NOODLES

An excellent testament to Frogg Cafe's instrumental ability and improvisational prowess.The entire CD was culled from music recorded in one 4 hour studio take. As always with Frogg Cafe there's a fascinating mix of jazz, avant-garde and progressive tendancies held together by thoughtful, invenitive playing. As the music is improvised and instrumental it may not be to everyone's taste, but for those who are engaged by the prospect of hearing talented musicians interacting and developing ideas together it's well worth investigating. This was founding member Frank Camiola's last recording with the band.

Frogg cafe is a band I enjoy and admire greatly. So it was a whim to pick this up from them when they were at Calprog. The name of this CD is Noodles and that is exactly what you get. The liner notes say it was litteraly a 4 hour jam and these were some of the more interesting things culled from that. There are 6 tracks cleverly named after different kinds of pasta. None of these things are finished pieces and I am unsure if they went on to become pieces in later works. What we have is a bare bones travel through avant-garde, jazz jams and frankly some noise based on really no reoccurring themes or passages.

There are some parts of the 23 minute Eliche that are interesting and parts of Tagliarini is a little catchy. That is probably the best track on the CD because it does get to a couple of themes that could be developed more closely towards the end. However in most of the CD some of the spaces are just that, long parts with no definition or direction which is perfectly acceptable when you are jamming but to release that is a decision I might want to stay away from. Most bands don't want you to hear those things but bravely FC puts it out there.

Overall I would say unless you are a fan of these guys or your interested in how a band jams to come up with ideas or you just really like your music loose fitting and wild I would stay away from it. There are far better CDs from this group. 2 stars

An albums that delivers exactly what it promised.

In a couple of ways this album is disappointing. First, out of a four hour plus jam session only 51:20 were released. This is made even more deflating by the fact that the liner notes state that was really out there stuff was left behind on the cutting room floor. I think the album would have benefitted from a bit more weirdness and experimental qualities. Second, there are curious use of vocals strewn about that, in my opinion, never help and at worst hurt the music underneath. (Apparently they were added after the fact for reasons unknown.) A questionable decision.

However, there is some interesting moments to be found on the CD. The two long tracks are the standouts. Eliche is an excellent jammy, jazzy song that never gets too repetitive or wayward, and can keep your attention throughout. Tagliarini is perhaps the most composed sounding here (with Fusilli close behind) and is a fun, toe tapping number. Having said that, none of the songs are really bad. The only real throw away track in my opinion is Oricchiette, but luckily it is fairly short. (There is even a guitar riff that they will cull from this album to use on their next album.)

All in all, this album seems made for three stars. Nothing on this album is really bad, but nothing is particularly excellent. I did hope for a more experimental attitude for this album, but perhaps thats my own fault and not Noodles. If new to Frogg Cafe, any of their other albums is probably a better staring choice (especially Creatures), but if you've acquired what else Frogg Cafe has to offer and are still hungry for morem order yourself a generous helping of Noodles. 3 Stars.

The second album from this band and an experiemental recording. 4 hours recorded material cobbled together into five tracks. That is a sink or swim strategy.

The result is a mix of driving good jazz in the form of the twenty three minutes long opening track Eliche. Some parts of this epic is great. But this track is never bad. The second song Fusilli also has some really good melody lines. And the same can be said about Tagliarini and Capelli Dangelo too. There are some really good stuff here. But the tracks on this album is underdeveloped by the band. It is still a good album though and it showcases an excellent band from their more spontanous side. But this album really deserve a second visit from the band in a far more controlled environment.

3 stars