Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

Pretty much all of their albums are incredible. Unfold's dense 2 discs are pure gold, as is the beautiful Rainmaker. My favorite at any time is the one I'm listening to 

darkshade wrote: Man Overboard wrote: My favorite at any time is the one I'm listening to  Truer words have never been spoken on this thread. Right now it's Paradox Hotel for me. Btw, for those interested, the Flying Colors is a really good album and worth it if you're into Neal Morse, Dream Theater, Steve Morse, Dixie Dregs, etc. A very fun and catchy album, with enough prog stuff to keep your interest if you're not into rock, funk or pop too much.

Yeah, I also agree with the FK sentiment completely, as that's pretty much how it is for me.

I'm not too keen on Flying Colors, I'd like to hear it before I think about buying it.  Still, what you say sounds interesting.

infandous wrote: zumacraig wrote: UtF is quite a dense undertaking.  still need to do that.  after i'm done digesting A+E it's off to Flying Colors.  for some reason that sounds really good to me.  i'm also digesting Black Clouds and Silver Linings by DT.  that's a dense one too.  love that song Best of Times.  i'm curious about the new JT Brick 2.  i'm not a huge fan of theirs, but sounds interesting.  now, what else is coming out that i'd be interested in?   Mmmm....ON THE BANKS OF EDEN.] btw-read at GoD forum that it's probably not a double album. Yeah, I think Roine said on the Yahoo group that it would be a single, though there will be a two CD special edition that will apparently be VERY special (I think I read that on Jonas' facebook page, but I don't remember.......basically said that some in the band felt previous bonus CD's were kind of lightweight and wanted to give the fans something more substantial this time). Though after all this time, I think they owed us AT LEAST a double, don't you?

Shiiiit, they should have made a triple album

I still think that the 2-CD edition of the new album will follow a similar format that The Whirlwind or Neal Morse's Testimony 2 did: The 1st disc is the main disc, and the second is a bonus disc, but really just a disc of more songs, that maybe didn't go with the "theme" of the main album, and not just a bunch of leftover/filler tracks. So we may technically be getting a double album.

yeah, i hope the bonus disc is cool.  maybe some interesting covers or something.  i'd love an entire disc of a space jam a la the end of Rumblefishtwist.  love that stuff and the don't do enough of it.

zumacraig wrote: jizo...he's a bodhisattva of compassion in Japanese Buddhism.

dennismoore wrote: infandous wrote: Dennis, That personal 2 CD of yours is not far from what I'd put together, assuming you include Stardust We Are, and exclude the Chicken Farmer song I also consider it sacrilege to edit Garden Of Dreams (unless Roine does it, like in the live shows).  I wouldn't edit The Merrygoround either, but that's just me.  Other than that though, I like or love every track on there.   Ok, everything I did on the 2CD set was from a desire to pack as much FK music on the two 80 minute extended CD-Rs. I could not fit Stardust We Are with the others in any combo to fill out the time. I had to edit Merrygoround to keep me under 80 minutes, not by choice. I made both CDs almost exactly 80 minutes which tooks days of editing silence gaps and other tiny edits here & there.   I edited G.O.D. cause I think the songs actually dies in the middle and has a distinct "funeral durge" mode to it which is just too slow. CTTE has a wonderful slow down part, but the "heart" must never stop beating completely!   Having worked for a large news agency for a long time, I worked with some of the most gifted writers & journalists in the world.  Guess what?  Everybody has an editor, even Pulitzer Prize winning authors!   Artists make a tragic mistake thinking every thought they have is poignant and sacred.  They are not.  All great authors & artists need an objective editor.  Steve Howe talked about Tales and how he had so much more ideas to make the songs even longer.  The band out-voted him and he got "edited".  I dare say the band was right.  I love Tales, but it does not need to be longer.   Classic prog had millions of dollars invested in it so bands like ELP & YES had world class producers (uh... "editiors") working with them.   Today's prog is mostly self-produced.  That is too much to ask for of an artist, everybody needs and editor. Written, editied, recorded, mixed.  Too much.  YES, Genesis, ELP had help with all those stages.   I give Roine amazing respect for doing it all himself, but...   Roine could still really benefit from an editor to help him focus and make his work stronger. Steven Wilson definitely could, as he tends to wander in "trance land" on his own for far too long. Neal Morse, all his recent stuff sounds the same, he needs a good "kick in the ass" (musically) by an objective source.   So I dare say Roine is the last person to edit his stuff, he is too attached to it.    YES greatly benefitted by Eddie Offord and so did ELP. The WHO's producer took a disaster that was Who's Next, moved it to a NY studio and the rest was history. What Terry Brown did with RUSH is legendary.   Anyway, that is where I stand on editing.    P.S.  Don't think I didn't notice your little zinger about The Chicken Farmer Song.

