Frogg Café's new album "Fortunate Observer of Time" really managed to favourably surprise me. Having listened to both their self-titled debut album and the criticallly acclaimed "Creatures", I didn't expect to hear such a mature work in terms of music (they used to go a bit too far with their experimentation). Compared to their previous albums, on "Fortunate Observer of Time" Frogg Café's unique style has reached another level. Their sui generis mix of progressive rock, jazz, avant-garde, art rock and modern chamber music with the jamband approach to improvisation has become even more seamless, and their songwriting skills have also taken a step forward (as has the production).

As with the previous Frogg Café releases, the most discernible influences on their music are Yes, Gentle Giant, Ian Andersson, Genesis, Ravel, Zappa (after all, they started out as a Frank Zappa tribute band called Lumpy Gravy), Phish, King Crimson, Stravinsky, Mingus, Coltrane, Ives, and Copland. I reckon it's quite safe to say that listeners of those aforementioned bands and artists will most likely find listening to Frogg Café's music rewarding. Since all the members of the band are university trained in music, the musicianship on this album is of very high quality. The guest appearance on this record is also worth mentioning, since Frank Zappa's percussionist Ed Mann performs on the 15 minute epic "Abyss of Dissension".

The production on this album is also top-class. Mixing was handled by Bill Ayasse, whose performance behind the mixing console seems to have further evolved compared to the previous releases - the sounds are warm and atmospheric yet clean. Over and above, this album was mastered by the Grammy award winning engineer Andreas Meyer. So what are you waiting for? Check out the album at Mindawn, listen to it once or twice, and evidently place your order for it (supposing that you listen to this kind of music).

Release date: June 21st, 2005

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- MAGE (June 13th, 2005)

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LINE-UP:
Ayasse, Bill: Electric and ACoustic Violins, Vocals, Mandolin, Percussion Uh, Steve: Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Violin Lieto, Nick: Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Piano, Trumpet, Flugelhorn Sussman, Andrew: Electric Bass, Cello, Vocals Guarnieri, James: Drums, Percussion Mann, Ed: Marimba, Vibes, Percussion (on Track 7)
Producer:	Ayasse, Bill
Mixing by:	Ayasse, Bill
Mastering by:	Meyer, Andreas

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Eternal Optimist 02. Fortunate Observer of Time 03. Reluctant Observer 04. No Regrets 05. Resign 06. You're Still Sleeping 07. Abyss of Dissension 08. Release Length: 61:49