Safenzee Diaries
2007
Sea of Tranquility
Review by Pete Pardo
March 30, 2007
Let's face it, some bands put out damn good studio albums, but REALLY shine when it comes to live performances. Now, if you've never had the opportunity to check out New York's Frogg Cafe in a live setting, you really should, but if the opportunity doesn't present itself to you, the next best thing would be to pick up a copy of their brand new double live CD The Safenzee Diaries, the band's first release on 10T Records. Culling together material from a few performances (Orion Sound Studios, Forum Theater/NJ Proghouse, NEARfest, Nectar's, Downtime, Canno's Swiss Tavern, and Bluefrogg Studio), the surprise is that although these stellar renditions of Frogg Cafe classics were taken from a variety of different venues, it comes across as one complete live album as if it was all taken from one gig. Lavishly put together by the folks at 10T, the release comes as a double digipack with plenty of live photos adorning the set.
The music of Frogg Cafe is a wild mix of progressive rock, jazz-fusion, and jam-band elements, although after digging through this 14 song collection, it's the latter two that the band seems most adept at in this environment. The aura of Frank Zappa will always be looking over the band's shoulders (they were originally a Zappa cover band), as that quirky, complex, humorous, and "noodley" nature of the legendary musician always seems to permeate the music of these guys. Listen to the intricate & weaving guitar, violin, and keyboard lines of "Space Dust", which sounds like a leftover from The Grand Wazoo, or the lighthearted yet demanding musicality of "Leave of Absinthe", which also recalls Gentle Giant and the Dixie Dregs. If you like intense jazz, look no further than "Gagutz" and the melodic "Candy Korn", and prog rock fans will love the stop/start arrangements of "Il Gioco" or the full-blown epic statement "Creatures", which just might remind you a little of Happy the Man. A recent live crowd pleaser is the excellent "You're Still Sleeping", complete with dizzying violin lines, soaring vocals, jazzy trumpet, and acrobatic guitar work.
If the first CD doesn't hold enough drama for you, there's plenty of goodies on the second. Beefy bass riffs lead the jam-band gem "Small Chuwawa" (I can easily see the jam crowd groovin' and dancin' to this one), while "Fat Guys in Shorts" is a wild 70's inspired prog monster that should appeal to fans of Soft Machine and National Health with some ferocious guitar, violin, and keyboard passages. Another epic piece from the band's more recent repertoire is "Abyss of Dissention", a 14 minute extravaganza of prog, jazz, funk, and fusion styles, this one recorded at the famed Orion Sound Studios, home to many quality prog concerts over the last decade. The guys really pull off a stellar version of this song here, featuring plenty of thick wah-wah guitar, horns, multi-part vocal harmonies, and tight rhythms. Other killer numbers include the atmospheric jazz of "Tagliarini"", the Miles Davis inspired "The Gold Ambler", the exploratory "Asleep at the Wheel", and the avant-garde sounds of "Cut and Run", the latter something that could have easily come from the early days of the ECM label.
Let's give credit to this band-Bill Ayasse (violin), James Guarnieri (drums), John Lieto (trombone), Nick Lieto (trumpet, flugelhorn, keyboards, vocals), Andrew Sussman (bass, vocals), and Steve Uh (guitar, violin, keyboards, vocals), a group of guys who have really stuck to their guns over the last few years and continue to forge a path that is consistently gaining them more and more fans as each year goes by. This is not being done by some kind of image or marketing ploy, it's by the band creating music that speaks to people, is intelligent, and is accessible despite the outward appearance of its complexity. Plain and simple, they are a lot of fun to listen to. Check out and enjoy any of their studio albums, but if you really want to hear what Frogg Cafe is all about, the goods are right here on The Safenzee Diaries.
Sea of Tranquility
Review by Michael Popke
March 30, 2007
Some bands simply transcend any and all genre classifications. You know the type: A group that indulges in both country rock and an orgiastic flugelhorn solo in the span of about 12 minutes, squeezing some Middle-Eastern influences in between. A group whose members like the sound of burlesque and carnival music entwined. A group that combines a sexy disco vibe with an extended counterpoint vocal arrangement recalling Gentle Giant, Spock’s Beard and Yes. In short, a group like Frogg Café.
Welcome to The Safenzee Diaries — a two-CD collection of 14 Frogg Café songs like you’ve never heard them before. Hell, three of them are even brand new tunes. While the band culls its influences from probably hundreds of odd sources, “progressive rock,” “jazz fusion” and “jam band” are the easiest terms to describe this captivating amalgam of sounds. But unlike Frogg Café’s three studio releases, The Safenzee Diaries captures the band in full flights of free-form fancy. Recorded at a handful of East Coast venues between 2004 and 2006, these songs burst with creative wordplay (“Leave of Absinthe” still cracks me up each time I read that title) and snazzy violin, trumpet and trombone solos. And surprisingly for a band that places so much emphasis on musicality, Frogg Café excels in the vocal department, with multiple singers. In many ways, this band reminds me of Umphrey’s McGee — a so-called jam band that has greatly broadened its musical base in a very short time. So why do groups like Umphrey’s McGee (deserving as that band is) receive all the attention while Frogg Café is relegated to cult status?
Before I go and impulsively assign The Safenzee Diaries five stars after listening once again to the album’s most outstanding cut, the 14-minute “Abyss of Dissension,” I must caution that there are plenty of eclectic twists here that may not appeal to all listeners — even adventurous ones. For example, dissonant violins and atonal arrangements are things you'd least expect to hear in a song called “Fat Guys in Shorts.” Add the goofy spoken-word passages in “Tagliarini” that evoke a stoned Elvis, and you have the two most difficult songs to follow in a 136-minute set that otherwise has the addictive qualities of a sweet drug.