Well, I more or less agree.  Though to be honest, I've never felt the Flower Kings needed editing.  Other band, I could see that.  Certainly some of the one man band releases I've heard over the past 10 years or so would have been well served by having one (or more) people make suggestions to trim the fat.

Also, I always thought editors for authors main purpose was to fix mistakes and improve readability.....not edit parts out.  That was just my impression, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm wrong since I really don't know what they actually do.

When you mention Howe, that is how bands work.  I don't think anyone outside the band edited Yes material, at least not in the "classic" period, though I'm sure Eddie gave them suggestions (again though, I don't really know).

I love the middle stuff in  Garden of Dreams, though in a live setting I can totally understand removing it since it would kill the momentum of a show.  But for just listening I think it's perfect for the arc of the song and how it leads into the "getting old" part of the song.

infandous wrote: Also, I always thought editors for authors main purpose was to fix mistakes and improve readability.....not edit parts out.  That was just my impression, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm wrong since I really don't know what they actually do. I love the middle stuff in  Garden of Dreams, though in a live setting I can totally understand removing it since it would kill the momentum of a show.  But for just listening I think it's perfect for the arc of the song and how it leads into the "getting old" part of the song.

zumacraig wrote: so, with TFK in June, what's on everyone's wish list at the moment.  i'm trying to stick with 2 cps a month (never works:) April-Flying Colors May-Rush: Clockwork Angels June-TFK-Banks of Eden, Neil Young: Americana need to get some back catalog stuff.  probably tour kaputt as has been suggested.  not sure what else.

The only things I'm looking forward to that I know of are:

Rush                          May 22
The Flower Kings         June 6
Neal Morse                 September ?
Beardfish                    ???
Transatlantic               ??? (probably early 2013)

darkshade wrote: zumacraig wrote: so, with TFK in June, what's on everyone's wish list at the moment.  i'm trying to stick with 2 cps a month (never works:) April-Flying Colors May-Rush: Clockwork Angels June-TFK-Banks of Eden, Neil Young: Americana need to get some back catalog stuff.  probably tour kaputt as has been suggested.  not sure what else. The only things I'm looking forward to that I know of are: Rush                          May 22 The Flower Kings         June 6 Neal Morse                 September ? Beardfish                    ??? Transatlantic               ??? (probably early 2013)

So is another TA a sure thing?  I know they've all said they definitely want to do it again, but I've never heard any time frame mentioned.

 

darkshade wrote: infandous wrote: zumacraig wrote: UtF is quite a dense undertaking.  still need to do that.  after i'm done digesting A+E it's off to Flying Colors.  for some reason that sounds really good to me.  i'm also digesting Black Clouds and Silver Linings by DT.  that's a dense one too.  love that song Best of Times.  i'm curious about the new JT Brick 2.  i'm not a huge fan of theirs, but sounds interesting.  now, what else is coming out that i'd be interested in?   Mmmm....ON THE BANKS OF EDEN.] btw-read at GoD forum that it's probably not a double album. Yeah, I think Roine said on the Yahoo group that it would be a single, though there will be a two CD special edition that will apparently be VERY special (I think I read that on Jonas' facebook page, but I don't remember.......basically said that some in the band felt previous bonus CD's were kind of lightweight and wanted to give the fans something more substantial this time). Though after all this time, I think they owed us AT LEAST a double, don't you?  Shiiiit, they should have made a triple album I still think that the 2-CD edition of the new album will follow a similar format that The Whirlwind or Neal Morse's Testimony 2 did: The 1st disc is the main disc, and the second is a bonus disc, but really just a disc of more songs, that maybe didn't go with the "theme" of the main album, and not just a bunch of leftover/filler tracks. So we may technically be getting a double album.

The second disc of T2 isn't a bonus disc, though. The standard edition is a double album.