FLYING COLORS

"Flying Colors" is the eponymous debut studio album of the American super group Flying Colors and was released in 2012. This super group is formed by Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Steve Morse, Dave LaRue and Casey McPherson. The formation of the group started with the idea of having several virtuoso musicians and a pop singer joined together to make new fashioned music in the old fashioned way. The idea appeared in 2008 by the executive producer Bill Evans and the album was made with the help of the music producer Peter Collins. Intrigued with the idea and the prospect of working together, this group of musicians signed on to a contract to form a band and record a full length studio album.

So, the line up of the album is Casey McPherson (lead vocals), Steve Morse (lead and rhythm guitar), Neal Morse (vocals and keyboards), Dave LaRue (bass guitar) and Mike Portnoy (vocals, drums and percussion).

"Flying Colors" has eleven tracks. The first track "Blue Ocean" starts with a good and solid bass line by Dave LaRue. Vocalist Casey McPherson shows early that he is able to hold his ground within this so strong cast of musicians. By the other hand Steve Morse supplies the first, of what will be the main characteristic of the album, great melodic solos. The second track "Shoulda Coulda Woulda" represents a heavier rock track where Portnoy and LaRue make an excellent rhythm section. It's a standard hard and heavy rock song that shows the high quality of all musicians. This is the heaviest track on the album and is also probably to standard to my personal taste. The third track "Kayla" begins with a very promising way. Soon, I felt that it was to be a strong track with a great melody and a great vocal line by Casey. The vocal line in the chorus takes us into the catchy territory of American bands like Styx, Kansas and Journey. The fourth track "The Storm" is another hook filled track once more with some rally concise and fine guitar solos. I know this is a very standard rock track but, we are in presence of a very well written, performed and executed piece of music. The fifth track "Forever In A Daze" presents us with a fine interplay between Portnoy and LaRue. The song has a nice and rhythmic passage and the vocals are some of the strongest made on the album. The song has a funky, bluesy and even jazzy line and it has also a great guitar work by Steve Morse. The sixth track "Love Is What I'm Waiting For" is typically a commercial pop rock track. This is a song very influenced by The Beatles and it has also some Queen influences, particularly the guitar work that reminds us Brian May. This is a typical song of the 60's and 70's pop rock genre. The seventh track "Everything Changes" is a typical ballad with acoustic guitar to start and a simple back track of drums and bass to keep things moving. Once more we can see the influence of The Beatles on the song. And, once more, we can see a superior vocal and guitar works on this powerful and beautiful ballad. The eighth track "Better Than Walking Away" is another typical American ballad fashion way that gradually becoming louder and heavier and where its climax appears just before the song ends. This is AOR in its optimum form. The ninth track "All Falls Down" is like "Shoulda Coulda Woulda" a heavy rock song with some fast paced drumming and a great riff. It demonstrates that despite should the fancy take them, then the area of progressive metal can be very well on the album. The tenth track "Fool In My Heart" sees Mike Portnoy taking over the microphone. Once again Neal Morse taking the upper hand in the musical arrangement giving the song a rare blend of Portnoy and Morse sound. The bluesy solo by Steve Morse completes the feel of the song. The eleventh and last track "Infinite Fire" is the epic track on the album, the most progressive of all. It's a very well structured song and where we can see clearly the hand of Neal Morse. The song combines several styles of music, from blues to rock, funk and jazz. It's a perfect way to close this intriguing, surprising and magnificent album.

Conclusion: This is the kind of albums that divide the opinions of the prog heads. For the purists, this is an outrage for the progressive rock. It will annoy some radicals for its pop prog tendencies and modern production. Many may ask how can a group of such esteemed progressive musicians make an album like this, with any overt progressive leanings and choose a pop rock singer. Sincerely, I'm not in this group. I sincerely recommend this album, because probably I had no great expectations with it, in the beginning. "Flying Colors" is the kind of albums that grows as I heard it, and the more I heard it, the more I like it. It's true this isn't properly truly a progressive rock album. Still, I like this album, really. As I wrote before, I can't see any weak points on the album and I sincerely like the vocal work of Casey McPherson. So, and concluding, if you're looking for some sort of Transatlantic, Dream Theater or Deep Purple stuff here, you are wrong, and barring the last track "Infinite Fire" this may well not be the album you are looking for. However, if you search for a catchy and crafted melodic rock album with more than just a hint of progressive music, you're in the right place here. It captures your fancy and you willn't give a misused your money and time spent with it.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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