Why many people dislike The Flower Kings

I love TFK.  Their ability to make longer compositions is one of the things about them I find to be so impressive.  They can just extend a tune, and keep going in different directions, but also bring a tune back into focus when it needs to be establishing an identity for the song.  The Flower Kings just don't meander around on their intstruments, they give a song a very defined structure, but it's open enough a listener has difficult predicting what's around the corner, even a veterean listener doesn't know the structure of many of their epics.

They are very good and I don't care if they are considered Retro.

Much better being this way than being like porcupine tree that is now a alternative rock band with scarce prog influences.

I know very little about them, but I know they will not be one of my ultimate favorite bands, cuase in the end they sound too happy jejeje, yes! Thats the truth, and many like it and I think its great, but its not particulary my cup of tea. Yet I have nothing agains them and would happily buy some of their albums, if they wouldnt be so indreidibly expensive here!

opinions, eh? they are, after all, like arseholes. everyone has one and,
at times, to most others, they stink...

^ after, unfortunately ... I would have loved to see the original SB on stage. But they're doing great without him, and they played many of the classics, including Go the Way You Go, The Doorway and The Light.

^ I saw both in concert - The Flower Kings delivered a musically flawless gig but lacked emotion a *little* bit, SB were very enthusiastic and emotional but a *tiny* but less awesome musically. I would recommend both bands without any hesitation!

They are a very good and enjoyable band. Their albums are not masterpieces, though, and they would be better if they selected better their stuff and make single disc albums instead of double albums full of overlong jamming.
But I quite enjoy them.
    

Edited by eddietrooper - October 25 2006 at 07:36

I really liked 'Paradox Hotel' which saw a far, far greater focus than any previous album of theirs I owned, even though it's a double. I don't take to 'The Rainmaker' or even less 'Unfold The Future'- they are full of long, long jazzy ambles that just don't register in my memory bank no matter how much I play them.
And there's the rub. For me it's not the lyrics (which were never the genre's strong point for many old bands either) or the fact they are very derivative. I personally think their whole career can be summed up by two albums- TFTO and 'Focus III'. Both Yes and Focus are obvious influences but it's those two albums with all their slothfulness that seem to form the basis of The Flower Kings sound. That issue aside, myself I very much like that 70s style of symphonic prog. (I however would have rather turned to the 80s neo prog bands than either these or Spock's Beard.)
The biggest problem for me was always the songwriting- there's too few hooks to latch upon and too much noodling. I love solos but not gratuitous ones. And it's THIS band, more than any other of the symphonic acts then and now, that have songs that exist solely for soloing. Most of their albums seem to have long winded, almost jam like instrumentals that don't show great skill to me but rather a sheer lack of quality control, imho.

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probably not ––– but el frippo is a true originator and still a visionary artist
who pushes boundaries and has done more than enough to reinvent the
way the guitar is played. one certainly cannot say that about mr. stolt,
although he is by all means a gifted player. but what is the point? i'm sorry,
but playing relatively mundane guitar and acting like it is manna from
above does in fact influence my opinion on the music.

ah, mustn't grumble, let's not dwell on that... good on yer, roine, keep
playing, because after all it is important that this is kind of music is played!