Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

Well, I have zero interest in compiling a list of songs like this.  Plus, I'm really lazy   The main thing though, is that I just can't do it.  It changes so frequently.  I could come up with a list in no particular order I guess, but that would really just be songs I've loved over the years mixed with some I love now, in no particular order.  Anyway, I probably won't be doing it is what I'm saying.

Being single, I got nothing for Christmas, which is fine by me.  I really dislike Christmas in so many ways it's hard to really know where to begin.  So I'll just leave it at that.

I didn't actually listen to any prog at all over the entire holiday (well, I listened to Lightbulb Sun a lot, but I don't consider PT to be a prog band and certainly not that particular album).  I've actually been fighting the feeling over the past year or two, that I'm getting tired of prog music.  But I have to admit it now.  I think it's not so much that I want to stop listening to it, it's that I need to listen to more different kinds of music.  This is a problem since 90% of my collection is prog   But yeah, I'm feeling burned out I guess.  I will say that TFK, especially the first 4 or 5 albums, still sound great to me and will stay in rotation I have no doubt.

Mostly though, over the holiday, I've been playing guitar and singing, learning new tunes as requested by a female friend of mine.  She likes the Greatful Dead, and it's been quite nice to just sing and play simple melodies and tunes (actually, a couple of the songs are not at all simple to play and sing).  I've also learned a few songs off of Lightbulb Sun, which I turned her on to and which she really enjoys.  So anyway, just a temporary musical diversion for me I'm sure (though back when I started exploring prog rock I was very into the Greatful Dead, who actually had a multipart suite that can only be described as prog, called Terrapin Station).

As to discussion about The Whirlwind, I like it pretty well.  Not great, but really really good.  It definitely grew on me, as my first impressions were that of disappointment.  But now I think it's a very solid album.  Probably somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me.  I doubt very much I'll be going to any of the shows on the tour, I'd much rather save my money for Nearfest where I can hear stuff I haven't heard before and more interesting music (to me) in general.  I think I've made my opinion of Snow pretty clear in previous discussions, but just in case anyone missed it, I find the album weak and uninspired.  Though there is some good stuff on it and of course the musicianship and performances are all top notch.  Just doesn't do anything for me as a whole.

Anyway, it's a new year, with new possibilities.  Have you guys read Tomas Bodin's interview at DPRP?  VERY interesting and informative.  Did you know that none of the band members get royalties for their writing contributions?  That surprised the heck out of me.  They are all hired guns, basically, and Roine gets all royalties.  I guess this is because he pays them for all recording and touring.  Anyway, well worth a read, as it explains why Zoltan will probably never be a member of TFK again (unless Tomas is not in the band).





Edited by infandous - January 06 2010 at 12:14

Roland113 wrote: Roj M30 wrote: Roland113 wrote: ^ and cause I'm into stats: There were a total of 34 bands which I think seems like a small number. Genesis led with 18 songs Our Beloved Flower Kings were second with 10 (though I'd guess they had the most time) Dream Theater took third with 9 songs Phideaux had 6 Peter Gabriel, Porcupine Tree and Spock's Beard each had 5 Frost* had 4 Arena, Karmakanic (FK related) and IQ all had three songs and there were a bunch of bands with either 2 or 1 The newcomer for the count was The Ballad of Jenny Ledge by Toy Matinee coming in at #31 despite only arriving on Christmas.  For those of you who are curious, Toy Matinee was the band that Kevin Gilbert was in before he did Thud. Hey Tom, some great stuff on there.  Really nice list.   Nice to see the Darwins Radio entry there too.  Strangely enough though I prefer the two shorter tracks to the big epic, though I really like all three, it's a great album.   And Time Flies too.  That's a great song and almost on a par with the tracks that inspired it, Sheep and Dogs (from Pink Floyd's Animals).   The new Phideaux album has really blown me away and you've included a couple from it I see .  Number Seven is the only Phideaux album I have.  What else by him would you recommend in similar vein?  ok, one more reply. Thanks Roj, yes, I love the Darwin's Radio CD, thanks for turning me on to that one.  I love the first song, I think the keyboard work in particular is fantastic.  I love the rest of the CD as well, it's just that "The Illusion of Freedom" really speaks to me. Regarding Phideaux, I have three other CD's of his, each of which has it's merits. Of the other three that I have, "Doomsday Afternoon" is my favorite and is on par with "Number 7".  The downside of this is that it's the second CD in a trilogy, if you went with that one, you'd technically be coming in, in the middle of a story.  I'll say this, Doomsday was my first Phideaux CD and obviously it spawned a great affection for the band. Alternately, you could start with "The Great Leap", it's not my favorite of his, but it is the first CD in the story (for the record, the third CD of the trilogy hasn't been released yet). Finally, "Chupacabras" is a magnificent epic, the title track of the CD is fantastic and shows signs of what's to come.  Unfortunately, the remainder of the CD highlights what has already gone.  I don't care for the rest of the CD. Ultimately, I'd probably go with "Doomsday Afternoon", you don't loose that much from the story by coming in in the middle and it's the best CD of the three. Enjoy and I'm glad that you're enjoying Number 7.  I was just listening to that on the way into work this morning. Ok, now I'm really off to work, Tom

