FRENCH TV

Despite the explicit allusions in the album title, "The Violence of Amateurs" is a work of maturity and complete cohesion in the impressive French TV catalogue. The sort of musical maturity that the band had started accomplishing from the "Virtue In Futility" album onwards meets its total fruition in this fifth studio effort. The time of this album was a period in which the band was reduced to the duo of founding member Mike Sary and guitarist/keyboardist Dean Zigoris plus a host of talented guests that happen to be supporting them at the moment. The completion of a kaleidoscopic tracklist such as this, full of agile moods and enriched with a clever variety makes this album an absolute masterpiece of avant-prog for the last two decades. It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since its release: it's like an old album by a truly veteran group. 'The Kokonino Stomp' kicks off the album with exhilarating flying colors, providing an exciting sequence of motifs in a "big band" framework that screams craziness and genius at the same time. The RIO and Zappa elements are abundant all throughout this progressive roller coaster: it includes a circus section with a Dadaist banjo, a be-bop portion with Charleston piano and a cartoonish tribal percussion/chorale. Enjoy with humor, but don't let the humor block your ears off the abundant musical genius invested in this piece. Next comes another extroverted track, 'The Secret Life of Walter Riddle', whose humorous introductory motif might work as background music for a comic sketch. Then, the main body is set on a lively rocking pace wrapped in a colorful instrumentation that features some brass and synth fanfares. There is also room for an amazing guitar solo that finds Zigoris stating a solid hybrid of Holdsworth and Frith in a hard rock mood (go figure!); there is also some room for a sick sax solo displayed on a jazzy swing. The piece ends on a Ventures-like note. After these 12 minutes of prog joy, come the 8 ¾ minutes of 'The Odessa Steps Sequence', the cover of a Volaré track - in fact, this band's drummer is one of the special guests for French TV here. For this one, the French TV commune explores its lyrical side (not as common, but consistent anyway). The first 4 ½ minutes are focused on an eerie mixture of symphonic magic and jazzy textures, stating a framework of contemplative subtlety for the complex melodic development. After that, the piece shifts toward sources of pomposity, like a "Wakemanized" ELP. Afterwards, a more neurotic motif settles in, featuring what arguably is the most explosive guitar solo in the album. 'Mail Order Quarks' brings the most moving melodies to the fore, bringing an ethereal atmosphere that may sound related to Shadowfax, HTM and However's softer facet. Abundantly acoustic, the guitar and soprano sax weave a soaring development of dreamy moods. A second motif kicks in to introduce a mesmerizing set of exotic fusion ambiences; gradually, these ambiences grow to become more intense, with spacey synth ornaments interfering among the flute flourishes while the rhythm section gets reasonably louder. Once this exquisite climax ends at the 7 minute mark, the track goes back to its softer realms in order to prepare the path for the closing reprise. How lovely this piece is!, lovely in the finest tradition of prog, as a piece of refined tapestry, pristine sensitivity and polished skill. This track is a definitive cornerstone of Franch TV, just like the album is a highlight in the current USA prog scene. 'Tiger Tea' follows in a return to the band's extravagant side - the joyful exhibition of Latin jazz colors on a samba- meet-rumba tempo glows in its frivolous insanity. The Dadaistic approach to these merry colors reminds me a bit of Rascal Reporters and 90s Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. There is also a duel of guitar and piano that sounds like Irakere revamping a 80s KC jam (go figure!). By the 4 minute mark, the piece is totally rooted on an apparently chaotic eclecticism that indeed is nothing but a display of intelligent complexity. The last motifs tend toward the serene side of things: there is one of them featuring soft jazzy guitar and Focus-like flute lines, a lovely portion in its own terms; the final section is based on an atmosphere of soft jazz-rock that becomes quite anti-climatic. in an effective manner, pleasant as it is ironic. Almost every French TV album includes a cover, and "The Violence of Amateurs" is no exception - Sary, Zigoris and their momentary guests indulge in a robust version of Zamla Mammaz Manna's 'Joosan Lost' ('The Fate'), surpassing the Nektar and VdGG covers that had a place in previous releases. This album is a masterpiece, no doubt in my mind about it.

