Flower Kings Appreciati&#111;n Thread

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Posted: November 18 2009 at 18:41

I'll play!

DISCLAIMER: BIG Neal Morse fan-boy

20. The Kindness of Strangers- Spock's Beard
19. Abbey Road- The Beatles
18. Milliontown- Frost*
17. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence- Dream Theater
16. My River Flows- Izz
15. Stardust We Are- The Flower Kings
14. The Wall- Pink Floyd
13. Into The Electric Castle- Ayreon
12. Close To The Edge- Yes
11. V- Spock's Beard
10. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway- Genesis
9. The Sum of No Evil- The Flower Kings
8. ?- Neal Morse
7. Scenes From A Memory- Dream Theater
6. Testimony- Neal Morse
5. Snow- Spock's Beard
4. One- Neal Morse
3. Sola Scriptura- Neal Morse
2. The Whirlwind- Transatlantic
1. Bridge Across Forever- Transatlantic

Edited by natewait - November 18 2009 at 18:46

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J-Man

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Posted: November 18 2009 at 19:05

These are my top 20:

1. The Perfect Element, Pt. 1- Pain of Salvation
2. Scenes From a Memory- Dream Theater
3. Foxtrot- Genesis
4. Snow- Spock's Beard
5. Crimson- Edge of Sanity
6. ?- Neal Morse
7. Still Life- Opeth
8. BE- Pain of Salvation
9. Bridge Across Forever- Transatlantic
10. Selling England By The Pound- Genesis
11. Sola Scriptura- Neal Morse
12. The Shaming of the True- Kevin Gilbert
13. Symbolic- Death
14. Remedy Lane- Pain of Salvation
15. The Sum of No Evil- The Flower Kings
16. Abbey Road- The Beatles
17. Close To The Edge- Yes
18. Images & Words- Dream Theater
19. Script For A Jester's Tear- Marillion
20. V- Spock's Beard

I know I probably forgot many....

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The Quiet One View Drop Down

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Posted: November 18 2009 at 19:17

^wow! never thought you were such a big fan of Script, I really love that album too.

Seems I need to listen to Pefect Element, Part 1 someday...

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Posted: November 18 2009 at 19:25

Originally posted by The Quiet One

^wow! never thought you were such a big fan of Script, I really love that album too.

Seems I need to listen to Pefect Element, Part 1 someday...

You don't have that?!!?!?!? Shocked

Quick! Run to your local record store and buy it before it's too late!!!! Dead

In all seriousness, it is an excellent concept-driven album. Just everything there is perfect IMO. It was #2 for a while, but after listening to it some more recently, I bumped it up one.

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natewait

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Posted: November 18 2009 at 19:32

I used to be a big Pain of Salvation fan and would have put The Perfect Element Part 1 in my top 20 easily...but I've kind of fallen out of love with them, especially after being pretty disappointed by Scarsick. I think it is about time that I revisit them and remember what I used to love about them so much...

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Posted: November 18 2009 at 19:36

Originally posted by natewait

I used to be a big Pain of Salvation fan and would have put The Perfect Element Part 1 in my top 20 easily...but I've kind of fallen out of love with them, especially after being pretty disappointed by Scarsick. I think it is about time that I revisit them and remember what I used to love about them so much...

Scarsick is a really poor album. I almost don't consider it to be part of their discography. There's just something about PoS that is so unique that no other bands can capture. I would say it's probably the contrast between beautiful vocal harmonies, metal riffs, and sheer magic that I find to be so present on TPE.

None of this is on Scarsick, however. It has some cool moments, but the absolutely awful and immature lyrics in addition to the lack of what made me become a PoS fan in the first place doesn't appeal to me at all.

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natewait

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Posted: November 18 2009 at 19:44

Originally posted by J-Man

You are right about them being unique. I remember when I first got into "newer" prog, one of the first bands I loved of course was Dream Theater, which made me seek out other prog metal. It seemed that everything I checked out was a sub-par imitation of Dream Theater- but once I got a hold of my first Pain of Salvation album (Perfect Element Part 1, coincidently), I was blown away by how different it was and I got excited that there is more to the prog metal genre than just Dream Theater clones. Of course, I've come to discover other wonderful prog metal bands, but Pain of Salvation was when I first realized that there can be diversity within the genre. I might have to change my top 20...

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M27Barney

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Posted: Yesterday at 03:53

Dial Emma..............

It's almost December and I haven't got a clue which CD's I should ask my sons n wife to buy me for Winter Solstice.......

Does anybody know a metal band who have done a classical covers CD?

If music be the food of love......play on

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Posted: Yesterday at 07:24

A while away and how much have I missed

Going For The One and Animals eh? What a choice. Both from the same year and IMHO the best album by each band (along with TFK these are my three fave bands).