The Quiet One wrote: I'll do my top 10 first....   1. Thick as a Brick Part 1 - Jethro Tull 2. Echoes - Pink Floyd 3. Dogs - Pink Floyd 4. The Revealing Science of God - Yes 5. Concerto for Group and Orchestra: 1st Movement - Deep Purple(composed by Jon Lord) 6. The Illinois Enema Bandit - Frank Zappa  7. Can-Utility and the Coastliners - Genesis 8. Any Colour you Like - Pink Floyd 9. A Passion Play Part 1 & 2 - Jethro Tull 10. Yours is No Disgrace - Yes

progrules wrote:   (bold) Great indeed, I really love DR. Maybe the other guys should try them too ! Although you will have to love heavy neo to be a fan of the band. Have you (Roland and Roj) also tried the debut ? Maybe it's slightly less but it's still a very fine album !

I picked up the debut along with Template for a Generation and have only listened to it once or twice.  The debut is good, but it didn't provide the immediate gratification as the follow up.  I think it will grow on me though, I'm looking forward to it.

progrules wrote: ^ quite an update Mike ! Sad to see you're loosing interest in prog. Although I do know how it feels, even I have these moments. Funny thing is I fairly quickly recover from these breakdowns. And that's a good thing for me because if I would loose interest in prog I don't know where I would be (probably in the gutter or something). Yes, it's that important to me !!! Anyway, right now I'm still enjoying prog big time fortunately. I still like to discover new bands mainly. Maybe you should try Invisgoth. I'm curious what you think of them (recently did my review on Narcotica).

Thanks for the suggestion, I will check it out.  I have been very sympho centric in my prog listening for a few years now, so maybe I just need to branch out more (though I have quite a bit of avante/RIO type stuff as well as some fusion, Canturbury, space rock, prog metal, and a few others.................though the prog metal I like most is basically sympho with metal guitars).

Luckily, I like other types of music, and especially when playing my acoustic and singing for friends I have a variety of songs that I know (most of which are not prog at all really).  So I'll be fine regardless. Plus, the Flokis still sound great to me, so all hope is not lost

^    The Orb?  I guess we could put them in progressive dance (don't get me wrong, I totally love The Orb, Little Fluffy Clouds was the entrance song for our wedding reception).

progrules wrote: The Quiet One wrote: I'll do my top 10 first....   1. Thick as a Brick Part 1 - Jethro Tull 2. Echoes - Pink Floyd 3. Dogs - Pink Floyd 4. The Revealing Science of God - Yes 5. Concerto for Group and Orchestra: 1st Movement - Deep Purple(composed by Jon Lord) 6. The Illinois Enema Bandit - Frank Zappa  7. Can-Utility and the Coastliners - Genesis 8. Any Colour you Like - Pink Floyd 9. A Passion Play Part 1 & 2 - Jethro Tull 10. Yours is No Disgrace - Yes     Just one DP song in the top 10 of a DP expert ?? Explain yourself !

I just found an interesting interview with Tomas over at DPRP:

http://www.dprp.net/specials/2010_bodin/

Hey guys,

I wanted to take a moment to give a nod to a very classy guy.

Early last year, the band 3RDegree was featured as the band of the month here on PA.  I listened to the tracks and ended up really liking what I heard.  When I went to 3RP this summer, I ran into Rob Pashman of 3RDegree in his band's booth.  We ended up talking for a bit and he's a really good guy.

So, out of nowhere, I received a facebook message from him thanking me for including their song at number 20 on my list. 

I was really touched to be thanked, it was such a classy move (and I know you're watching this one now Rob).

It you guys haven't heard 3RDegree, you owe it to yourself to go to their page here on PA and listen to the samples:

http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3948

Obviously, I personally love "It Works" it's a great bit of funky prog.

Either way, a very classy act right there.

The Quiet One wrote: M27Barney wrote: progrules wrote: The Quiet One wrote: I'll do my top 10 first....   1. Thick as a Brick Part 1 - Jethro Tull 2. Echoes - Pink Floyd 3. Dogs - Pink Floyd 4. The Revealing Science of God - Yes 5. Concerto for Group and Orchestra: 1st Movement - Deep Purple(composed by Jon Lord) 6. The Illinois Enema Bandit - Frank Zappa  7. Can-Utility and the Coastliners - Genesis 8. Any Colour you Like - Pink Floyd 9. A Passion Play Part 1 & 2 - Jethro Tull 10. Yours is No Disgrace - Yes     Just one DP song in the top 10 of a DP expert ?? Explain yourself ! And No Flokis in there either, I started to compile my top 200 but I'm stuck on a valid rating system - because I reckon that a longer song that has the wow factor has got to be above a shorter track with a similar wow rating.......And in a lot of cases - the whole CD is sort of a track, i.e The Whirlwind and yet has sub parts which are also tracks ??   I'm a big fan of The Flower  Kings and the like, but I don't think I can consider them in my top 10 of all-time favorite Prog songs, that's because they're not from all-time. On the other hand, Deep purple, Pink Floyd, Yes, Zappa and Jethro Tull I have been listening to them constantly as a little kid, I can't imagine without listening to those bands in the future.

Edited by progrules - January 08 2010 at 02:42