— First review of this album —

A recent discovery of mine, French TV is a band that I have learned to love quite quickly. Their eclectic approach to progressive rock music is signaled by an experimental concern to mix RIO, jazz and Canterbury-influenced rock in such a way that humor and melodic sense happen to be well amalgamated within the overall sonic frame. Their third release is entitled "Virtue in Futility" (1994), and it happens to be their first grand opus, their first expression of genuine musical maturity - I strongly recommend it as the uninitiated's entry, although generally speaking, you can never go wrong with a French TV album. Of course, I'm aware that not all prog fans and collectors are particularly keen on the avant-garde side of the genre, but the specific case of French TV reveals a reconstruction of the experimental stuff under a less inscrutable guise. 'Hey! Real Executives Jump From the 50th Floor!' gets the game started in a very rocking manner: the powerful guitar riffs, the dynamic drumming and the energetic organ interventions make it sound like a mixture of Deep Purple and ELP focusing on a long lost Happy the Man track. The soft interlude featuring a piano solo (a-la Rachmaninov) and a symphonic-oriented escalade manage to state a proper amount of variety before the main rocking passage is retaken for the conclusion. This is a solid opener guaranteed to catch the listener's attention, so 'Clanghonktweet' should be really interesting to keep the listening experience refreshing. And so it does!... It is a very playful track that incluyes Renaissance and Celtic flavors in a sort of "Jean-Luc Ponty plus special guest Kerry Minnear" sort of way. This track also contains a divergent interlude, consisting on ethereal moods (very much a-la "First Seven Days"-era Jan Hammer). Sweeter than the opener, track no. 2 is no less extravagant, with some sections that find the violin getting really loud and the synth providing some noisy psychedelic ornaments. 'The Family that Oonts Together, Groonts Together' bears a pleasant compositional development, sounding like a jazz-fusion journey that merges into the combined traditions of Shadowfax and Happy the Man, with augmented elements from Maneige and "Jazz FromHell"-era Zappa. The passages in which the trumpet solos go on shining are absolutely majestic. Generally speaking, this piece gives ample room to the delivery of agile orchestral developments, despite the fact that it is not a symphonic progressive track in itself. 'I'm Whining For That Funky Baby Of Mine' starts quite confident in its abandonment of the soft side in favor of a frantic aspect of French TV's music: the opening section is very mad, dissonant and tense in a challenging manner that anticipates the sort of work we've come to expect from the likes of Frogg Café nowadays. The free-jazz and avant elements are undeniably dominant in this track, with the musicians exchanging dialogues in a common labor against the conventional conceptions of structure. 'Empaté' retakes the kind of sophisticated magnificence we had already found in track 3: this one expands on the jazz- oriented colors and gives them a near-symphonic twist, while incorporating some airs of Crimsonian neurosis as well. This track's energetic musicality makes it a special climatic momentum in the album. 'Friends In High Places' is a bit rougher regarding its sonic framework, and it is also more Spartan: mostly based on the drum kit's cadences intertwined with recorded presidential speeches, it displays a genuine sense of menace without getting explicitly creepy. The simplicity is obviously hiding something underneath its deceitful surface. The album's last 12+ minutes are occupied by the monster track 'Slowly I Turn. Step By Step. Inch By Inch'. It starts warm and smooth, featuring a slow tempo and a gentle guitar, but there is another reality to this track. It is dark and gloomy, as is revealed by the gradual crescendo elaborated by the dense instrumentation. From the fifth minute onward, hell has already broken loose: guitar and sax assume a shared protagonist role in the sonic delivery that mixes jazz's sensual vigor and avant-prog's neurotic vibe in a very muscular way. Think of a hybrid of Frogg Café and Thinking Plague with some touches of Present and you will nail most of the track's spirit. The closing climax feels peculiarly robust, ending with some caustic drum beats before getting at the 10 minute mark. After a few seconds of silence (not a lengthy silence, according the title of the band's sophomore album), the band returns with a funk-oriented jam drowned in humor. "Virtue in Futility" is an excellent example of the sort of experimental prog rock that has been practiced and recorded in the USA from the 90s to this day - French TV is an important name in the current avant-prog scene, and definitely their discography should be more widely appreciated. 4.30 stars for this one!

