave that up to you.

Here we have the fourteenth studio album from American prog outfit French TV, who released their debut all the way back in 1984, but I am somewhat embarrassed to say this is the first time I have come across the group. With such a long history behind them it is no surprise there have been multiple line-ups, but bassist Mike Sary has been there since the beginning while this is the fourth album to feature both Katsumi Yoneda (guitars) and Patrick Strawser (keyboards) although in recent years they have had some issues with drummers, and this is the debut for Fenner Caster. They also have a few guests in Kenji Imai (flute), Warren Dale (saxophones) and Ludo Fabre (violin). Until last year I had not thought of Pat since the Nineties, when I reviewed an album by Volaré, but recently I have reviewed a few released under his own name or as part of a group, but it was still quite a surprise to see him here as well.

Now, having not heard any of the band's other material I cannot say if this is similar to what they have been releasing recently or not, but I do know from reading other reviews that this is nothing like their early stuff. Seeing this was on Cuneiform I did expect something more overtly RIO, but this instrumental release has much more in common with classic Canterbury, although it also contains more melodic moments as well. The guests play an incredibly important part as they often take the lead, while the core quartet provide consistently high note density. It is the way they move between different styles which makes this such an interesting release as there are areas where if it was played in isolation then it would not be enjoyed at all, but it is the contrast between loungecore and dramatic inventive and complex prog which makes it all work together. There are only five tracks on here, but there is no lack of material to enjoy given that the opener is more than eighteen minutes in length.

Although this is highly melodic, I found it did take me three or four plays to really start to get inside it as although on the surface it does appear commercial for the most part, there is a lot going on and it certainly takes time to fully ingest. This is an album which will only be enjoyed by those who are prepared to give it the time it deserves as otherwise the masterclass in musicianship will just pass them by. If, like me, you have managed to avoid French TV for the past 40 years then this is certainly an interesting release to start with, but whether or not it is truly representative of where they have come from then that I cannot answer.

This is the 15th release for Kentucky's own FRENCH TV and that includes one live release. Starting with that debut in 1984 these guys continue to roll. I only have "The Violence Of Amateurs" from 1999 and "Pardon Our French" from 2004 and I much prefer those two to this most recent release. I consider "The Violence Of Amateurs" to be one of the best Avant albums to come out of the USA. Sure they go in directions that I don't like which is what kept if off my top 50 Avant list but it is a special record. "Pardon Our French" is cool for the covers they do of bands from France but not nearly as good as that '99 record.

So it was interesting putting this latest one on for the first time and promptly popping it out because I must have put in the wrong disc. I haven't done that in a long time but I have no idea the direction the band has been going in the last almost 20 years(haha). But this is different, not nearly as challenging or avant as the two earlier albums I mentioned. Mike Sary the bass player is the one constant when it comes to this band's members. The lineup has changed a lot since 1984. This one comes across as a more mature, almost fancy adult contemporary like what the ECM label promotes. Just not my scene at all. A four piece of bass/guitar/keys/drums with three guests adding flue, sax and violin. The flute leads the way quite a bit as does the sax. The violin as a lead instrument not so much.

Five tracks over 56 plus minutes but it was that 18 1/2 minute opener that really had me scratching my head. There's so much of it that I'm not into like that ECM label vibe after 6 minutes or those high pitched synths for example around 8 minutes in. A lot of flute and piano follow that, classy stuff. A calm late before the music swells after 15 1/2 minutes. Sax is more of the focus on the second track "Baby You Fill Me With Inertia" at over 11 minutes. Not into it after 6 minutes but the rest is okay.

I'm not big on the synths on that third track. Next is "The Mayor Of Ding Dong City" and an interesting native styled rhythm after 4 1/2 minutes. The closer is where the violin gets some attention but it seems like every track on here has parts I'm not into at all. This closer is all over the place it seems.

Despite the humerous picture of the band with cartoon fists and captions of "Bang", "Whak", "Pow" etc. the music here is just too serious. Not my music.

No band to my knowledge sounds like French TV. They have created their own unique, complex, and zany music for decades. This is their 15th album and the first one not self-released. Cuneiform Records is bringing more exposure to one of best bands you've never heard. So I pop in the CD and the first tune leaves my jaw on the floor. Clocking in at (18:25) this sounds like no FTV I've ever heard. They sound like a new band. The tune starts sparse, builds slowly and then a Spanish guitar comes in the mix. The song keeps building and changing, surprises all around, weaving a magical web that is engaging, unpredictable, and playful. They are outside of their comfort zone and I dig it. Could be in the running for my favorite song of the year!

