American Progressive Band French TV unveils “The Spanish Caper,” fulfilling founder/bassist Mike Sary‘s bucket list dream and celebrating the band’s prolific, four decades+ run.
Released as double album on Cuneiform Records, “The Spanish Caper” features one disc of new French TV compositions conceived on an idyllic residency in Northern Spain, and one disc of covers of long-cherished, unsung
’60s and ’70s “deep-cuts.”
Stream the title-track “The Spanish Caper” via the Youtube player below:
French TV’s latest release, “The Spanish Caper,” is a double feature: a two-disc set of something old and something new. Its release marks the longstanding band’s (founded in 1983) 16th release, and its second for Cuneiform Records.
Disc One features new songs recorded in Spain featuring charter member bassist/ composer Mike Sary, guitarist Kasumi Yoneda (also from the Japanese band TEE), long-time drummer Jeff Gard, plus members of the French band Mentat Routage (who also make up French TV‘s lineup when touring Europe). The second disc is a collection of somewhat-obscure rock covers from the late 60s-early 70s. The line-up on this includes Sary, Yoneda, Gard, plus keyboardist Patrick Strawser (best known for his work in the 90’s band Volare).
Blending elements of Progressive Rock, Fusion, Cartoon Music, and Rock-in-Opposition, the music of French TV can be simultaneously hilarious and highly challenging, making it one of the most original American Prog Rock outfits. It is also one of the longest lived, having created 16 albums, toured Europe and the US several times, along with many major festivals.
The band’s current lineup [trajectory] began roughly five albums ago with their 2016 release “Ambassadors Of Good Health And Clean Living,” when Sary was joined by guitarist Katsumi Yoneda. Pat Strawser signed up for their following album, “Operation: MOCKINGBIRD” and brought more ‘clarity’ to Sary‘s slightly-less-than-coherent arrangements, as well as bringing in his own pieces.
Now, over 40 years after it was founded, French TV are still here and better than ever! French TV founder Mike Sary stubbornly refuses to quit the adventures and, with “The Spanish Caper,” continues to drag the band into the next millennium.
Mike Sary discussesThe Spanish Caper :
“Now that I’m well into “bucket list territory” age-wise, this new French TV album, The Spanish Caper, knocks a couple items off that collection of chores.
CD1: Throughout the 70s as a starry-eyed bass acolyte I would pour over lp liner notes and try to picture what it was like to hole up in some remote farmhouse in the country and crank out a masterpiece like my heroes. 50 years later, my cohorts and I finally took the plunge and ensconced ourselves in a small village in beautiful Northern Spain for two weeks in July 2024. In that not-so-distant future when I’m in a hospital bed surrounded by overworked nurses and machines that go PING! I’m certain I’ll be dreaming about that music-and-merriment-filled half-month as they fluff my pillow.
CD2: Yet more nostalgia: I’ve also been wanting to record a covers record for quite some time and devised the following criteria:
1) deep cut rock music from my sweet spot, the aforementioned late 60s-early 70s,
2) bands/musicians who haven’t been active (or breathing) for a few decades, and
3) tunes with instrumental sections that could be argued as to be “progressive” in nature, in most cases songs that were a little outside the more well-known pop tunes those artists were known for.
I look at these cover-song recordings as performing a public service, as the notion that the cultural evaporation of these gems from me younger days is an inevitability I find disturbing, and hopefully this delays it slightly. My suggestion for an optimal listening experience would be listening to this around 10:30 at night on a transistor radio (preferably with the album introduced by a DJ named Doctor Danger) while in bed on a school night.”
Purchase “The Spanish Caper” on Bandcamp: https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-spanish-caper
Tracklist:
01. Entrance of the Small-Faced Man 05:33
02. Who Is X-35? 04:05
03. Just Another Tapdance on the Frying Pan of Life 04:30
04. The Eyes Roll for Thee 04:42
05. In Pursuit of Element ‘Z’ 05:42
06. An Unusual Tolerance for the Detrius of Memorabilia 05:51
07. The Spanish Caper 05:46
08. Forest of Forgotten Skulls 06:16
09. break between disc 1 and disc 2 00:10
10. 20th Century Man 05:57
11. Nantucket Sleigh Ride 05:46
12. Goin’ a Little Crazy 06:46
13. Fresh Garbage 03:25
14. Butterfly Bleu 08:24
15. Dead Man’s Dream 03:59
16. Take a Look Around 05:53
17. Funky Judge 03:27
18. Freedom Rider 05:10
19. Days and Nights 07:08
20. A Million Miles Away 07:31
21. Renegade 06:14
Lineup Disc One:
Mike Sary / Bass
Katsumi Yoneda / Guitar
Jeff Gard / Drums
Nico Fabre / Keyboards
Ludo Fabre / Violin
Karl Ledus / Sax, Weirdophone
Disc One majority tracking at Pen de Ceros Studios, Oviedo, Spain July 2024.
Lineup Disc Two:
Mike Sary / Bass, Vocals
Katsumi Yoneda / Guitars
Pat Stawser / Keyboards
Jeff ‘The Funky Judge’ Gard / Drums
Gregory Acker / Sax, Flute