Pardon Our French is the title of French TV's eight album. After a long time, they decided to do covers again (they already had a cover of a Van Der Graaf Generator song before) and show that the name French TV is well deserved. Namely, they chose to do covers of only French artists - Ange, Pulsar, Shylock, Carpe Diem, Atoll and Etron Fou Lelouban. So, basically a wet dream for any fan of French progressive rock and a nightmare for normal people.

The line-up is again based around the bass player, Mike Sary, who is again surrounded by the right people to share his extraordinary vision. Again, they managed to create that perfect French TV organised confusion, chaos that makes sense. They must have made their fans and female fan very happy.

The first two pieces are typical of French TV. It's a typical mixture of avant-garde and the occasional symphonic rock. Once more, we see some "unusual" influence, like Mexican and oriental music. They manage to create pieces that are fluid and unforced. They decided to cover their favourite French artists on the third piece (they are French TV after all). We can hear artists like Ange, Pulsar and Rock in Opposition legends Etron Fou Lelouban. The covers are great, the female vocal replaces the male excellently, only the French accent perhaps isn't the most convincing (but it adds a certain charm, a certain je ne sais quoi) - the lack of nasals is especially noticeable. For the end, we have two more French TV classics, which again show how unpredictable the men can be with their mixture of tragic and comic, dark and humorous.

French TV are exceptional musicians with a very specific style, but they still manage to surprise with an unexpected ingredient on every album. Pardon Our French is also full of such elements. Besides that, the album is also masterfully played and produced. This effort might suit people who are more into classic prog (if for nothing else than the covers) and can serve as a good introduction for all people who aren't that into the more experimental styles. Anyway, French TV cook up a feast again and you don't feel deprived of anything at any moment.

French TV is an American band playing mostly in the RIO/avant-garde style, but in all honestly, it is hard to categorize them with just this term as their music is influenced by so many different things. The only original member left from the group that started out in the early 80s is bass player Mike Sary who always manages to find competent musicians to play with him. This Is What We Do is their 8th studio album and as far as I'm concerned, their best to date.

Seeing as French TV is one of the most original and prolific American bands, it is hard to account for their lack of recognition, both in America and everywhere else. Mike Sary even gave up looking for a label to sign them and instead opted for releasing their albums on his own label.

The album starts with a song with a typically (for French TV) abstract title with music that fits the abstract moniker perfectly. There are many changes of pace and different moods, from meditative to furious and quirky. This piece exhibits everything that's great about French TV. They are able to incorporate so many emotions and styles into just one composition. The next piece fits that bill as well. Ska Face starts with a ska beat, but it soon transforms into a typical French TV frenzy. The album continues with My Little Cicada, where we hear some eerie Crimson-like mellotron passages and Henry Cow reed and wind work. The transitions between these parts is again effortless and later on in the composition we hear some fine violin playing by Chris Smith and some amazing Hammond and guitar parts as well. Look at the Bears reminds me in parts of Happy the Man, in other parts of ELP or Henry Cow. This is another composition with great energy and it's no wonder that it's one of their concert favourites. For the end of the album, they saved another corker with an unusual title. It starts off as a great fusion workout, then goes through several steadier moods, but always returns to the original level of enthusiasm.

French TV draw from so many musical wells that their music sometimes seems like a collage of different genres and influences. However, this collage seems completely normal and the music flows without any disruptions. Usually, bands find it difficult to master so many genres and switch between them, but with French TV it seems easy. Sometimes, you may hear straight-out jazz-rock, sometimes ska, sometimes symphonic rock in the ELP style, on occasion you may even hear Eastern and Mexican music influences, while at other times they sound very experimental. I hear many influences from other musicians in their music - Zappa, Hatfield and the North, Henry Cow, Samla Mammas Manna, Happy the Man, Van der Graaf Generator... - but I think that they mainly strive to create music with its own character.

The playing and the sound on the album is beyond reproach. The band leader, Mike Sary, is a monster bass player. He may sometimes get lost in the sea of keyboards and reeds and winds, but when you do hear him, he is always precise and intriguing. Warren Dale is perhaps the most noticeable musician here, with his array of keyboards and reeds and winds. He knows how to create atmospheres and also play lightning fast on the synth and Hammond. Chris Smith is a sublime guitarist who continues in the Robert Fripp tradition of reserved yet totally controlled playing. He also contributes some hugely important violin parts. The final piece of the puzzle is drummer Jeff Gard, who is very solid at what he does. There are also some guest musicians on the album, most notably Paolo Botta, who also plays with French TV when they tour Europe.

