Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

Harry Hood wrote: Agents of Mercy III: The Flower King Part IV Continuing where he left off with "Retropolis", the last part of the epic Flower King Trilogy (preceded by The Flower King and Back In The World of Adventures), Roine Stolt and his Agents of Mercy bring you the next chapter in The Flower King folklore. The story takes place between the events of parts I and II, detailing the previously untold story of The Flower King's first journey to the World of Adventures, where he would first plant the seeds and spin the wheels that lead to the establishment of the utopian city of Retropolis. Lineup: Roine Stolt- Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Percussion Nad Sylvan - Vocals, Keyboards,Percussion Walle Walgren - Drums Lalle Larson - Keyboards and backing vocals Don Azzaro - Bass and MoogTaurus Hasse Bruniusson - Percussion Ulf Wallander - Soprano saxaphone Guest Musicians: Hasse Froberg - Lead Vocals on tracks 4 and 7, backing vocals Tomas Bodin - Hammondorgan on track 2, Keyboardsolo on track 8 Jonas Reingold - Fretless Bass on tracks 5 and 6 Produced by Don Azzaro with Jonas Reingold Recorded at the Cosmic Lodge Distributed by Reingold Records Tomas Bodin appears courtesy of Helicon House

Wait, Jonas isn't part of the official lineup anymore?

Anthony H. wrote: darkshade wrote: Yes! New TFK 2012!!! Link? Also, has anybody heard the Hasse Froberg & Musical Companion album? I was very impressed with it.

I have heard the album.  Really loved it though for some reason it hasn't made my regular rotation.  I don't know why, it's good, I just don't seem to listen to it as much as I should.

Weird, huh.

Roland113 wrote: Anthony H. wrote: darkshade wrote: Yes! New TFK 2012!!! Link? Also, has anybody heard the Hasse Froberg & Musical Companion album? I was very impressed with it. I have heard the album.  Really loved it though for some reason it hasn't made my regular rotation.  I don't know why, it's good, I just don't seem to listen to it as much as I should. Weird, huh.

Yeah, I finally picked that one up, but I've only heard it once.  Sounded pretty decent, and my girlfriend even liked it
Need to give it more spins, but frankly, Neal Morse's Testimony albums and Tour Kaput have taken over my stereo for the time being.

Roland113 wrote: Anthony H. wrote: darkshade wrote: Yes! New TFK 2012!!! Link? Also, has anybody heard the Hasse Froberg & Musical Companion album? I was very impressed with it. I have heard the album.  Really loved it though for some reason it hasn't made my regular rotation.  I don't know why, it's good, I just don't seem to listen to it as much as I should. Weird, huh.

 

infandous wrote: Harry Hood wrote: Yeah that was just  bit of fanfiction. Presumably if Don Azzaro were involved, Jonas would be playing the majority of his parts. Don Azzaro didn't actually know how to play bass. Because he was never a real person. There's just something really special about those first three albums. The band went in a noticeably different direct after Retropolis. By no means is this a bad thing, they definitely evolved musically into something more amazing, I just miss a lot of those fantasy elements.  Listening to the Agents reminds me a lot of the magic on those first three albums. There's a certain carefree element to the way the Agents play. This positive spirit that flows through the music that brings me back to TFK's humble beginnings. I think it would be cool if they revisited the mythology. Plus I'd love to hear Nad sing lead vocals on some of those classic tracks(especially Big Puzzle, Go West Judas, and The Flower King). To my ears, the change really only happened with Space Revolver.  Those first 5 albums all have the same vibe to my ears.  What I love is the even mix of vocal songs and instrumental songs, that disappeared with Space Revolver, never to return.  Though I love the directions they went in after that, I still miss that magical sound those first 5 albums had.

infandous wrote:   No doubt that Unfold was the biggest change of style, I won't argue that.  I still think though, that Space Revolver marked the beginning of that direction, being Jonas' first album.  There are a number of jazzy bits on that album as well, even a couple on Rainmaker.  It could be that SR was the first new album to come out after I had become a big fan, and that is why it seems so different to me.  It could also be because Roine was unhappy with the sound on Flower Power and bought all new equipment for his studio to record SR.  In any case, Unfold was a huge change in a lot of ways.  TSoNE was indeed a return to form, and I love it for that reason, though to me it sounds more like a combination of Space Revolver with Unfold the Future, albeit a pretty seamless combination.  I would be quite pleased if he writes the next album in the same vein.

So I'm going to reprise the search for another new TFK album. Usually I can search myself for new albums by bands/artists, but TFK's average ratings for all their albums is around 3.82 so it's hard to tell which ones are the best or whatnot.

For those who don't know, here are the albums I have, in order from favorite to least favorite (I love em all though)

1. Unfold the Future (my absolute fav. I love every song)
2. Space Revolver (I also love this album)
3. Stardust We Are
4. The Sum Of No Evil
5. Flower Power

So what should I get next?

Funny enough I was looking at Paradox Hotel, as I'm a big fan of the rhythm section of Jonas/Zoltan, though I noticed Zoltan isn't on that one.

How is Adam & Eve?

What I like most about Paradox Hotel, is that it is quite a different sounding and feeling album for them.  I mean, it's still obviously the same band but it just seems like such a different album from all the others.  For the record though, I still find Monsters and Men to be pretty dull and one of their more difficult epics to sit through for me.

Adam & Eve would contain the other more difficult to sit through epics for me.  Honestly though, I like both albums well enough, but would rank Paradox far ahead of Adam & Eve, which is still my least favorite Flower Kings album.

Frankly darkshade, if you Unfold is your absolute favorite, you aren't going to find anything else to compete with it.  I consider it their best album, though my favorite is Retropolis.

I would say go with Paradox Hotel though anyway, as it's a good one to hear a different side of the band.  Just be sure to give it plenty of listens before you decide whether you like it or not.  I wasn't sure I liked it after a couple listens, but it really grew on me with each one after that.

infandous wrote:   For the record though, I still find Monsters and Men to be pretty dull and one of their more difficult epics to sit through for me.

It's the first TFK song I ever heard, and it remains my favorite still!