Second tune... jumpy, catchy, syncopated rhythms and nice counterpoint. The arranged layered sax playing is crazy good. When I hear this song it puts me in a good state with a smile on my face. Lots of great jamming. Another tune that is charting new sounds.

The next three tunes settle into more traditional FTV style. All are good but don't rip my head off like the first two.

I need to mention how great this CD is recorded and mixed. Howie Gano has been engineering with this band for a long time and he needs a special shout out. The mix, as always, is spectacular - full and rich, with audible bass guitar and all instruments are clearly heard and placed expertly in the stereo field.

If your new to FTV this would be a good place to begin. Almost accessible, sometimes catchy, and interesting instrumental tunes that make this a treasured listen. FTV are one of the few bands that don't decline with age. In fact, they just get better.

French TV has been busy. They have released two albums in less than one year and they're really good albums. If you're not familiar with this band; imagine combining jazz, prog, carnival music, and avant-garde all at the same time. Not only do they pull this off, but somehow they make the music sound fun and not too out there. Out there meaning dissonant, creepy, disturbing, purposely complex, and unsettling music. None of that on this album. In fact, listening to the first track "Desire and Consequence", I hear a pleasant fusion song with splattering's of musical mayhem that only FTV can provide. For the most part, this is instrumental music with the occasional spoken word or (aaahh!) thrown in. It is challenging but not so much that you need to study, or need a degree to understand it. Yet, this is an acquired taste that may take time to warm up to. If your an accordion fan, "Los Idiotas", the carnival music song, has you covered. How often do you hear accordion on a prog CD? Do you want to hear accordion? Ha!

Another favorite is "Sadly Time Travel is not an Option", where parts sound like this could have been a theme song for a 60's spy movie. The song takes you on a journey and goes to places that aren't normal. Normal meaning, you hear what chord comes next, before it happens. That doesn't happen with FTV and that's why I dig them. Pushing boundaries, never staying static, keeping you on the edge of your seat.

Overall, this is a super cool album filled to the brim with imagination and talent, the audio mix is real sounding and sounds real good, and if your searching for something different to put the spark back in your step, FTV may be for you.

Wait! What is this? It is the 9th album by French TV! Six amazing tracks with musicians doing feats of daring-do unlike anything you've ever heard ... well, maybe.

But when did that take place? 2010, the year that you were absent, silly!

Seven Rusty Nails - Starts off innocently enough, but soon goes off into fusion territory with a guitar wailing away all layers of other instruments play along. As with a lot of French TV's tracks, it's not long before it becomes unhinged, but this time in a nice and somewhat gentle way slipping between normalcy and oddness as easy as sliding on the ice will inevitably make you fall on your butt eventually. The gentleness ends after a while as things get more intense, yet also more fun.

Conversational Paradigms - Complex and totally nuts, but amazing how everyone in the band is right there with it. How do you write this stuff? This is what makes this band so great, it's unpredictable to say the lease, even with those weird vocalizations that seem to come out of nowhere. The music easily slips from one feeling to the next as if its all natural. This is music for the easily distracted that loves everything in some kind of strange organization that only makes sense to them. Is that me? It must be because I love it. Take everything you love about all of the instrumental prog bands you know and then but it all in a blender, and this is what you would come up with (a bit lumpy, though).

March of the Cookie Cutters - Spooky beginning, yet it manages to morph into a cartoon-ish march of sorts, but beware the horns as they are trying to turn it all into a free-form craziness, which they do, and the guitars just sit there complaining about it all. By the time you get to the 3 minute mark, forget about marching completely, unless you've been drinking, then maybe you can trip to the beat? Wait until you get to the progressive Dixieland jazz section. Has your mind been blown yet? Well, don't feel left out if you are one of the last ones with your head still intact, you'll soon join the crowd.

You Got to Run It Out, Dawson! - Dreamy and creepy beginning again flows into calliope style weirdness and then some killer bass. There is a returning motif that keeps showing up, but in between it all, you can expect pretty much everything from soundtrack-like sections to crazy guitar solos against a spacey electronic fiasco. Nice!

With Grim Determination, Terrell Dons the Bow Tie - Everything including the kitchen sink. Almost ridiculous instrumental lunacy. Wait, here's an idea! Yeah, but what about this one? Besides, who can say no to a bow tie?

Mosquito Massacre - Whirling around your head, their incessant buzzing can drive you crazy, but you can't quite catch them as they seem like they are anticipating your every move, you just can't slap them fast enough. If only they would stop long enough to listen to this track. But wait! There's a squirrel!! And it's a big one!

