Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

infandous wrote: https://www.dropbox.com/home Not sure how much space you get, but it's completely free, and I haven't noticed any ads or pop ups at all.  A friend and I have traded some albums using this, and the downloads are very quick (though we only did MP3's, so I imagine lossless would take a bit longer).

darkshade wrote: I haven't listened to the edit, Dennis, but I will listen to it when I get the itch to throw on some TFK.

Thanks, I knew I could count on a guy from Jersey.

Do you guys do vinyl?  i recently got a player and i think it sounds like crap.  i think cps are better.

DM,
Well, I see that you have the Banks vinyl. Roine mentioned that it has a different mix than the CD. I'm curious about that. Also, all this talk of loudness and dynamic range. Then I had this fantasy of what it would be like to listen to records, man:). So I went out and got Fragile on vinyl and a mid level turntable. I can definitely hear more of the instruments and some of the songs sound like different versions, to my surprise. But the sound is tinny and just reminds me of my mom playing Carpenters records non stop when I was a kid. Not to mention, it's kind of a pain in the ass.

I do miss the album length and sides A and B. On vinyl Whirlwind would be 4 albums!

Just finished Flower Power, one of the best albums you can listen to after burning a little bit of tea. 

infandous wrote: zuma, on vinyl, there is a certain warmth of sound that you get that you don't have with CD's.  Though I've been told that is because of reduced dynamic range.  And I don't miss the crackle and pop of vinyls either. No, I've always preferred CD's, even back when most CD's were just a direct rip from the vinyl mix.

Hm - I still have all my vinyl and a mothballed turntable & amp...I'm just not bothered with the endless warch that gets discussed about sound-quality blah blah blah..if the ultimate quality is what you seek...you will probably not be happy - CD's are convenient and a reasonable enough representation of the music.....I have an aquaintance who was telling me how he had now got into black american music from the 20/30's - only to be found on very rare gramophone records (78's) - thus the extremely retro listening - but he just likes being into music that only three people in britain are listening to.

dennismoore wrote: zumacraig wrote: DM, Well, I see that you have the Banks vinyl. Roine mentioned that it has a different mix than the CD. I'm curious about that. Also, all this talk of loudness and dynamic range. Then I had this fantasy of what it would be like to listen to records, man:). So I went out and got Fragile on vinyl and a mid level turntable. I can definitely hear more of the instruments and some of the songs sound like different versions, to my surprise. But the sound is tinny and just reminds me of my mom playing Carpenters records non stop when I was a kid. Not to mention, it's kind of a pain in the ass.   I bought the vinyl, cause I do recognize the sentimentality of vinyl LP records. And, apart from all the silly talk I love to spew around here, I support the bands I love, so when I learned that Infandous was totally confused and that Banks Of Eden was in fact a triumphant return to glory, I bought both the CD & the LP to have some actual physicality along with the music. The LP crowd are right about one thing and that is; it is nice to have a physical element when you purchase music.  The small & cheap plastic CD & case has always sucked...  About the quality of sound with vinyl records, a good place to start is here:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range   Vinyl has such a limited dynamic range and that is if you have the best possible elements. A pristine high quality pressing, a very expensive cartridge & turntable and good A/D converter.  Even with all this vinyl falls way short of what digital has to offer.  Yet of course people are always free to believe what they like and can make up things like vinyl having a "warm" sound, which is supported nowhere in actual science. I've worked for 30 years in electronics and computers so I could bury you in data and websites about actual technology to support this but that would bore you to tears.  Fact is, unless you spend thousands on audio gear vinyl will sound like crap(like you experienced) and you would still be way short of what you get even with a CD and a half-way good system.  Vinyl has many other pitfalls such as inner groove distortion and other problems that further decay sound quality.  Blah, blah, blah...   Plus, I thought the LP record of Banks Of Eden would be a good photographic prop. And more importantly to show you jokers how serious I am about Roine and the lads.

I am not confused.  Neither are you.  "Return to glory" though?  I just don't hear it, and neither do many people on this thread.  Of course, you just threw that in there to pull my leg, so to speak, so it's all good.  Just had to respond though, as you knew I would   Seriously though, if I was comparing the Flower Kings to other bands output, I would say that they are amazingly consistent and there is very little change in quality of the albums across their catalog.  We just all have our favorites and not so favorites.  For me, the Flower Kings hold up quite a bit better in terms of consistent quality than ANY of the big 70's bands (Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, ELP, Gentle Giant, etc.).  So when I say Banks is "disappointing", just remember that in the grand scheme, that just means it's "only" a very good album (as opposed to a "return to glory").

As to vinyl, thanks for repeating what I said, only with a lot more words and specifics 

I've always preferred CD's, ever since I first heard one.

Infandous-

Right. Mixing, production, mastering all play a roll. Some music I don't to be about hot. The 70s discs even on cd sound warmer and are easier to listen to. Early spocks bears is the closest I've head to this and that stuff is low in dynamics if you look at be sound wave. It just seems that in 85 their was collective decision to make stuf tinny, wet and loud. There is a bit of this in TFK. The drums are a little too fated in some spots. However, GFTO has a big sound but still sounds good. Who knows. My baseline theory is that if a tune is awesome, ill listen to it on any medium at any quality. Last Minute on Earth comes to mind :)

dennismoore wrote: infandous wrote: I am not confused.  Neither are you.  "Return to glory" though?  I just don't hear it, and neither do many people on this thread.  Of course, you just threw that in there to pull my leg, so to speak, so it's all good.  Just had to respond though, as you knew I would   Seriously though, if I was comparing the Flower Kings to other bands output, I would say that they are amazingly consistent and there is very little change in quality of the albums across their catalog.  We just all have our favorites and not so favorites.  For me, the Flower Kings hold up quite a bit better in terms of consistent quality than ANY of the big 70's bands (Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, ELP, Gentle Giant, etc.).  So when I say Banks is "disappointing", just remember that in the grand scheme, that just means it's "only" a very good album (as opposed to a "return to glory").   ROFLMFAO           Hahaha.  I got you!, though you played it very calm, cool & collected as not to show it.   I am touched that you actually read my threads.   As to the "many people on this thread"...  they are mostly with me & The Chicken Farmer Song, do remember that.   Good point about continuity, though comparing to YES is a bit of a reach. From their first all the way to GFTO they were God-Like quite frankly.   You are a good lad & a dear friend.     @Zuma:  You are way too kind my friend!   @Barney: nice touch on the LP record thing, though as always I don't understand some of your words, One of us sure needs to work on our English.

Well, from Yes' first album to going for the one was what, 8 years?  I think the Flower Kings doubled Yes' output in the amount of time, with most of it being far better than the first two Yes albums (and better than a couple of the other ones, IMO).  When it comes to quantity AND quality, I think the FK's have done much better over 18 years than Yes did over their first 18 years.  Of course, the FK's don't really have anything quite as iconic or groundbreaking as Yes did in those first 8 years (though, again, I would argue that Garden Of Dreams and a few other tracks are in the ball park, at least).  However, if we set that aside, TFK's have been far more consistent, without question.