I think it's impossible for French TV to record a bad album. They simply have such a great feel for balancing the good melodies and the experimental passages. It is hard to choose just one favourite French TV album, but if I was forced into it, I would have to say that This Is What We Do is my personal favourite. I don't really know why, it just seems that they got all the ingredients right for this one. French TV just keep getting better, so I eagerly await their next release.

This music is so rich and complex that it is difficult to tell what is going on sometimes. I love it, but I am not sure it is absolutely essential. It would be good, however, for those fans of RIOism, or even Gentle Giantism, to give at least one album from this band a try. There is so much going on that it can literally keep you busy and engaged for hours.

Mike Sary(bass player) is the one member who has been with this band from the beginning.Yes,you could say this is his band.You have to read his liner notes.Some of the funniest stuff i have read.The music seems to sample many genres,and at times it's just a taste that we get before they move on to something else.No this isn't for everybody,it helps to be a little off center. "The Kokonino Stomp" opens with horns that bring to mind the "Big band" era.A lot of quick stop and go moments.Flute then comes in bringing a stable calm.At this point i'm saying "please don't leave me",but the flute leaves anyway as we get more crazy passages.A banjo solo,some ragtime piano,and a swinging band sound that could have come from the thirties.A brief vocal melody only adds to the lunacy.That flute does come back though. "The Secret Life Of Walter Riddle" opens with people whistling like they are going off to work.Hmmm.A good rhythm follows.Some great guitar 3 minutes in that goes on and on.Around 5 minutes we get some dissonant sax sounds.The rhythm returns 6 1/2 minutes in with lots of clarinet and sax to follow. "The Odessa Steps Sequence" is a cover of a VOLARE song.Actually VOLARE's drummer plays on this tune.He guests on the previous song,and he is outstanding on the final track as well.It opens with some tasteful guitar as synths create a spacey backdrop.Drums become prominant 3 1/2 minutes in.Nice sound.A change a minute later as it becomes more uptempo with synths.A beautiful flute solo arrives.Some blistering guitar after 7 minutes.I really like this song. "Mail Order Quarks" opens with some wonderfully calm sax melodies.The song changes before 3 minutes as gentle guitar and flute come in.Vibes,light drums,violin and percussion follow.The song builds with flute leading the way.The bass is good 8 minutes in.We get back to the original melody 9 1/2 minutes in.Nice.These last two tracks are amazing, and so different from the first two. "Tiger Tea" opens with drums and then percussion giving us an island beat.Sax comes in and bass.The guitar is playing angular notes.Flute later with synths has a calming effect before it picks back up with drums and sax.The guitar becomes aggressive.The changes continue to be unrelenting. "Joosan Lost/The Fate" is a cover of a ZAMLA MAMMAS MANNA song.This is over 21 minutes in length.If you notice, the songs just keep getting longer as the album goes on.The beginning of this track is so catchy.The drums beat away as the guitar seems to sing along with joy.The song changes 5 1/2 minutes in as it slows right down,different sounds are coming and going 7 minutes in.Some dark piano melodies fade in and out.We then a get a spacey,atmospheric passage that is kind of spooky.Angular guitar starts to rise out of it with drums in tow.This sounds great!The guitar and drums start to go ballistic! A tip of the hat to Dean Zigoris on guitar and Brian Donohoe on drums.The original melody returns 18 minutes in and it's still very catchy with some scorching guitar. There is a lot of variety on this album to say the least.The first two songs for me are the most difficult to enjoy,the most challenging songs.The rest is simply incredible.A solid 4 stars.

Upon playing this album for the first time, it didn't take too long before I realized there's something especially unique and different about French TV. "The Violence Of Amateurs" is French TV's sixth album, but these guys are in no way amateurs. They play very complex, jazzy RIO compositions that are just crammed with so much going on every minute, it's almost easy to lose track sometimes! But what is most rewarding is how upbeat and playful the music is. It's pretty clear these guys like progressive rock, but they don't take it all too seriously. For an instrumental album, it's really quite funny.

