Flower Kings Appreciation Thread |
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zumacraig
Forum Senior Member Joined: December 10 2011 Status: Offline Points: 1301 |
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Disc two is awesome pop prog. I'm gonna be singing these songs way loud in the car Great melodies and arrangements! Love it!
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Stardust we are.
-Roine Stolt |
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infandous
Forum Senior Member Joined: March 23 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2446 |
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As far as I know, the only "special" Flower Power was the expensive Japanese edition, which has 6 or 7 extra tracks interspersed throughout the album........totaling about 7 1/2 minutes. They are atmospheric and instrumental and totally non-essential, from what I've been told (never heard them). There was no "special edition" of Flower Power aside from the Japanese version (apparently, the Japanese market demands bonus tracks on all releases, due to high rates of piracy or something.....not sure of the details, and this was back in 1999). |
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infandous
Forum Senior Member Joined: March 23 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2446 |
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Wow! Good deal! I'll see what Greg Walker wants for the one he's holding for me for Nearfest. I imagine I have to pay shipping on the Laser CD one. |
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infandous
Forum Senior Member Joined: March 23 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2446 |
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$13 with shipping. Laser CD is $14.40 with shipping. So, yeah, still a good deal there. |
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darkshade
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 19 2005 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 10964 |
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This turned into a mini-review.
On my 2nd listen of Banks of Eden, and WOW, it kicks so much ass. It's definitely TFK, but there's something different about it. Roine is playing so great, even Tomas is showing off his chops more than he usually does. New drummer is excellent, Hasse sings some of the best vocals on the album, and Jonas is great as usual. The epic "Numbers" is dark (for them), but has a lot of cool stuff going on. It's sort of different for the band. Damn, it's HEAVY!!! At times, it's also like The Flower Kings in a haunted house. Excellent guitar from Roine, some of his best work. It's not all dark, of course, and the main chorus/refrain is beautiful; maybe my favorite section from the whole album so far, a little jazzy. The climax of the song is so glorious, it's like the band are so friggin' happy to be back! I'm so happy for them, and for listening to this! A near-perfect epic, in so many ways. The other songs aren't as dark, though there's moments. The album is only 55 minutes, and not one minute is wasted. The album just flies by. New drummer Felix rivals Zoltan in both ability and style, but he's got his own thing going on too. Every song is great, and they kind of all segue into each other with little atmospheric bits. I cannot see most people calling any songs here "filler", every song does it's job. Maybe because this is somewhat of a concept album, but the flow is magnificent, for those of you who have had a problem with most TFK albums being too long. "For The Love Of Gold" might be this album's "Chicken Farmer Song", the one you were waiting for Dennis , nice uplifting song from the Kings, and a nice contrast from the big, dark epic before. I gotta say, Roine is really pulling out all the stops on this album, he's on fire. This has to be some of his most powerful, and technical, guitar work. Also, great organ solo by Tomas. "Pandemonium" sure is intense. Interesting vocals. Very dark. Roine's got that vocal effect he used on "Bavarian Skies", but it's used to great effect IMO, and isn't used a lot, in case you don't like it. Most of he vocals are Roine's normal voice. I don't know what it is, but the band just sound so energized and ready to take on the world, so to speak. Maybe it's the new drummer, he's playing so fierce. "For Those About To Drown" is a lighter song, a little pop, but also includes some of the heaviest moments on the album too. Tomas plays some real technical stuff at times. Great ending. I think the last song "Rising The Imperial" might be the best song on the album (not sure yet), and it's a Jonas song! Of course, he's come a long way since TFK's last album 5 years ago, what with Karmakanic's last 2 albums being superb. Jonas plays some great bass on this one. This song acts as a finale to the entire album, and the finale of the song itself rivals those of Devil's Playground, Stardust We Are, and other great epics by the band in the past. The bonus songs are great too, the only reason I think they were separated from the main album is that they don't fit with the overall theme of the album. They are NOT leftover songs. They ARE great songs, and the last 2 songs are 2 of the best songs out of both discs. Not taking the bonus disc into account, the album feels too short, even though it's just under an hour. But that is not a flaw in the album, I'm just used to 2 1/2 hours of TFK on one album |
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darkshade
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 19 2005 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 10964 |
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I didn't really talk about the bonus disc enough, so here we go.
