Croakin' at Toad's

Artist: Frogwings
Label: Flying Frog
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 682620100324
EAN: 0682620100324
ASIN: B00004W5JE

Release Date: 2000-10-03

Croakin' at Toad's

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Tracks:

Kick N Bach
Hurdy Gurdy Fandango
Pattern
Eddie's Got A Boyfriend
Just One
Ganja
Deviant Dreams
Among Your Pillows

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Amazon.com

The complaint that jam bands hear most often about their albums is that there's too much jamming, not enough songs. If anything, Frogwings, the supergroup brainchild of original Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks, suffers a bit from the opposite problem. While the songs themselves are nothing special, the jams are often scintillating. At the forefront of Frogwings is the incisive dual guitar attack of Aquarium Rescue Unit vet Jimmy Herring and 19-year-old slide sensation (and Butch's nephew) Derek Trucks. Various Allman Brothers and ARU members fill out a top-notch rhythm crew. John Popper's harp playing sounds as fresh and inventive as it has in years--clearly challenged and spurred by the fast company--although things tend to sour when the Blues Traveler frontman sings lines like these: "Some people call me lazy, everybody says I'm crazy, but I think I know how to have fun...ganja, heal me." That's just the kind of thing that gives ganja smokers everywhere a bad name. Still, get through the verses and choruses and you'll find the playing on this live set exciting, adventurous, and sharp as a tack. <I>--Marc Greilsamer</I>

Customer Reviews:

d.trucks.......2007-05-09

raw sound absolutely live this cd confirms derek trucks as the best young guitar player in the world has this man any limits great

Good in places, but overall not as good as it could of have been.......2006-06-29

I remember the day I got the email alert from the ABB website announcing the formation of this band. As I read the line up I couldn't believe my eyes, just a few weeks before I had been having a conversation in which some friends and I were imagining the perfect band and I described a lineup almost exactly the same as Frogwings. The only difference between Frogwings and my fantasy band was that Jaimo was in my group and rather than Edwin McCain, the singer would of have been Col. Bruce Hampton.

But I could handle McCain and as tour dates were announced, I made plans to go to see them. Sadly time and money never allowed me to see the band with McCain, but I did manage to get some audience tapes that had terrible sound quality, but from what I could hear, the band was pretty good.

Later on when more tour dates were announced with John Popper replacing McCain, I was even more intrigued. Although I wasn't the biggest Blues Traveler fan in America, (I did like the second and third albums when they first came out, but the third and fourth ones turned me off and I haven`t given them another chance since), the addition of popper did open up some interesting possibilities. When the new group began touring the same thing happened again, but this time I was unable to get any audience tapes and thus remained ignorant of how the band sounded with Popper.

Then I heard that a CD was coming out and was pumped. Finally I would be able to listen to what a band that I had been trying to hear sounded like. I got this sucker the day it hit the store, tore into the package and threw it on. After listening to Kickin' Bach, which I liked, I skipped through the next song. Then I skipped through the song after that. Then I skipped through the next one as well, at this point, I was beginning to notice a startling trend. As much as I didn't want to admit it, the CD left me disappointed.

Not long after, I lost the CD and didn't make any effort to replace it. Derek Trucks new (at that time) CD had a studio version of Kickin' Bach on it and that was enough for me.

A few years later, six of them to be exact, a funny thing happened. I was driving down the road and the song "Pattern" from this CD came on the radio and to my surprise, I liked it. The same song that a few years before I had rejected had unexpectedly captured my delight. Against my better judgment, I ordered a used copy from here and when it arrived, I threw it on and once again I was disappointed. Subsequent listening has done little to change my mind, but I must admit that the more I listen to it, the more I like it.

I guess to sum things up, this CD is at worst a sub par effort given the talent assembled and at best an acquired taste. Not that it matters, but my friends that have heard it tend to agree with my assessment that it could of have been great, but is instead just barely good. We all agree that it's a bit to hectic and could have showcased the Burbridge brothers a little more.

I do wish though that they would give it another try, but with Col. Bruce replacing Popper.

3 stars and only just.......2004-03-04

I respect the musos involved to much to give this any less, but boy is this hard to listen to. This is a close to a wankfest as I have ever heard HERRING / TRUCKS sound. Endless passages of " I CAN PLAY FASTER THEN YOU CAN" and very little material to work with. Every tune is twice as long as it should have been. POPPER gets on my nerves, his singing is totaly unsuited to this format.
This is not a patch on THE AQUARIUM RESQUE UNIT or any other of JIMMY HERRING's projects. ENDANGRED SPECIES and PROJECT Z are so much better. All of TRUCKS's solo efforts are brilliant and it is hard to believe that this is the best material that these giants of the musik world can produce. There is obviously some outstanding playing on this CD, but the musik is well below average.

nice ensemble.......2004-02-20

With the blazing talents of Jimmy Herring, partnered with the soulful Derek Trucks blended with John Popper's unique harp style and the amazing Burbridge brothers not to mention the Allman brother's Butch Trucks and Mark Quionnes there are few lulls. It's intense and tight as well as melodic and funky. The reason I bought this one was because of this mix of savy professionals whose talents are often, and sadly, overlooked.

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Songs Around the World ~ Evasion

Live at the New School ~ Earl Hines

Crescent City Christmas Card ~ Wynton Marsalis

Rhythmstick ~ Dizzy Gillespie, Farmer, Woods

La Conversa ~ Nico Mora

Best (Planet Jazz) ~ Benny Goodman

Double Fond ~ Frandol

Les Legendes D'or ~ Maurice Chevalier

Le Séducteur, Vol. 4/4 ~ Georges Moustaki

Shades of Love ~ Triangle Below Canal Street