Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

Right now:

1.   Jonwayne - Rap Album One
2.   Haken - the Mountain
3.   Steven Wilson - The Raven that Refused to Sing
4.   Ayreon - the Theory of Everything
5.   Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
6.   Disclosure - Settle
7.   Darkside - Psychic
8.   Arcade Fire - Reflektor
9.   Satan - Life Sentence
10. The Flower Kings - Desolation Rose
11. Sound of Contact - Dimensionaut
12. Comedy of Errors - Fanfare & Fantasy
13. Nick Cave - Push The Sky Away
14. Daft Punk - Random Acces Memories
15. Savages - Silence Yourself

Still waiting for 100 harder to find prog albums
Anyway : a splendid year for me

This was the top 10 I posted a couple of pages back:-

1.  Steven Wilson - The Raven....
2.  Boards of Canada - Tomorrows Harvest
3.  Klaus Schulze - Shadowlands
4.  Rovo/System 7 - Phoenix Rising
5.  Flower Kings - Desolation Rose
6.  Amplifier - Echo Street
7.  Ulrich Schnauss/Mark Peters - Tomorrow Is Another Day
8.  Future Sound of London - Environments 4
9.  Black Sabbath - 13
10.  Big Big Train - EE Part 2

I stick with it except the Ulrich Schnauss/Mark Peters cd goes up a few places.  If atmospheric but melodic electronic music is your bag this is an absolute treat.

All told 2013 was a pretty disappointing year for prog.  Too many albums that left me underawed.  DT's didn't even make the top 10, that's a pretty limp effort.  I found the BBT a big step down from their previous 3 releases.  Amplifier's is definitely way below their last one.  TFK's is a good album but nothing to get really excited about.

infandous wrote: Well, I realized I have maybe 10 releases from 2013, so I can't even really do a "top 10" of the year since at least 2 of those 10 don't really do much for me. Agree with Barney that Wilson's Raven album is probably the finest slice of prog released this year. A friend actually loaned me his copy of "Fanfare & Fantasy".........my first impression is that it's pretty bland. Generic neo-prog is my next thought. Of course, that is only one listen, so I'll have to give a couple more spins.........

I got my copy on the 25th (Fanfare & Fantasy), this was on my list for the Mrs because I had read a few reviews (PA again becoming an essential tool to evaluate potential purchases). I listened to the CD on boxing day night, and it immediately made an impact - since then I have spun it three more times - each time it has got better. "Bland" isn't my take - "Sheer brilliance" is my take - and I would say that this CD goes straight into those which I consider the "Cream" of my collection...Maybe it's just me - but it's brilliance is only marred by fading out of tracks (I like a track to have a definitive end) and the absence of a truly long epic! - I hope that this Scottish outfit have the balls to go for it on their next release as I reckon they have the ability to produce a top ten of all time CD !!!

Everything in this pile-of-sh*t country is London-centric, North west England has a population of more than 10 million, you would think that they could sell enough tickets for at least one concert in Manchester!

I have pre-ordered Kaleidoscope - TA - suppose I'm going to buy it for completionist reasons!!! Might not have the godawful lyrics that I'm expecting.
Mind you I keep raving on about new finds and then find out that what I consider "sublime" isn't doing it for anybody else who frequents this thread - I'll have to start my own appreciation thread me-thinks!!

infandous wrote: M27Barney wrote: infandous wrote: Well, I realized I have maybe 10 releases from 2013, so I can't even really do a "top 10" of the year since at least 2 of those 10 don't really do much for me. Agree with Barney that Wilson's Raven album is probably the finest slice of prog released this year. A friend actually loaned me his copy of "Fanfare & Fantasy".........my first impression is that it's pretty bland. Generic neo-prog is my next thought. Of course, that is only one listen, so I'll have to give a couple more spins......... I got my copy on the 25th (Fanfare & Fantasy), this was on my list for the Mrs because I had read a few reviews (PA again becoming an essential tool to evaluate potential purchases). I listened to the CD on boxing day night, and it immediately made an impact - since then I have spun it three more times - each time it has got better. "Bland" isn't my take - "Sheer brilliance" is my take - and I would say that this CD goes straight into those which I consider the "Cream" of my collection...Maybe it's just me - but it's brilliance is only marred by fading out of tracks (I like a track to have a definitive end) and the absence of a truly long epic! - I hope that this Scottish outfit have the balls to go for it on their next release as I reckon they have the ability to produce a top ten of all time CD !!! As I said, I only listened once.  Seeing as how a couple others mentioned it here as being in their top 10, I'll have to give it more listens.  Maybe I wasn't in the right mood or paying enough attention.  It certainly wasn't bad, or off-putting.

I was certainly caught off-guard by the impact it made on me - most of the CD's I end up loving, sort of sneak up on me and suddenly - WHAMMO - it's been upgraded from a C-lister to the CREAM....I think it may have something to do with mood - because I definitely have to be in a certain frame of mind to spin a prog-metal CD.....Mind you I have so many CD's now - I just have trouble selecting the best current mood CD - because I invariably fancy listening to about four or five....and can never decide easily....

Wonder if there exists (on planet earth) another human being with EXACTLY the same musical taste as myself? Seems fairly unlikely as both our brains would have to have exactly the same connections! an almost impossible coincidence too improbable to imagine really!!!

zumacraig wrote: M27Barney wrote: Wonder if there exists (on planet earth) another human being with EXACTLY the same musical taste as myself? Seems fairly unlikely as both our brains would have to have exactly the same connections! an almost impossible coincidence too improbable to imagine really!!! given infinite time and probability, it could happen.

Well, if my attempts at performing the music I love for small crowds is any indication, it won't happen anytime soon


Edited by infandous - January 13 2014 at 15:22

infandous wrote: My friend also got IQ "Frequency" and loaned me that as well.  Surprisingly right now is the first time I've ever heard it.  I've always had a fondness for IQ, for some reason the only "neo-prog" band (defined as early 80's british bands with a very heavy genesis influence) that I can enjoy.  Anyway, this is a pretty cool album, though quite "by the number" for IQ.  Still, they've found their "sound" and they are sticking to it.  They have a decent fan base I think.Anyway, I realize it's a 2009 album, but to me it's brand new

I absolutely love the title track! - The rest of the CD is good but nowhere near the quality of the opening track unfortunately. So there is a CD which promises loads then fails to deliver....Mind you , I find that a lot of my CD's have one outstanding effort with loads of indifferent stuff...I may have to start burning my own compilations!