Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

Hey Page 30 !!

Nov wrote: infandous wrote: Jonas once told me that Tomas was not a great technician (i.e. playing technique), not a great player per say.  But that he was a genius when it came to sounds and atmosphere.  I think this makes sense, though he does have some very good solos on some of his solo work and here and there with the Kings.  But he is definitely vital to their sound. Just like that other great "TB" - Tony Banks These are my 2 favourute keyboard players precisely for those reasons.

Nov,

I'm sorry but I disagree with you one hundred percent when it comes to Tony Banks.  I know that this is a strong statement, but Tony Banks is the greatest keyboard player in the history of rock.  While Bodin is good in his own regard, he just doesn't take control of things the way Banks does. 

I had to do some digging to come up with great Tomas Bodin parts (and I finally did think of two), Tony Banks, I could list out ten fantastically memorable parts at the drop of a hat.  Tony Banks combines the ability to create a fantastic soundscape (for instance, Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Mama, Watcher of the Skies, Entangled), a horribly melodic solo (Cinema Show, The Slipperman), a blisteringly technical solo (In the Cage, Firth of Fifth) a strong melody line (Lurker, One for the vine) or finally a beautiful rhythm part (The Battle of Epping Forest, Turn It On Again).  See, there's twelve parts right there. 

Tomas Bodin does a great job of adding to the background of Flower King's music whereas Banks controls a lot of Genesis music. 

Tom

progrules wrote: Interesting thoughts about Tomas guys ! A real eye opener for me because I always thought he was the best in the business. And in some occasions he still is for me but I guess there is a lot of sense in what you're saying. His performances on Monsters & Men, Big Puzzle and Serious Dreamers are stunning though don't you think. At least give him some praise !  And also for his efforts as a team player.

Henk,

Tomas is definitely deserving of praise, I'm not trying to say that he isn't good.  He is absolutely vital to the sound of The Flower Kings.  I just don't think he stands out.  Some of the best bass players are the ones that are rock solid and don't draw attention to themselves.  Tomas Bodin plays a similar keyboard style, he doesn't draw a lot of attention to himself.

And yes, he does do a great job on "Serious Dreamers" though I would't vote for those as my favorites.  My favorite two Tomas Bodin moments:  The soft piano solo at the fifteen minute mark of "Stardust We Are".  That part can give me chills.  Also, I really enjoy what he does on "There is More to This World".

Hey, I'm back after my week long vacation! What have I missed?

Anyway, I just read M27Barney's review of Paradox Hotel, and I think one of us should PM him with a link to this thread.


Edited by progrocker2244 - August 02 2009 at 05:49

Roland113 wrote: lazland wrote: progrules wrote: Hey Page 30 !! No, really, I have to make a serious comment here as well: did you guys see M27Barney's review of Paradox Hotel ?? (or should I say of Monster & Men ?). I think we will have to notify him about this thread. I believe we found another fan, don't you ? I saw that, and yes we have Ditto, we should totally bring him in

Alright I stopped procrastinating and sent him a PM. Here it is:

M27Barney,

I was reading your review of Paradox Hotel and REALLY sound like a TFK fan. Me and some other guys were talking about letting you know that there is a Flower Kings appreciation thread in the forums that we think you would benefit from.

It's 30 pages long already so here's the link to the thirtieth page:

http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=54797&PID=3332992#3332992

Hope to see you there!

-Jeff (PROGROCKER2244)

What do you guys think?

Nov wrote: Just like that other great "TB" - Tony Banks These are my 2 favourite keyboard players precisely for those reasons.

Roland113 wrote: Nov, I'm sorry but I disagree with you one hundred percent when it comes to Tony Banks.  I know that this is a strong statement, but Tony Banks is the greatest keyboard player in the history of rock.

I'm not really sure what you're disagreeing with. Tony Banks is my musical hero.

All I'm saying there is that Tomas Bodin comes the closest to what I love about Tony Banks than anyone else I've heard in the last 10 or 15 years.






Edited by Nov - August 02 2009 at 17:18

progrules wrote: Roland113 wrote: lazland wrote: progrules wrote: Hey Page 30 !! No, really, I have to make a serious comment here as well: did you guys see M27Barney's review of Paradox Hotel ?? (or should I say of Monster & Men ?). I think we will have to notify him about this thread. I believe we found another fan, don't you ? I saw that, and yes we have Ditto, we should totally bring him in   In the case we are all thinking someone else will do it or the other way around we all do it one after another: who's gonna PM him ?

Roland113 wrote: Nov, Sorry, my initial post was a little misleading.  I agree with you that Tony Banks is a fantastic player, all I was trying to say is that I don't personally think that Mr. Bodin is in the same class as Mr. Banks.  I like what Tomas does, I just wouldn't list him in my top ten keyboard players, at least not based on his body of work with "The Flower Kings".  With that being said, I picked up "I Am" not too long ago and am eager to hear what he sounds like on his own.  My hope is that I'll gain a new respect for him and have a considerable higher opinion of him. Sorry for the confusion.

I AM is my favorite FK side project album of them all.  I should warn you about the vocals though, they can be harsh at times.  This was what Tomas wanted though, and the singer is actually a very good singer when he is required to sing in a less harsh manner.  And the harsh parts are limited to a couple of spots early on in the album.  The guy actually does a pretty good Roine impression on some of the softer parts.  All of this IMO, and I personally have come to love the vocals from start to finish.

As to his playing, I agree with what Jonas Reingold told me, that Tomas is a master at picking the perfect keyboard sounds to create the perfect atmosphere for a given piece of music but is not a master technician in the way Rick Wakeman or Tony Banks would be.

I'm certain the Flower Kings would not sound the same without him.  However, since he is the reason Zoltan is not in the band, I'm not sure I'd be too upset if he left and they brought Zoltan back for good   That said, I'm a fan of Tomas, especially his solo work, but I agree he is not as much of an up front keys player as Banks or Wakeman or Emerson or Rudess or any other out front type keys player.

Damn, i still don't have I AM.

I only own Sonic Boulevard from Tomas.