Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

infandous wrote: zumacraig wrote: 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.   I got into TFK in 2001.  First was Stardust.  LOVED IT!.  Then I got Retropolis and then everything after SWA up to UtF.  For some reason, SR and UtF never blew me away.  I quit paying attention after Meet the Flower Kings only to come back in 2010.  SInce then, I've been trying to fill in the gaps in my collection with all TFK and related bands.  I've also been going back to the CDs I bought when I first got into them.  I understand why you guys love UtF and SR, but I just can't get into half of SR and almost none of UtF.  What's wrong with me?     The Truth Will Set You Free is just a hot mess to my ears.  Black and White is pretty good.  The rest is just unremarkable to me.  Now, put on Love Supreme, Driver's Seat, Numbers and I pay attention the entire time.  Very interesting how we all have different tastes and opinions.  I'll keep trying!   Well, I have no intention to "try harder" to appreciate Love Supreme, Driver's Seat, Numbers, or Monsters and Men (among others), so you don't need to either   I actually have tried, repeatedly, to appreciate them........to a certain extent I do.  The problem is, I just don't enjoy listening to them that much (but appreciate the craft and musicianship, as well as the excellent production on all of them).  As you say though, there is almost nothing by TFK that I can't stand to listen to.  The Truth Will Set You Free is not my favorite FK epic, but it's in the top 5 for me.  I've said before that Unfold took nearly a year for me to really "get", and another year or two after that before I decided it's their best work (though my second favorite FK album).  Anyway, like what you like and don't apologize for it, I don't

darkshade wrote: 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!!!

Well, I don't think Retropolis is at all cheesy either.  There are no tracks on that album I could live without.

I'm going to chime in here for a moment or two on a few different subjects:

Roland113 wrote: I'm going to chime in here for a moment or two on a few different subjects: Monsters and Men:  I, like Infandous, have given Monsters and Men more than it's fair share of listens, Paradox Hotel is my favorite FK release, I should probably like the big epic, especially when so many of my esteemed colleagues love it . . . sadly, that never came across for me and really, I kind of gave up on the song.  Still don't care for it.  (though ironically enough, I'm going to give it a listening along with the rest of Paradox Hotel). Top three FK CD's:  1)  Paradox Hotel,  2)  Unfold the Future,  3)  Space Revolver Top four FK tracks:  1)  I am the Sun (complete),  2)  Serious Dreamers,  3)  End on a High Note,  4)  Stardust We Are. I added a fourth because it was so close to 3rd that I included it. Rock on everyone.

I hadn't given it much thought, but Paradox should probably be higher in my list of favorites since I love everything on it except for Monsters and Men.  I'll have to give some serious thought to ranking their albums, since I probably haven't done that in several years.

Roughly for now though:  1) Retropolis, 2) Unfold, 3) Space Revolver
Tracks would be (again, roughly):  1) Garden Of Dreams, 2) Stardust We Are, 3) The Sum Of No Reason

Ok, I'll go with:-

Albums - Flower Power, Space Revolver and Stardust We Are (prob in that order)

Tracks - Garden of Dreams and I Am The Sun (complete) for sure, tough to pick a third to be honest there's so much choice.  I'll go with Theme For A Hero as third choice at the moment.  (Don't worry Nov, Monsters and Men was a contender )

Roj wrote: Ok, I'll go with:- Albums - Flower Power, Space Revolver and Stardust We Are (prob in that order) Tracks - Garden of Dreams and I Am The Sun (complete) for sure, tough to pick a third to be honest there's so much choice.  I'll go with Theme For A Hero as third choice at the moment.  (Don't worry Nov, Monsters and Men was a contender )

Aye think i'll be close to that - Mind u just got my first live CD, Meet the flower kings - played a bit of the opener before the mrs sidetracked me with a better offer! Sounded a LOT better than the studio version to me...can't wait to listen to the rest now.....

M27Barney wrote: Roj wrote: Ok, I'll go with:- Albums - Flower Power, Space Revolver and Stardust We Are (prob in that order) Tracks - Garden of Dreams and I Am The Sun (complete) for sure, tough to pick a third to be honest there's so much choice.  I'll go with Theme For A Hero as third choice at the moment.  (Don't worry Nov, Monsters and Men was a contender ) Aye think i'll be close to that - Mind u just got my first live CD, Meet the flower kings - played a bit of the opener before the mrs sidetracked me with a better offer! Sounded a LOT better than the studio version to me...can't wait to listen to the rest now.....

Roland113 wrote: M27Barney wrote: Roj wrote: Ok, I'll go with:-Albums - Flower Power, Space Revolver and Stardust We Are (prob in that order)Tracks - Garden of Dreams and I Am The Sun (complete) for sure, tough to pick a third to be honest there's so much choice.  I'll go with Theme For A Hero as third choice at the moment.  (Don't worry Nov, Monsters and Men was a contender ) Aye think i'll be close to that - Mind u just got my first live CD, Meet the flower kings - played a bit of the opener before the mrs sidetracked me with a better offer! Sounded a LOT better than the studio version to me...can't wait to listen to the rest now..... Did the offer involve Celine Dion?

Hmmm role playing for REAL DEPRAVOES hey.....Celine Dion and the blind, deaf and dumb postman....well he'd have to be wouldn't he....No she just stroked behind her ears with a pristine copy of Flower Power and the scent of pure prog sent ME WILD...........

So I listened to the first Agents Of Mercy album recently.  I have to say, it's a much better album than I thought when it came out.  I think it got a bad rap because it was basically Roine's follow up to the uber prog of TSONE.  When compared to that (or a lot of other FK albums), it is pretty lightweight.  However, I find my favorites are the songs that were obviously written for the original idea, a Roine acoustic solo album (which I hope he will still do someday).  There is, of course, a nice dollop of prog throughout the album as well, but unlike the next to Agents albums, it doesn't really have much in the way of Rock.  No heaviness at all really.  Though I noticed that the more prog sounding numbers would easily fit on more recent Flower Kings albums (like Paradox Hotel or Banks).  In fact, the most recent Agents album, while great, really doesn't sound much different than the Flower Kings to me, aside from Nad's vocal style and the occasional shred solo from Lalle.  Particularly the title track really sound like a Flower Kings tune to me.  The first and second album have more of a unique vibe to them, even if it is more mellow than we're used to from Roine's projects.

Anyway, just an observation after giving that album (and the Black Forest) a good listening recently, for this first time in probably a year or more.

(and yes, I'd say I like all 3 of them as much as Banks, probably Black Forest I like even more)




Edited by infandous - June 05 2013 at 17:45

I too hope Roine does an acoustic album. Afternoon Skies on the first AoM album is a touch point. I like AoM, but Nad is a bit tough to take at times.