Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

http://www.progrockmag.com/news/the-tangent-premiere-track-from-new-album/

Space Revolver was one of my first TFK albums, if not THE first (not sure if it was that or Stardust disc 1, it was 7 years ago) so it's higher on my list for that, but objectively speaking, I think it's more in the middle. There's at least 3 albums better than SR, but it's better than many of the other TFK albums.

darkshade wrote: M27Barney wrote: zumacraig wrote: I don't get the love for the entire Space Revolver album.  It just sounds kind of light weight to me and the cheese factor is quite high.  I've always thought that it would've been stronger had it been released a la BoE with I Am the Sun part 1, Dream on Dreamer, Rumblefishtwist and I Am the Sun part 2 making up disc one and the rest being on disc two.  I've tried for years to get into it and it just ain't happening.  Of course, Chicken Farmer song is fun once in a while  As I've written, Rainmaker is my favorite.  It's one of the more memorable TFK albums.  Last Minute, Serious Dreamers and the instrumentals...Love it! Surely this is just being controversial? Rainmaker Best that's like saying Yes's best album is 90125 or Genesis being Abacab !!!!! I don't know, that's a little extreme. TFK never made a bad album, or a poppy one.

I wasn't comparing Rainmaker with the sell out albums by Yes/Genesis - just making the comparison with the weakest effort in the recording wealth of the Flokis, most people would have Rainmaker as least favourite or near that mark.....

Edited by M27Barney - May 31 2013 at 14:46

I have just finished a relaxing stint of prog listening, The Black Forest (AOM), Shooting Albatross (Abel Ganz) then the title track from The Raven that Refused to Sing - absolutely superb melancholy prog - just wish it's final theme was reprised with a soaring guitar solo - that would put the track into the stratosphere - I always feel that S. Wilson is frightened of over-indulgence lest he gets tarred with the same bush as all OTT prog outfits - The Flokis being the band currently flying the flag for epic symphonic prog....

zumacraig wrote: M27Barney wrote: zumacraig wrote: I don't get the love for the entire Space Revolver album.  It just sounds kind of light weight to me and the cheese factor is quite high.  I've always thought that it would've been stronger had it been released a la BoE with I Am the Sun part 1, Dream on Dreamer, Rumblefishtwist and I Am the Sun part 2 making up disc one and the rest being on disc two.  I've tried for years to get into it and it just ain't happening.  Of course, Chicken Farmer song is fun once in a while  As I've written, Rainmaker is my favorite.  It's one of the more memorable TFK albums.  Last Minute, Serious Dreamers and the instrumentals...Love it! Surely this is just being controversial? Rainmaker Best that's like saying Yes's best album is 90125 or Genesis being Abacab !!!!! Well, I bet there is some goof ball out there who's favorite Yes album is Open Your Eyes

Hey!!!!

Honestly, Rainmaker is only on the bottom of my list because it was the last TFK album I got, and I still haven't given it enough time to warm up to me.I do remember the last time I listened to it, I remarked here that it was better than I thought. So Adam & Eve would be on the bottom then.

Sorry Rushfan. Open You Eyes is amazing:)

Good points Darkshade. I like prog on a good system too.