What can I say? How about "Yes!" to French TV. (I was going to say "Oui!" but these guys are from Kentucky. "So that explains it" she says, now understanding it all.)

Quirky, technically accomplished musical impressions of real life pictures and scenarios.

1. "The Kokonino Stomp" (4:42) definitely opens like a stomp but then goes 1950s TV soundtrack theme streaming. (8.75/10)

2. "The Secret Life Of Walter Riddle" (8:14) opens as a true small-town bandstand military band piece before suddenly going spy theme. All kinds of tense situations and diabolical opponents are constructed through the music that ensues. Now I see the inspiration for bands like Atomic Ape as well as similarities to a lot of Adrian Belew's musique dramatique. (12.75/15)

3. "The Odessa Steps Sequence" (8:42) a soundtrack to Sergei Eisensteins's famous scene from the film Battleship Potemkin? The RUSH/VAN HALEN-like sound palette middle sequence is an interesting choice--tempered by flutes. Then it turns video-game soundtrack! Not sure this makes for a successful rendering of the intended subject matter--except to make it melodramatic as a silent film might be taken. (16/20)

4. "Mail Order Quarks" (10:27) opens very melodic and upbeat, sounding like one of WEATHER REPORT's 1970s happy songs. The instrumental sounds and performances are still a bit "wonky" though. At 2:45 things shift into a more delicate picked electric guitar based passage. Sounds like a setup for a John McLaughlin/Mahavishnu solo section. Chorused violin solos heavily, methodically, emotionally, before being joined by frantic flute, electric guitars, and synth noises. Band shifts gears again, hitting stride in third with fairly straight time signature as synth and jazz guitar take turns soloing before a final switch back into the smooth WEATHER REPORT zone for the finish. Nice song! (18.25/20)

5. "Tiger Tea" (12:13) has a "Birdland in Jamaica"-kind of feel and sound to it before soprano sax takes the lead in a Jay Beckenstein/SPIRO GYRA-kind of way. Lots of visual moods established as interludes between burst of the main theme, pastoral, circus, saloon, night driving, etc. The only real constants are the sounds of the drum kit and the chunky fretless bass. Entertaining, to be sure, but not as melodic as I need it. (20.75/25)

6. "Joosan Lost / The Fate" (21:42) (40/45) = 8.89

Total Time: 65:18

B-/3.5 stars; sophisticated musical performances that are unfortunately rendered with little or no flow or consistent melody (kind of like life, not like listener-pleasing music). There's a lot of humor and skill here, but this is just not my cup of tea (and I don't even drink much tea!). Rated up for skill level.

'The Case Against Art' is the 6th full length album by the RIO/Avant Prog band 'French TV'. The band plays a crazy kind of conglomeration of many styles, but overall, it makes sense to call them avant-prog, because it is complex and it takes a lot of listens to really nail it all down. The album is made up of only 5 tracks, but the overall length is over 55 minutes, so they are all long tracks, and very complex.

At almost 9 minutes, 'That Thing on the Wall' is the shortest track on this album and it starts the off the wall instrumental complexity with simple vibes in a musical box style before it starts going off in a million different directions, one at a time. All of the avant-garde zaniness is held together by a jazz/rock fusion which is sometimes fused and sometimes not. There are recurring themes throughout the track, but they are sometimes so short before slipping into another tangent, that you hardly even know it. One minute, there are heavy guitars and the next minute it is similar to cartoon or comedy style music and complex jazz at other times and every instant of this complex masterpiece fits together like a crazy jigsaw.

'Viable Tissue Matter' starts like a pastoral tune played by a quiet flute and minimal guitar, sounding something like the prog- folk tunes of early King Crimson. It later becomes a lounge jazz sound as synths play the melody and then it twists things up with some interesting electronic effects. The pastoral sound returns with a meter and tempo change, but now we've let the evil come in as a tortured sax starts to rev things up a bit. Then complexity comes in with tricky rhythms and such while a mellotron tries to hold it all together. Then as things build, a normal rhythm is established and a guitar solo takes over along with a snappy bass solo. Things continue to build and increase in tempo until about 10 minutes when things finally calm down a bit with a steady slower tempo and the flute returns.

'Partly the State' begins as a meandering and minimal track. After a short time, a march style rhythm followed by flutes and recorders pick up the tempo. A mandolin and something that sounds like an accordion herald in the vocals (yes, vocals) singing a folkish style tune. As harmonies join, things get rather disjointed and dissonant. Strange percussion and an organ riff try to hold it all together. Things stop and a distant train whistle bring in a sudden chaotic section where the music goes everywhere and instruments are slightly abused. Now you get a strange mix of English folk, American jazz and Mid-Eastern style phrasing all at the same time. It all comes to a halt leaving us with a minimal flute again. Suddenly after 8 minutes, a boiling bass churns everything up again and brings in a cool guitar solo while vocals come in with a different meter.