The first two songs are fast and upbeat, with an emphasis on horns and have some killer guitar solos. The next song, "The Odessa Steps Sequence" is slightly slower and darker (by French TV standards) and features a more prominent use of keyboards, which gives it a more electronic feel. "Mail Order Quarks" is a softer tune and features some excellent jazzy guitar. "Tiger Tea" is a lot like the previous song, but has plenty of its own interesting twists. The final song, "Joosan Lost/The Fate" is a Zamla Mamma's Manna cover. I haven't heard the original version, but this one is very good. The song is bookended by a very fast and structured passage, but things get a little looser and slower in the middle which is more atmospheric and free form than before.

I highly recommend this album to anyone who is looking for a great RIO album and wants to have fun while listening. The band's performance and compositional skills are incredible, so you won't be disappointed.

Standout songs: "The Secret Life Of Walter Riddle", "Tiger Tea"

— First review of this album —

With this record started one of the most incredible bands appeared in recent years, the undefinable world of FRENCH TV. Very difficult not only to label, but also to describe its music: from the pseudo folk of FRED FRITH and ZAMMLA´s to the jaaziest canterburied sounds, from low range soundscapes to highly distorted sounds. Impossible to describe, the music of FRENCH TV is always surprising, impossible to classify, always unpredictable, funny in its seriousness... In other words, there are no words to describe it. Although this first record sounds undoubtedly less balanced than next ones, it doesn´t mean that it isn´t very elaborate, it only means that history was starting from this point. Maybe there are other records to start with their music, but if you already know the band, this record is absolutely necessary for you. For non initiated, it can be a bit difficult to assimilate it, but after a few listenings, you can discover things that no other band can offer.

4.5 stars

Mike Sary has become the great iconoclast of prog music. One of the greatest renewers in recent years, FTV5 is teh great example of how far can music arrive if there´s people just trying so. Great jazz rock, hints of avantgarde, improvisation, canterbury, zappaism, R:I.O. and, over all, a great sense of humor and great musicianship. It is often used as a topic, but FTV´s music is absolutely impossible to define: it ranges from the humour of "Clankhoingtweet" to the fiery of "Real Executives..." to relaxed passages in "The Artist´s house" and everything you could imagine, even more. Lots of cahnges, lots of mixes, lots of everything in a band that has become one of the masters. Really, a masterpiece.

French TV play the kind of transatlantic Canterbury fusion that the Muffins did so well back in the 70s, although their music has a harder edge to go with the quirky humour. The Violence of Amateurs is the first thing I've heard by ths band, and impressive stuff it is too.

The first track almost put me off - The Kokonino Stomp is almost wilfully bizarre, with enough ideas for a double album crammed into less than 5 minutes. Just when you think they've thrown in everything, mad axeman Eugene Chadourne weighs in with a demented banjo/barrelhouse piano duel. This kind of wackiness goes with the territory, of course, but somehow this irritates more than it amuses (though to be fair it may grow on me). Thankfully, after that the album settles down a bit into a series of long-ish, thoughtful pieces which still take unexpected twists and turns but achieve more than simply showing off the band's impressive chops. The false ending gag on the second track is a great example of how to incorporate off beat humour into serious music - in lesser hands it would be infuriating after the first couple of listens, but French TV make it integral to the composition so that it actually adds to the music, and it must be a knockout on stage. Mail Order Quarks recalls tracks like Amygdala by Henry Cow - deceptively laid back and simple, but with something happening in every single bar of music and the soloists playing with emotion as well as highly advanced technique. Two of the pieces are cover versions - The Odessa Steps Sequence was originally by Volare and is a bit more straightforward than a lot of the other tracks (I'm not familiar with the original, but as one of Volare is a guest on this track I assume it's a good version). Joosan Lost/The Fate is a Zammla Mammas Manna piece, originally a 17 minute side long epic and also a concert favourite. Rather like the Dead's Dark Star, it was a jumping off point for improv and soloing and was never the same 2 gigs running. French TV stay faithful to the spirit of the original, with familiar themes but very much their own take on it, more of a re interpretation than a cover version. Splendid stuff, and I'd imagine Lars Hollmer and co approved.

Despite the self conscious wackiness in a couple of places, The Violence of Amateurs is a fine example of Canterbury/RIO/avant prog tomfoolery and is a good example of challenging music that doesn't take itself too seriously.