Roj wrote: infandous wrote: Nope, he was not there because he was involved in some theater production in Sweden and couldn't make it.  From what I remember, the theater gig payed very well and he had committed to it before Roine scheduled the tour.  Tomas made sure to be available for the Japan leg though, since neither he nor the band had ever been there before. In retrospect, I find  Alive to be easily their weakest live performance (I'm basing this on the other official releases, plus the pile of bootlegged shows I have).  Big Puzzle I find too slow and a bit limp, though it has it's good moments.  I just don't think Roine can top the solo at the end that he does on the studio version either.  As I recall, Salazar commented that he was not happy with the performances on CD2 of that album, though I think they are okay.  CD1 is very good, though I wish they would have left The Lamb off and put on an original tune.  For that matter, they only used about 55 minutes on each CD, so they could have fit a good deal more.  I also prefer the single show format over the select songs from different shows format on Alive. It was the first live Flower Kings I heard, so at the time I really loved it.  Now I really only think The Judas Kiss is a standout performance, though the first two tracks are played perfectly as well.  It also just isn't a great set list, IMO.  I do agree that Salazar is/was a great drummer.  I just prefer Zoltan's style for TFK's.  When I saw him perform Garden Of Dreams the first time, I was sold on his style over Salazar's right then and there.  Of course, TFK's have never had a bad, or even sub par drummer. Last I heard, Hasse still works at the airport, and yes, he gets a lot of support for his musical excursions from his employers.  Sweden is not like the US and Britain, when it comes to work flexibility.  I guess he has worked there for more than 20 years, so they work with him to accommodate his absences (which he may well not get paid for, I don't know..........Roine pays all the guys a salary on tour, so Hasse still makes money touring, even when Roine looses money).     As I mentioned, I thought Tomas may have been involved in one of his operatic/theatre projects . I'm surprised you're not impressed with the setlist.  In comparison to recent live releases which have tended to be very samey (excellent I'd stress but still samey) this contains songs you'll not find on any other official live releases, the aforementioned Judas Kiss and Big Puzzle plus Sounds of Violence, Church of Your Heart, The Flower King and others.  Not all of us have those fan club releases you have Gus (they are now virtually impossible to find without paying a sum akin to the national deficit of Greece). I think it's an excellent live album but as you rightly say the running time of both discs is a bit stingy. I understand there will be a dvd from the last tour and as the setlist was a bit unimaginative on the tour the tracklisting will probably be similar to Tour Kaputt, plus of course the new tracks from BoE.  That's a shame as there are so many gems from their early-middle years which haven't been aired in a long time.

Well, maybe I was a bit harsh on it.  I think the main thing to remember is not the fan club CD's, as they have no live material on them (and some rather spotty stuff, for that matter), but that I have a large pile of FK boot leg recordings of live shows.  Many of these surpass EVERY official release in terms of quality of performance (most are actually quite listenable with some only a mastering away from being pristine), not to mention better set lists.  That's probably my main issue with Alive, is that it's not a complete show.  You do list the best tracks, but I have all of those on live boots, most of them much better performances (though Church Of Your Heart and Judas Kiss on Alive are probably the best live versions of those that I have.......I think I've said that Judas on that one is the highlight of the album).

I'm not to enthused about getting a live album from the recent tour.  I will, of course, get it, but I suspect it may not get much play time.  I didn't much care for Numbers when I saw them perform it......possibly the only case of a song that I liked even less live than  the studio version (hear Adam & Eve material live made me appreciate it more, though it's still my least favorite).  I think Numbers has become possibly my least favorite FK epic of them all, possibly even below Monsters and Men (haven't listened to that one in quite some time).

The bar is set quite high with TFK.  Saying one TFK is my least favorite is quite different that saying I don't like the new Daft Punk.  The good songs on the least stellar TFK albums are leaps and bounds above the majority of music that's come out in the last 20-30 years.  

infandous wrote: darkshade wrote: Honestly, Rainmaker is only on the bottom of my list because it was the last TFK album I got, and I still haven't given it enough time to warm up to me.I do remember the last time I listened to it, I remarked here that it was better than I thought. So Adam & Eve would be on the bottom then. Rainmaker was the first FK album that disappointed me.  It has grown on me over the years, and is above A&E and the second CD of Flower Power in my rankings, but still not a favorite.  It does have some good stuff on it, and like all their albums hangs together very well.  Sword Of God is god awful, Elaine is quite clunky melodically and lyrically (love the jazz fusion bit at the end though), and a couple other tracks are simply unremarkable and bland (so much so that I can't seem to recall their titles at the moment). As to the comments earlier about Space Revolver being cheesy........well, there's no accounting for taste is all I can say   I think You Don't Know What You've Got is my least favorite FK song of all time though.  The rest of the album, however, is good to bloody brilliant.  I liked that album the first time I heard it, and my feelings have never changed.

SORRY, I meant Retropolis!!!