'One Humiliating Incident After Another' almost sounds like a string quartet with randomly selected instruments are played. Soon, however, percussion, sax, trumpets, violin, guitar and weirdness follows. This constantly changes meter, tempo, themes and everything that it's impossible to pinpoint any one thing, yet it remains fun and entertaining throughout, strangely enough. The one thing that is constant here is the complex, yet humorous sound of the music. It all finally comes together towards the last part of the track when everything turns to a fusion style.

The final track is 'Under the Big W', which, if you have ever seen 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World', then the title will have some significance to you. So, the bass and percussion establish a drunken waltz style that guitars, tuba and various other instruments play along with in a clunky, cartoonish manner. Sometimes things get sentimental, and other times it gets silly. Later, a sax takes things into a bit of sanity as it plays a soft solo, but then things get nutty with odd funky sounds as horns fight with the synths. Later, a march rhythm allows things to meander a bit, then a sudden funk, jazz section with tacky synths goes takes over before a sax leads everything into some semblance of normalcy again, but of course this doesn't last and things just venture from one style to another in this 14+ minute craziness.

Again, I consider this an avant-prog masterpiece, with music that seems to wander in many different directions, yet somehow all seems to be cohesive when it is all said and done. There is a lot of humor here, but it is all in the music. Some might find all of this aimless, but it all makes sense, and as you get used to the music, you start to make more sense out of it all with its returning themes and fragments, and each track has its elements. The music is genius, and you probably won't get it all in one sitting, it has to be listened to many times to really appreciate it. This band continues to be one of my favorite discoveries here in the Prog Archives, and as it continues to amaze me, I will continue to listen to it. Definitely another masterpiece by French TV.

'The Violence of Amateurs' by the band French TV is an all instrumental album that is a study mostly in change. The album itself is full of melody and meter changes, especially in some tracks more than others, but that is the overall feel. Things can change many times over the course of each track, sometimes the song will follow a theme and other times it doesn't. It is complex, yet it isn't very dissonant, so it's easy to digest, but not necessarily accessible.

'The Kokonino Stomp' starts off with a good taste of what you can expect. It sounds like a big band performance except everyone is on acid and playing their own distinctive parts, but of 5 different songs. This track is a lot of fun, and you'll hear a lot going on throughout, but the biggest surprise, is the sudden appearance of a banjo or a honky-tonk piano. This might all sound incoherent, but it is surprisingly listenable. Then all of a sudden you get some tribal chanting that suddenly changes to big band with an electric guitar. It's just a fun collage of everything, sometimes all at once, but always quite listenable.

'The Secret Life of Watler Riddle' starts out with whistling of a happy tune that suddenly goes into a 007 style tune, heavy on the bass, and then a sudden guitar jam. The theme for this track seems to be more of a spy soundtrack, with ever changing melodies and meters. Around the 5 minute mark, it flips into a loungy jazz mode with a sax which eventually turns squeaky and loses it's coherency a bit before moving back into the surf rock/spy movie mode.

'The Odesa Steps Sequence' has more of heavy feel to it, more like a jazz/rock fusion. There is a definite progressive rock feel, and the melodies and meters are under constant flux. As disjointed as this all sounds, it really isn't. Yes, it's complex, never happy to settle to any specific melody, but still flowing together like that is how it should be. It's this style of flux that makes this album avant-prog, it doesn't have to be full of dissonance and harshness to make it complex. It also is not heavy complex as say 'The Evaptoria Report' or 'Blotted Science' but it does change a lot, but even so, it is more focused than the random feel of the last two tracks.

'Mail Order Quarks' starts as a jazz tune that varies from light jazz to dissonant and complex jazz. This changes after a brief pause at 2:30 to arpeggiated guitar chords and more woodwinds and synthesizer and it picks up a folk vibe. A violin shows up a little bit later and takes the melodic spotlight. Soon the reeds share the spotlight and slowly take it over. Things pick up speed much later and the light folk jazz feel continues as an acoustic guitar gets the chance to show off. In the last minute, there is a unpredicted change to ' time for a short period before returning to the original vibe.

