Agents of Mercy vs. The Flower Kings 1: Keyboards

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   Hello all,

So The Flower Kings are on hiatus until Tomas Bodin and Roine Stolt
regain the urge to work together.  In the mean time, Mr. Stolt is
focusing his efforts on Agents of Mercy who are recording their second
CD this spring.  This can mean only one thing . . . excuses for a poll.

At the root of both The Flower Kings and Agents of Mercy is the bass
thumping of Jonas Reingold and the picking and strumming of Roine
Stolt.  I'll be doing a few polls over the next few weeks asking for
your opinions on the differences between the two bands.

First up is the Keyboardists:  

Agents of Mercy has the jazz / metal shredding of Lalle Larsson.  The up and coming wiz kid from Sweeden.

The Flower Kings have the iconic writing of Tomas Bodin, responsible in
part for some of The Flower Kings's most notable works including
"Garden of Dreams".

Who would you rather have?

If I may ask, please don't inundate the poll with the inevitable 'neither' or 'I really don't care'.  I understand that there is a significant portion of the web site that find Mr. Stolt's work too derivative for their tastes.  This poll isn't for you, it's actually easier to hit the "back" button than to type out that you don't care.

Let the voting begin.

Poll Question: Which of the two keyboardists do you prefer?
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Lalle Larsson (Agents of Mercy, Karmakanic)	4	[20.00%]
Tomas Bodin (The Flower Kings, Eggs and Dogs)	16	[80.00%]
This topic is closed, no new votes accepted

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Roland113 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 30 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Status: Offline Points: 3843	Topic: Agents of Mercy vs. The Flower Kings 1: Keyboards Posted: March 10 2010 at 20:07
	Hello all, So The Flower Kings are on hiatus until Tomas Bodin and Roine Stolt regain the urge to work together. In the mean time, Mr. Stolt is focusing his efforts on Agents of Mercy who are recording their second CD this spring. This can mean only one thing . . . excuses for a poll. At the root of both The Flower Kings and Agents of Mercy is the bass thumping of Jonas Reingold and the picking and strumming of Roine Stolt. I'll be doing a few polls over the next few weeks asking for your opinions on the differences between the two bands. First up is the Keyboardists: Agents of Mercy has the jazz / metal shredding of Lalle Larsson. The up and coming wiz kid from Sweeden. The Flower Kings have the iconic writing of Tomas Bodin, responsible in part for some of The Flower Kings's most notable works including "Garden of Dreams". Who would you rather have? If I may ask, please don't inundate the poll with the inevitable 'neither' or 'I really don't care'. I understand that there is a significant portion of the web site that find Mr. Stolt's work too derivative for their tastes. This poll isn't for you, it's actually easier to hit the "back" button than to type out that you don't care. Let the voting begin.
	-------someone please tell him to delete this line, he looks like a noob------- I don't have an unnatural obsession with Disney Princesses, I have a fourteen year old daughter and coping mechanisms.

Roland113 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 30 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Status: Offline Points: 3843	Posted: March 10 2010 at 20:08
	My vote is for Lalle Larsson. While I appreciate Mr. Bodin's work with the Flower Kings, his style doesn't have quite enough bite for my tastes. Mr. Larsson is the more aggressive and in my mind, the more melodic of the two. As such, I'll give Lalle the first vote.
	-------someone please tell him to delete this line, he looks like a noob------- I don't have an unnatural obsession with Disney Princesses, I have a fourteen year old daughter and coping mechanisms.

King Crimson776 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: October 12 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2779	Posted: March 10 2010 at 21:37
	Went with Bodin, I always like what I hear from him in TFK, and Agents of Mercy is good but not nearly as. Although I might simply be basing this on the fact that I like TFK better, but Bodin is a large part of that sound, so he gets the vote.

Man Overboard Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: November 07 2004 Location: Austin, TX Status: Offline Points: 3830	Posted: March 10 2010 at 22:56
	I voted for Lalle, but only because I'm all for what Tomas is doing now and would like him to have the opportunity to pursue it with gusto much like Roine is pursuing Agents of Mercy. Lalle's a great keyboardist and a really friendly guy too.

Roj Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 02 2008 Location: Manchester, UK Status: Offline Points: 3126	Posted: March 11 2010 at 07:48
	This is a really tough call. Tom, you have really got me here. On the one hand you have the fact that Tomas has such a profound influence on TFK and without him I doubt they would sound anything like they do. Just listen to his solo albums and you'll know what I mean. On the other hand, the first time I listened to Who's The Boss In The Factory by Karmakanic my immediate thought was that I'd just heard the most outstanding display of keyboard playing since I heard Eddie Jobson for the first time. TFK are my favourite band and Bodin is one of my favourite keyboard players, but I've heard enough of Larson to know he is a true wizard . Anyone mind if I just sit this one out?