Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

^ Haha No SAX please we're British !!!

Originally posted by Roland113 Originally posted by Mirror Image Originally posted by darkshade After I got Space Revolver and The Sum of No Evil, both single disc albums, I went through all 4 double albums before moving onto the rest of the discography, and it worked out for me. When I started posting in this thread, everyone was talking up their doubles, especially Unfold the Future and Stardust We are, as albums to get next, based on what I already had. The thing with their double albums is, they contain some of the band's best work, and many classic TFK epics are on them. Everyone's tastes are different, but if you're going to do single albums first, I suggest skipping The Rainmaker and Adam & Eve, save those 2 albums for last; as they are seen as the band's two "weakest" albums, and get into the doubles after you hear the other single disc albums. Thanks for the advice. What do you think about Paradox Hotel? As you've probably noticed everyone has their own favorite Flower Kings CD.  Paradox Hotel is my favorite as there are some fantastic songs on there.  I would say that its more of a rocker than their other works which is part of the appeal.  "Life Will Kill You" is a killer tune and the title track rocks as well.  "Touch My Heaven" has one of my favorite Roine solos on it and "End on a High Note" and "Minor Giant Steps" are both proggy and among my favorite songs from the band.

Indeed, Paradox Hotel is a masterful album. Minor Giant Steps is my favorite mini-epic from the band.

Yea, Mirror Image, Paradox Hotel is not in my top 5 TFK albums like others here, but again, I enjoy it immensely. I agree with Roland that it has more hard rock moments than their other albums, but I really find the music "dreamy" if that makes sense. I don't know. I always put the album on at weird times, like the first time the album clicked for me was while driving to work after a hurricane hit New Jersey and the whole east coast of the US last year, and due to flooding, I couldn't make it to work, but I was stuck in traffic for a bit, and had to take detours, all while listening to Paradox Hotel. The music just seemed to work amidst all the confusion with police and traffic. Another time it clicked really well was coming home from a relatives house and by the time the second disc started up, it was almost night time, and everything just worked. All this talk of Paradox Hotel is making me want to throw it on right now.

Also, I find The Flower Kings' music to be best listened to in the day time, with the sun shining, etc. but Paradox Hotel is the one album I prefer to listen to at night. Of course, TFK at any time of the day is just as good.


Edited by darkshade - August 17 2012 at 11:40

I mean, I like most music day or night, just depends on my mood.
One thing I do prefer at night would be Miles Davis' music, particularly anything he released in the late 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Originally posted by zumacraig Originally posted by darkshade I mean, I like most music day or night, just depends on my mood. One thing I do prefer at night would be Miles Davis' music, particularly anything he released in the late 50s, 60s, and 70s. ah, yes.  good choices.  sometimes it's Silent Way and sometimes it's Live Evil.  if i'm feeling adventurous i might listen to Dark Magus

Yea Dark Magus is a good choice. It's my favorite of that '73-'75 era of Miles' electric period. That evil, tribal funk.

I gotta say, I'm still not really getting all that into Banks Of Eden.  I enjoy it of course, but I guess I find it kind of generic as far as FK albums go.  Which may well be why so many of you love it.  I just feel like it's missing a lot that I love......the quirkiness, the spaciness, the "eyebrows" as Frank Zappa used to call all the little sounds and extraneous stuff he added to his music.  It's all a bit smooth and non-threatening to me I guess.   What's weird is that the first couple of times I heard it, I was very pleased with it.  But each consecutive time I'm less excited about it.  None of this makes it a bad album, as the playing is still great, the melodies are all very good, and the vibe is 100% Flower Kings.  I just find it lacks the "eyebrows" or the "pixie dust" or whatever it is that Roine does that makes the music so full and interesting.  It's almost neo-prog in the melodic flow it has.  I suppose for a lot of people the flow is what makes it, but personally I like musical surprises and sharp turns.  This album really doesn't have any of that at all, which is odd for a FK album in my mind.  It HAS made me appreciate The Sum Of No Evil more, as that one really has all that I'm talking about here, in spades.  Which made it take longer for me to get into, but far more rewarding in the end.  Maybe not having the percussionist really HAS made a difference for me.