'Tiger Tea' goes back to the 'music-in-flux' mode as it stars with a cool bass line and a more tropical jazz feel. Sax and organ playfully mess around until it goes into a complex rhythm pattern and then returns to the original vibe. Things turn to a real progressive feel as the rhythm gets more complex and a strange fuzzy keyboard takes over as a piano churns out a progressive foundation. This has a real 'Phish' feel to it, sort of laid back, a little challenging and improvisation. At four minutes, it all turns psychedelic, then returns to the tricky rhythm again as a sax takes over followed by a surprisingly heavy electric guitar, then to a circus vibe and then that pattern repeats again. At around 6:45, there is a cool organ solo and then everything mellows out. Things keep changing in sometimes unpredictable ways all the way to the finish at over 12 minutes.

The last track is a 21 minute piece called 'Joosan Lost/The Fate'. It starts out as a fairly standard rock instrumental with some nice keyboard and guitar interplay, but soon gets more complex as it continues. After a more progressive passage, it returns to the beginning. This one has more of a rock fusion vibe similar to 'Focus'. The most standard track turns into the most avant-prog as things move on. Things head south at the 5 minute mark however as it transitions to an odd, slow 3 / 4 quarter experimental phase, with plenty of humor in the music. Things get a little noodly at this point, and you can hear the melody in the background trying to take over again. The best it can manage though is a march-style rhythm with a scratchy sound and a persistent piano driving the rhythm along. The music sort of ebbs and flows with dynamic changes and then at 10:30, atmospheric guitars drown everything else out and get psychedelic again. Things start to get somewhat intense as drums try to work out a rhythmic pattern, which they eventually do when an electric guitar tries to work out a melody. At 13 minutes, it gets rather heavy as layers of guitars build on each other and turn into a drone as another guitar plucks out chords and drums play frantically trying to get control. Things cool down at 16:30 but a dissonant guitar continues to play. The drums finally establish a rhythm and we get a melody from electric and bass guitars playing together. There is a sudden change at 18:15 as we return to the standard rock fusion feel that we had at the beginning.

This is an excellent album that demonstrates how standard can be made complex. Trying to fit it under any one style is hard to do, but avant-garde comes the closest. The most consistent thing about this album is change. But the whole thing is completely enjoyable and, for the most part, it seems accessible, but then by the end, you think, was it really? I love the album and it's variety, but also how it seems to stay cohesive all the way through. It is great music, especially if you like instrumental music, sometimes with a jazz feel, others when it feels folksy, and still others when it goes into rock mode. But it is still progressive through and through. Easily 5 stars.

I have to admit to liking this one more than most of their previous catalogue. The music has simplified and rounded it's acute, often jagged, edges in favor of an almost Smooth Jazz sound and feel--almost. The problem, however, comes in the feeling I have--almost constantly--that I'm listening to outtakes and experiments of Al Di Meola, Jan Hammer, and their collaborators in the early to mid-1980s.

1. "Ghost Zone" (2:29) synth wash-supported solo electric guitar opens the song while orchestral-like percussion play around in the background and wings. Is this a live-with-orchestra recording? (7.5/10)

2. "Noble Obelisk" (5:37) by the time the main instrument comes (electric guitar) in and the song has established its textural signatures, I am finding myself thinking of Jan Hammer, The Crusaders, and Al Di Meola. But the song never really settles into any kind of groove. As a matter of fact, you might say that by song's end I'm very confused as to what I just heard--what it's compositional purpose was. (8/10)

3. "Urgent Fury" (8:32) almost a parody of 1970s funk jazz fusion (led by such artists as the members of The Crusaders, Hubert & Ronnie Laws, Bob James, and even Jan Hammer and Al Di Meola) (7.5/10)

4. "Tree Incident" (7:40) again the music of Al Di Meola in the early 1980s comes to mind as I listen to this one. It's nice, pretty, with very competent musicianship, but something just feels old and borrowed. (8/10)

5. "Golden Pheasant Of The Infinite Reach" (10:41) interesting synth opening is spoiled by appearance of vintage keyboards, many of which are of that inferior sound gradient that I dislike from the late 1989s and 1990s. Plus, the song never really goes anywhere--other than the more melodic parts that sound as if they might be better served as a support vehicle for a Patti Austin or Teena Marie vocal. (7.5/10)

6. "Nimrod Dancer" (8:33) the Latin rhythmic structure and sounds once again bring up the Al DI MEOLA sound. Violin adds a Jean-Luc Ponty presence, otherwise, this is so Al Di. (7.5/10)

7. "Vigilant Sentinel" (10:40) (7/10)

8. "Silent Years" (3:48) old synths attempting a "pretty" almost minor-keyed Satie-like song. Nope. (6.5/10)

Three stars; a good album of vintage sounding jazz fusion.