Progscape
Review by Bill Knispel
Robert Fripp of King Crimson once made a series of analogies comparing the band and its live shows to relationships. If memory serves, King Crimson concerts were “hot dates,” while studio albums were “love letters.”
What then does one make of a live album? Is it a fond remembrance of a hot date?
And what does any of this have to do with Frogg Cafe?
Read on, and hopefully find enlightenment.
Frogg Cafe is, much like King Crimson, a band that shines in a live setting. As good as their studio albums are (and their last two releases, Creatures and Fortunate Observer of Time, are as close to “all killer no filler” as one can hope to get), the band really comes alive on stage in front of an audience. Furthermore, Frogg Cafe is a band that excels at intelligent improvisation; rather than amble mindlessly over a vamp, the musicians in Frogg Cafe are adept at taking the listener on an enjoyable and unscripted musical adventure, dropping them off pretty damned close to where they were picked up.
The Safenzee Diaries, Frogg Cafe’s latest release, provides ample evidence of this.
The album is not a traditional live album as such. Interleaved with a wide selection of live tracks are several studio improvisations, skillfully woven into the fabric of the album as to be nearly indistinguishable from the live tracks. From a band history standpoint, the material on The Safenzee Diaries covers nearly two years of concert material, with tracks from a variety of venues and events, including NJ Proghouse shows, NEARfest 2005, and a number of dates in the band’s Long Island back yard. As a further treat for long time Frogg Cafe listeners (as well as newcomers to the band), an extensive amount of new material not released on album previously is debuted on disc here, making it an essential purchase for any Frogg Cafe listener.
Newer tracks such as “Leave of Absinthe” and “Small Chuwawa” (which open disc one and disc 2 of this set, respectively) sit comfortably alongside Frogg Cafe classics like “Abyss of Dissention” and “”You’re Still Sleeping.” Despite the quantity of shows and venues from which this album was drawn, the songs flow smoothly into each other, creating a seamless listening experience that maintains the listener’s attention. The newer tracks seem to lean a little more toward a jazz feel rather than some of the heavier rock influences that drive material such as “Abyss of Dissention,” but jazz has always been a major influence in the band’s sound, and as such is not too surprising.
The band is in fine form on the 14 tracks captured here. Nick Lieto is an impressive lead vocalist, and his keyboard and brass talents are sued to excellent effect throughout. Bill Ayasse’s violin and John Lieto’s trombone help to add jazzy and organic inflections to the band’s sound, while Andy Sussman and James Guarnieri amply hold down the bottom end and rhythm section, able to drive a grove or turn on a dime and change up the beat at a moment’s notice. Steve Uh’s guitar chops add the final ingredient to the mix, easily making older tracks his own while adding his own touch on the band’s more recent material.
There can’t be a lot of complaint over track selection. The band has succeeded at balancing their more song based material with looser and improv based selections to give the new FC listener a representative taste of everything the band has to offer. It is true that I wished for a moment that they had included the emotional “Waterfall Carnival” from their NEARfest 2005 performance, which featured a reunion with former guitarist Frank Camiola, but including it would have perhaps meant one newer track would have been left off. As such, it’s a compromise I can accept.
The Safenzee Diaries is the latest in a series of incredibly strong releases from Long Island based band Frogg Cafe. It is an indispensable addition to the hardcore FC fan’s collection, while simultaneously being an excellent starting point for neophyte listeners.
Ytsejam
Review by Tommy Hash
April 1, 2007
Let’s face it when you are a jam band, or in their case a band that treads the line between progressive rock and jam band, the best way to capture your sound is live. To unleash that, Frogg Café has released The Safenzee Diaries, a double live album that feature fourteen tracks of jazz, rock, and whatever momentary melodies this band can fit in. They always had a distinguishable sound, besides keys, guitar, bass, & drums; you also have steady brass and violin, and their music offers something for everybody, whether it is for the fans of Phish & Trey Anastasio or even King Crimson & Kansas.
The Safenzee Diaries is sporadic throughout, many tracks being extended to add all the musical headroom needed, going crazy with the funkified “Space Dust,” the near free form “Gagutz,” the heavy groove laden “Small Chuwawa,” and the laid back track “The Gold Ambler;” however, they do keep it more ‘real’ with “You’re Still Sleeping” and “Abyss of Dissension,” where they stay into more ‘song’ related territories.
The tracks were recorded at various venues & festivals, where the best of the best performances were put on disc. In the end, not many bands can please the NEARfest, Knitting Factory, & Bonnaroo crowds at the same time, but Frogg Café sure provides the ear candy for all. This live record really shows them posessing their skills as a jam band more so than on their past studio releases.
Prognosis
April 8, 2007
The music is somewhere between jazz and rock with a large variety of instruments. To my ears the album is largely instrumental but when singing is present it is very effective. All instruments are played with expertise and the band easily switch between styles (or mix them together) at will.
The album is full of the energy that most probably expect from the band. Some may have concerns about the mix of live music, studio jams and tracks on one album. However it fits together very well, I find it captivating. The album shows the remarkable interplay between the instruments, this is seemingly forever present. This shouldn't surprise me but it is undoubtedly one of the reasons why I enjoy listening.
My favourite track is Fat Guys In Shorts. With a theatrical start (brass/keys), followed by a guitar and bass entrance with a funky rhythm. The listener is then guided through a number of sections. I particularly like the guitar solo; laid back with interplay from the keys and later the singer. This leads into a solo vocals section, starting with a single singer with more slowing joining in. Great harmonies and with a good flow. The track ends in a similar style to the start: theatrical and somewhat menacing.
The album has some great live performances!