So I think this one is still a 3 or 3.5 star album for me, even after taking a break from it and coming back to it.  Certainly very good, but probably somewhere in the bottom half of my FK rankings.  Keep in mind though, that even my least favorite FK album (Adam & Eve) is still a very good album with songs I really like.  So Banks gets slotted somewhere above that one and Rainmaker and the second CD of Flower Power.  Maybe even a bit higher, time will tell.  The talk about Paradox Hotel reminds me that even that album seems to have resonated with me more than Banks, though that could change.

Anyway, I have been feeling a bit awkward because you all seem to love it so much and I'm just not feeling it (though as I said, I still really enjoy the album).  Honestly though, I like or love them all, and Banks is no exception.  I guess I've never had a favorite band for as long as the FKs, going on 13 years now, so that's certainly saying something for them.  Of course, they still are, and this album doesn't change that for me, as I still consider it very good.  I'd have to say my favorites are tracks 2 and 3, with Numbers and Rising The Imperial being my least favorite (but still very good).


Edited by infandous - August 17 2012 at 23:17

Originally posted by darkshade Originally posted by zumacraig Originally posted by darkshade I mean, I like most music day or night, just depends on my mood. One thing I do prefer at night would be Miles Davis' music, particularly anything he released in the late 50s, 60s, and 70s. ah, yes.  good choices.  sometimes it's Silent Way and sometimes it's Live Evil.  if i'm feeling adventurous i might listen to Dark Magus Yea Dark Magus is a good choice. It's my favorite of that '73-'75 era of Miles' electric period. That evil, tribal funk.

Originally posted by zumacraig Originally posted by infandous I gotta say, I'm still not really getting all that into Banks Of Eden.  I enjoy it of course, but I guess I find it kind of generic as far as FK albums go.  Which may well be why so many of you love it.  I just feel like it's missing a lot that I love......the quirkiness, the spaciness, the "eyebrows" as Frank Zappa used to call all the little sounds and extraneous stuff he added to his music.  It's all a bit smooth and non-threatening to me I guess.   What's weird is that the first couple of times I heard it, I was very pleased with it.  But each consecutive time I'm less excited about it.  None of this makes it a bad album, as the playing is still great, the melodies are all very good, and the vibe is 100% Flower Kings.  I just find it lacks the "eyebrows" or the "pixie dust" or whatever it is that Roine does that makes the music so full and interesting.  It's almost neo-prog in the melodic flow it has.  I suppose for a lot of people the flow is what makes it, but personally I like musical surprises and sharp turns.  This album really doesn't have any of that at all, which is odd for a FK album in my mind.  It HAS made me appreciate The Sum Of No Evil more, as that one really has all that I'm talking about here, in spades.  Which made it take longer for me to get into, but far more rewarding in the end.  Maybe not having the percussionist really HAS made a difference for me. So I think this one is still a 3 or 3.5 star album for me, even after taking a break from it and coming back to it.  Certainly very good, but probably somewhere in the bottom half of my FK rankings.  Keep in mind though, that even my least favorite FK album (Adam & Eve) is still a very good album with songs I really like.  So Banks gets slotted somewhere above that one and Rainmaker and the second CD of Flower Power.  Maybe even a bit higher, time will tell.  The talk about Paradox Hotel reminds me that even that album seems to have resonated with me more than Banks, though that could change. Anyway, I have been feeling a bit awkward because you all seem to love it so much and I'm just not feeling it (though as I said, I still really enjoy the album).  Honestly though, I like or love them all, and Banks is no exception.  I guess I've never had a favorite band for as long as the FKs, going on 13 years now, so that's certainly saying something for them.  Of course, they still are, and this album doesn't change that for me, as I still consider it very good.  I'd have to say my favorites are tracks 2 and 3, with Numbers and Rising The Imperial being my least favorite (but still very good). you must be living in the Paradox hotel

I gotta say that I agree with him in full. I'm even considering the album less now that it has settled in than when I listened to it for the firsts times.

Someone on the Garden of Dreams Forum gave me the idea of including the bonus songs on a playlist with the main album. I don't usually like doing that, but I'm curious. I almost feel like the band was going to do that, then felt they should make a more concise album, so they took off what they felt were the weaker songs and put them on the bonus disc. I may not do it, but if I do, I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Originally posted by darkshade You guys are crazy.

Isn't that pretty much what I said?