Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

^ True that is always a point of contention with DT.....are they just too talented to all be in 1 group? Myung is never really spot lighted as much as he should be. He and Portnoy did make a great rhythm combo, much better than he and Mangini, I just find Mangini's playing is too fast. Clearly Rudess is a talent on the keys but the music he plays is becoming too predictable.

Interesting as I find TBF a good listen, the one I struggle with is Dramarama...but honestly all of them are just a good listen to me, nothing too spectacular I suppose, at least for me. It's good music for sure.......

Roj wrote: I like all 3 AoM releases and (whisper it) some of the material is superior to some of the material on last 2 TFK albums .  Not sure which of the AoM I prefer, it's a really tough call.  The first one is lovely and pastoral, I might give that one the vote. Good news is there's a new Karmakanic album on the way (release date in July I believe).  Only three tracks and one of them a 31 minute epic.  Sounds interesting.

Well, I agree with you about AoM.  I actually prefer all those albums generally over the last two FK albums, but some tracks on those aren't as good as some tracks on those last two FK albums (if that makes sense).  The title track of Black Forest would have been great on a FK album......I do like Nad's singing but I think I generally prefer the Froberg/Stolt combination.  In any case, I think TBF is my favorite of the 3, followed by Dramarama and then the debut.  At the time those were coming out, I felt they were TFK's light.........until the two recent FK albums came out and I realized THOSE were TFK's light

That Karmakanic sounds promising!  I wasn't crazy about the last one, aside from the opening track that was just okay.  I only played it two or three times and haven't felt the need to listen to it again.  I've actually been listening to Wheel Of Life again lately and that is a freaking KILLER album.  Whose The Boss is quite good as well, though a bit over polished to my ears.

infandous wrote: Catcher10 wrote: Interesting as I find TBF a good listen, the one I struggle with is Dramarama...but honestly all of them are just a good listen to me, nothing too spectacular I suppose, at least for me. It's good music for sure....... What is this Unifaun? Unifaun is Nad's other album.  It's almost entirely him, but another guy plays keys and co-wrote some of it.  I have it but haven't listened to it since I got it.  The new one is much better to my ears.  I will have to pull the Unifaun back out though, as I recall it being similar in style.

because of a downer I`ve been unwell so music as taken a back seat lately but I`ve been finding happier times due to the vinyl album " Stardust We Are " its so uplifting add SB V and you`ll be right on the £££££...

Boo . . . *runs off madly once again*

http://www.insideoutmusic.com/newsdetailed.aspx?IdNews=16848&IdCompany=8

Jon Anderson & Roine Stolt team up for ‘The Invention Of Knowledge’

Anderson / Stolt, the brand new duo of legendary Yes vocalist & singer/songwriter Jon Anderson and progressive rock veteran Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings, Transatlantic), have announced the release of their collaborative album ‘The Invention Of Knowledge’ for 24th June 2016 via InsideOut Music.
Jon Anderson had this to say: “.....Music is always the driving force in my life...working with such a wonderful musician as Roine Stolt made the creation of this album very unique,we are very excited with the release of 'Invention of Knowledge'.“
Roine Stolt adds: “It is not aiming at being new Yes music; just new music, modern and classical, rock and ethno, tribal and orchestrated, grooving and floating. Hopefully in the true spirit of “progressive” - leaning forward, surprising and also comforting with familiar run-arounds.
We’ve been “inventing” as we go along - Jon is an endless source of new ideas. We’ve been bouncing ideas back and forth for months and as a result there are probably dozens of versions of these songs. It’s been a very interesting and rewarding time and the result is just insanely detailed.”
InsideOut label-head Thomas Waber comments: “I have been talking to Jon for ages about making an album of ‘Yes music’ – as Jon calls it - and Roine seemed like the perfect guy for him to work with. I am really happy that it has finally happened and I am also thrilled with the material they have come up with. I think it will please a lot of fans!”
The idea came to life swiftly off the back of a performance from Roine’s band Transatlantic, and Jon Anderson on the Progressive Nation At Sea Cruise in 2014, and was initially instigated by InsideOut Music label boss Thomas Waber. The duo set about crafting new music in the spirit of early epic works such as ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’, ‘Awaken’ & ‘Olias Of Sunhillow’, but giving it a modern twist.
Written & recorded over the course of 1 and a half years, the tracks have been in a state of constant change as Roine and Jon swapped & refined ideas by sending tracks to each other via the internet. In March 2015, an ensemble was put together by Roine to realise the music live in the studio. Joining him there was Tom Brislin (who played on the Yes Symphonic tour) & Lalle Larsson on keys, Jonas Reingold & Michael Stolt on bass and Felix Lehrmann on drums. The sessions were also bolstered by appearances from Daniel Gildenlöw, Nad Sylvan, Anja Obermayer, Maria Rerych and Kristina Westas who all provided backing vocals.
The full track-listing for the album is as follows:
• Knowing 17:45
• Everybody Heals 13:20
• Invention Of Knowledge 23:10
• Know 11.20
Keep an eye out for more news in the coming weeks!
ANDERSON / STOLT
online:www.jonanderson.com

www.flowerkings.se

Artwork: Silas Toball

Catcher10 wrote: ^ That sounds interesting........Although I hope it's not some Jon music like what he did with Jean-Luc Ponty. that was too eclectic for my tastes. The supporting musicians are good I hear

Well, the Inside Out guy had been pushing Jon to do more "Yes" like music for years, and it was he who suggested he work with Roine.  So I'm thinking this just might be pretty good

It sounds very inspired.  Roine does well with some time between projects.

Probably not terribly relevant here, but I've listened to the new DT a few times now.  I guess if you like Disney Princess ballads performed by Winger, this is the album for you.

It's really not terrible (aside from the lyrics, of course) but I do wonder what they were thinking with all those cheesy ballads?  Even the more typical DT stuff sounds pretty generic and uninspired.  On the other hand, I've never heard LaBrie sound so good, and he's usually my least favorite thing about the band.  Overall, it's interesting I guess, but not memorable and certainly not their finest hour, IMO.