First off, Craig is not completely correct about the bonus disc being pop-prog. The first track "Illuminati" is an instrumental, sort of sounding like evil Pink Floyd, if you will. But Tomas' keys keep things from getting too dark. But then, the second song "Fireghosts" is definitely the pop-prog song here. Pretty good, Jonas' bass is the best part of this all. "Going Up" is a better pop-prog song than the previous, with a better chorus, and some acoustic guitar and sitar mixed in with the usual TFK instrumentation. Has a slight Karmakanic feel at times. Last song is the best on the bonus disc. "LoLines" has some great heavy guitar riffing from Roine and Hasse. I realize while listening to this song, that Roine sings a little different than he usually does on this album, or he chose to sing over sections of music he wouldn't have done in the past, I don't know. What I do know is that it adds some nice color to the music (among other things). Great chorus, and nice leads by Roine (though it actually might be Hasse taking the solo). A good addition to the main album. |
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Catcher10
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So then in general it is a dark album, compared to previous TFK efforts? I don't like when these bands put out the "Bonus CD" Its just a way to charge more.....the songs never fit the base album. ie The Whirlwind.......Still waiting for them to issue the vinyl without the CD, since this was recorded using analog equipment I am looking forward to a much better sound than CDs.....I probably will get it, assuming the album is good, in vinyl......If not will just deal with a CD or Zune download....whatever is cheapest.
Thanks for your thoughts
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darkshade
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 19 2005 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 10964 |
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Kind of. Like I said, it's dark for TFK. Most of the darker elements are in the epic "Numbers" and the instrumental "Illuminati" on the bonus disc. If anything, there is more heavy guitar riffs on the album, more so than usual. When you listen to the album, you realize the bonus disc songs would not fit on the main disc, and I guarantee this was also done to avoid complaints of people calling those songs "filler". The main album flows so well, and before you know it, it's over. It is a bit annoying that both discs can fit on one CD (the album is around 77 minutes I think). |
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Catcher10
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^ Thanks....well it is TFK, so I will have the album one way or another......And those punks better make it to Seattle soon!
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darkshade
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 19 2005 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 10964 |
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^ It's a great addition to the TFK catalog for sure. I hope they come to America, I live in NJ, so I hope they come here, or at least NYC.
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CCVP
Prog Reviewer Joined: September 15 2007 Location: Vitória, Brasil Status: Offline Points: 7971 |
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Must . . . .Control. . . . TFK. . . . Fanboyism . . . . .
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Catcher10
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I didn't know u were such a TFK fanboy.......I thought DT took that crown for you!!??
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Harry Hood
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 15 2005 Status: Offline Points: 1305 |
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Listening for the first time: For The Love of Gold is catchy as hell though. Love that Chickenfarmer groove. Pandemonium has that classic TFK feel as well. It's the natrual continuation of the Sum of No Evil sound. Love the return of pitch shifted Roine.
Edited by Harry Hood - June 15 2012 at 19:53 |
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Harry Hood
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 15 2005 Status: Offline Points: 1305 |
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Illuminati is a spectacular instrumental. Roine needs to do a whole album like that.
Really a spectacular album overall. Hopefully Numbers will grow on me but the rest of the album clicked on the first listen.
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dennismoore
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I just ordered the CD! P.S. Thanks for the detailed review! |
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"Yeah, people are unhappy about that - but you know what, it's still Yes." - Chris Squire
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dennismoore
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That's what I'm talkin bout, bitches!!!!! Yeah baby! |
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"Yeah, people are unhappy about that - but you know what, it's still Yes." - Chris Squire
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darkshade
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 19 2005 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 10964 |
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Oh boy. Well, at least you'll only talk about 2 songs instead of just one.
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CCVP
Prog Reviewer Joined: September 15 2007 Location: Vitória, Brasil Status: Offline Points: 7971 |
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Oh, don't get me wrong, DT is always first, but my heart is big enough for have dozens of bands, being Flower Kings by far my most favoriest symphonic prog band. Other such bands are (in alphabetic order): Ayreon, Blind Guardian, Camel, Death, D Sound, Eloy, Gentle Giant, Haken, LTE, Leprous, Mahavishnu, Maudlin of the Well, Mekong Delta, Opeth, PoS (even though they have been disappointing me a lot lately), PFM, Phideaux, Pink Floyd, Riverside and Triumvirat.
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darkshade
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 19 2005 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 10964 |
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So who has the album so far?
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Anthony H.
Prog Reviewer Joined: April 11 2010 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 6088 |
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How do you have it? I assume you didn't download it.
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