Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

infandous wrote: Good to see you back Dennis!  For what it's worth, I don't ever send anybody here PM's if they disappear for a while, so it was nothing personal

Roland113 wrote: Ok, the first few posts on this page are absolutely hysterical.  Mike and Dennis, you two are cracking me up. I've done a series of top tens / twenties over the years, and I can honestly say that the four Genesis albums from Selling England through Wind and Wuthering always end up on any list greater than ten.  If it's only a top ten, at least two if not three of those four albums will show up. A Trick of the Tail is easily my all time favorite album, but Wind and Wuthering is pretty much a top ten album as well so put me in the 'both please' category.

dennismoore wrote: Roland113 wrote: Ok, the first few posts on this page are absolutely hysterical.  Mike and Dennis, you two are cracking me up. I've done a series of top tens / twenties over the years, and I can honestly say that the four Genesis albums from Selling England through Wind and Wuthering always end up on any list greater than ten.  If it's only a top ten, at least two if not three of those four albums will show up. A Trick of the Tail is easily my all time favorite album, but Wind and Wuthering is pretty much a top ten album as well so put me in the 'both please' category.   Ok, people, please pretend that this post is not me, becasue I will actually write something after adequate thought, after any thought frankly(don't worry I won't make this a habbit.)   As far as the debate of Wind & Wuthering and A Trick Of The Tail:   I do think these should both be looked at as the brother & sister records that they really are.   Any progger knows that after Peter left Genesis, the band auditioned many singers(it never occured to them to have Phil sing.) they decided to continue as an instrumental band, since no auditioned singer made them happy enough to enlist.. AToTT started out instrumental and then they by chance, decided to give Phil a go with vocals.  So they changed in that direction, quite suddenly. For a band needing to forge a whole new identity after their long time singer & front man left, suddenly....  Well I think AToTT was pretty effin amazing.  I have always loved that record.  Who can't possible love Dance On A Volcano or Ripples?  Are you joking???  Months later they really found their stride with Wind & Wuthering, after they realized what kind of band they would become...   I have always thought that both records were amazing brother & sister albums done months apart and were a miraculous success having teetered on the edge of oblivion after Peter left so suddenly.   Oh, I forgot "Squonk".  What a song!   Like Roland said..., I say they are both masterful and required prog for any prog head.   Los Endos Amigos!

Edited by zumacraig - June 12 2013 at 22:22

zumacraig wrote:   Concerning Relayer, I'm not a huge fan of Gates, but To Be Over and Sound Chaser are classics.  Such a refreshing album to come after Topographic...which is great too.  That Relayer tour, documented on the Queen's Park DVD, has the sickest Yes setlist ever!  Ritual, CttE, all of Relayer, Sweet Dreams! Does anyone know who some of the singers were that audition for Genesis?  I think I heard them allude to someone in the recent remaster interviews, no?

As far as the classic prog bands go, I think it's because I latched onto Yes, King Crimson, Camel, and Pink Floyd before I got around to Genesis, and by then, I wasn't interested. I thought the production quality was too thin, and the music was too..... weak. I understand now the greatness of their music from the 70s, I just haven't had a chance to "re"-explore their music.
Though it's funny, one of the first prog songs I ever heard right after graduating high school was "Los Endos", but it's like a fusion tune, so maybe I expected more and got symphonic prog instead.

darkshade wrote: As far as the classic prog bands go, I think it's because I latched onto Yes, King Crimson, Camel, and Pink Floyd before I got around to Genesis, and by then, I wasn't interested. I thought the production quality was too thin, and the music was too..... weak. I understand now the greatness of their music from the 70s, I just haven't had a chance to "re"-explore their music. Though it's funny, one of the first prog songs I ever heard right after graduating high school was "Los Endos", but it's like a fusion tune, so maybe I expected more and got symphonic prog instead.

Been wanting to get back into all the modern symphonic prog bands recently, but nothing has been striking my fancy, aside from The Flower King album. I've listened to TSONE and TA's Bridge Across Forever, and it's enjoyable, but not making me want to get back into all that stuff right now. Coming off an 8 month binge on Frank Zappa, I don't feel I'm in quite the right mindset yet.

However, Dream Theater and Beardfish are hitting the spot, so maybe I'll stick with them for now.

Beardfish though? I may dabble.

M27Barney wrote: Hm I haven't got a single Zappa CD in my collection.....Not really symphonic prog so I've never been tempted - not heard any either.....is that weird?

I don't think so. His music is more on the avant-garde, jazz/fusion, rock/blues, r&b/doo-wop, 20th century classical side of things. He does have his symphonic moments, I'm trying to think what album would be good for someone into symphonic prog to check out....

I think One Size Fits All (1975) is a good one, one of his "proggier" albums. There's some symphonic stuff on there, great guitar solos, and has just the right amount of humor. Another one, from the same era, Roxy & Elsewhere (1974), has a lot of symphonic/composed sections, a little more jazzy, perhaps.

Two others you might want to check out is Studio Tan (1979) which contains some of Frank's most interesting symphonic work, but the opening Greggary Peccary, while heavy on it's use of classical/symphonic, is heavy on Frank's voice telling a story, so be warned if it's not your thing. The rest of the album is insane. This album also comes from Lather (1977/released 1996), which has tons of symphonic moments, but also LOTS of other things.

The Grand Wazoo (1972) also contains some symphonic stuff, but it is more-or-less instrumental jazz-fusion, but with Zappa, it's always composed, or mostly anyway.

Frank Zappa's symphonic masterpiece is of course "Strictly Genteel" and is from 200 Motels, but the rest of that album is a mix of 70s rock, and 20th century classical.
I like the live version from Make A Jazz Noise Here best, but I can't find it on YouTube, so I'll show you this one, which I believe is from Orchestral Favorites:
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w-VNdcXm6w


Edited by darkshade - June 13 2013 at 13:20