Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

I'm going to chime in here to say that Adam & Eve was my first disappointment when it came to TFK albums.  I started listening to them in 1999, and the first album I bought brand new was Alive On Planet Earth, first studio album was Space Revolver, which I loved immediately.  Unfold took me quite a while to really fall in love with, but that's not surprising since it was a departure in some ways from the previous albums of the 90's, which are still far and away my favorites from the band.  It's interesting though, since there are tracks on every TFK album that I didn't like going back The Flower King solo album from Roine.  After always listening to the complete albums over the years, I've actually come to realize that I DO like those songs for the most part, though they are my least favorite tracks on their given albums.  I'm thinking of things like Stupid Girl, My Cosmic Lover, Magic Pie, Different People, for examples.  Now, as I said, I like all those songs now, but initially I didn't because they weren't "prog" enough for me at the time.

Personally, I thought and still think Paradox Hotel was a big step up from Adam & Eve, even if I still fine the big epic Monsters and Men to be mostly uninteresting to me even today (but not bad by any means, just not one of their better epics for me....and I know I'm in a minority on that one).  The last album I really loved was Sum of no Evil, and that one took a few listens to really get into for me, but I still think it's up there with the 90's albums.

After that though, there hasn't been any albums that I have loved and for me, Banks of Eden was huge disappointment.  It's grown on me over the years by I still don't think it's great, just a decent TFK album.  Everything since has been in the good to just okay range, with Islands being the one I like the most since Banks, but still not one I would rank anywhere near the 90's stuff or Sum.

So I get that feeling that their best work is far behind them.  I think it's interesting that Roine went back to the 90's and early 2000's to develop material for at least the most recent album, though I don't know if that was the case for the new one.  I do wonder if that is part of the "sameness" that people are hearing, at least on the most recent album (which still hasn't really clicked for me, though it's not a bad album by any means).

A friend of mine says these remaster/remixes are going all the up to and including Desolation Rose!

Personally, I'm good with my CD's I bought on release.  I think they all sound great.  I've heard a few of the latest batch of remasters/remixes and while some of the remixing is interesting, I don't really have any desire to own them.  I certainly don't fault Roine for wanting to make extra money, though from what he's said it sounds like it was InsideOut that prompted this most recent run (as well as the box sets a few years ago).