Animals - magical album, their most progressive too. Just listen to Sheep, that amazing instrumental section in the middle and then the superb ending. Surely Floyd never sounded better? Add to the fact that I adore Dogs and Pigs is pretty fab too and you have a 5-star monster.

Going For The One. What can I say, simply Yes' peak. There's not many tracks that bring me to tears through their sheer beauty, but two on here do. Awaken is for me the peak of symphonic prog, full stop. Other than this only TFK have ever reached this level for me. It's a track that I simply can't listen to while driving as the intensity is just too much for me. I always have to pull over to the roadside to listen. As I've known this for 30 years that is some compliment I'd say. Turn Of The Century is magical too, and lyrically it is simply stunning. Add to that the magnificence of Parallels and the majesty of Wonderous Stories and you have another 5-star jobbie. I even like the title track too.

Tom? Top 20 albums? Wow. Off the top of my head (and staying topical) I'd go thus:-

1. TFK - Stardust We Are

2. Yes - Going For The One

3. Pink Floyd - Animals

4. TFK - Space Revolver

5. Eddie Jobson/Zinc - The Green Album

6. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

7. IQ - The Seventh House

8. The Black Dog - Spanners

9. ELP - Brain Salad Surgery

10. UK - Danger Money

11. Glass Hammer - Lex Rex

12. Boards Of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children

13. Genesis - Selling England By The Pound

14. Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon

15. Plaid - Spokes

16. TFK - World Of Adventures

17. Yes - TFTO

18. The Black Dog - Bytes

19. Todd Rundgren's Utopia

20. UK - UK

The top four are solid, but the order varies. As for the remainder, subject to regular change. And like Jeff, I probably missed out loads too

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Posted: Yesterday at 07:27

Originally posted by M27Barney

I am a little prone to exaggeration.....

.......as I've told you a million or so times.

Roj M30

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Posted: Yesterday at 07:41

Originally posted by M27Barney

Roj is far more of a floyd fan than me, at school he was all floyd and ELP and I was Genesis, then Camel then Yes...He had Gilmour as his No 1 guitarist and I just couldn't place the floyd man anywhere near as good as Howe/Hackett/Latimer (I still can't) - I think he even had Wright ahead of Banks/Wakeman/Bardens !!!! I know he has always rated Emerson above Wakeman and Banks.

He also must've had Waters above Squire on the bass - his love of Floyd blinded his judgement obviously

Ahhh, back to our school days old chum. It's great to reminisce. Whilst most loved ELO, Quo, Motorhead, Led Zep and AC/DC (remember Cookie, Smiffy etc

) we upheld the good prog tradition. You might have mistaken "best" for "favourite" however.

On guitars Stolt is the king, no doubt. As for Gilmour v Howe, Howe is a great technician but I personally prefer DG's style. Roine has taken influence from both and is the more rounded and in my opinion the best guitarist there is or has been.

Wright was

a man for feel, colour and atmosphere rather than gratuitous flash (pardon me Abel Ganz

). I'm sure he was never within a light year of Emo and Wakeman for technique. However Rob, you left out my favourite (and the best of the lot for me) Eddie Jobson. Remember our chat with Martin Orford about keyboard players back in the early eighties? Like me, he absolutely raved about Jobson, and I know that shocked you. Just listen to his work on the UK albums and in his solo stuff, the man's a genius.

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Posted: Yesterday at 13:11

How to list my top 20 albums? I'm not sure I can do it as it changes fairly regularly. However, I will list 20 in no particular order that have stood the test of time for me and/or I just think are brilliant.

Asgard - Arkana
Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans
Comus - First Utterance
Genesis - Nursery Cryme
Present - Triskaidekaphobie
ELP - Tarkus
Rush - Permanent Waves
Scorpions - Lonesome Crow
Jesus Christ Superstar (original recording)
Miles Davis - In A Silent Way
Flower Kings - Retropolis
Flower Kings - Unfold The Future
Klaus Shulze - Mirage
Pink Floyd - Meddle
Tomas Bodin - I AM
Gentle Giant - Acquiring the Taste
Van der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts
Frank Zappa - Lather
IQ - The Wake
Deus Ex Machina - De Republica

I've tried to put in a lot of variety here, but as others have stated there are so many more I could add that are on the same level as these in my mind. And, to be honest (and true to this thread) just about every Flower Kings album could easily be included (only Adam & Eve really is a lesser album to me, though even that one has it's great moments for me). Even though they are the only band mentioned more than once, I could easily have added more Yes albums, more Genesis albums, more ELP albums, more Gentle Giant albums, and more Zappa albums. The ones listed of those bands are just my favorites, but all have other albums I would consider top 20 depending on my mood.

Edited by infandous - Yesterday at 13:13

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