Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

Well, I stay away for a few days and we have added 3 pages!!!  

All I can say about what makes them so great, is that the first time I put on my first Flower Kings album (Retropolis........I bought that and Stardust We Are back in 1999 without having heard a note of their music) I started grinning from the first notes of the title track and it just got wider and wider until the end.  I can't really say what exactly it is that appeals to me so much about this band, but my impression back then was that they had managed to blend in just about everything I've ever loved about prog (and even music in general) into their albums.

Someone mentioned the melodies lacking or something, but I've been realizing again recently that EVERY SINGLE song of theirs is build almost entirely around various interesting and often quite beautiful melodies.

Anyway, as to my favorites in order, Retropolis is my favorite, Adam & Eve my least favorite, and all the others fall somewhere in between depending on which one I'm listening to   Just a great, great band is all I can say.

Finally, to Progrules, I should mention that all those reviews were written over the past several years........but were posted before I figured out how to have my name be a link to my profile page.  So they were all missing.  I had wanted to rewrite and edit many of them, so I decided to do it.  So, yes, I cheated a little   (but, in my defense, some of them, like Flower Power, are considerably more detailed than they were originally)

I've been a fan since that day back in 1999.  I've seen the band only twice, however, but both times with Zoltan on drums (my favorite drummer); both times in 2003 (and both times in New Jersey, oddly enough).  I've chatted with Roine (about his favorite Zappa albums), Jonas and Zoltan (when I had dinner with the Karmakanic boys at Rosfest), and Hasse Brunusson as well (who was an incredibly interesting and fun person to talk with.........we chatted about all sorts of music).

My favorite Flower King related moment was when Jonas told the American waitress at the place we had dinner in Phenoixville that "in Sweden, we don't use money, only cheese".    Her expression was actually the funniest part.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, but you guys got ahead of me!  Keep it up!


Edited by infandous - May 19 2009 at 13:50

Roland113 wrote: cacho wrote: Songs like I Am The Sun, The Flower King, Minor Giant Steps, Love Supreme and One More Time are very well defining "epics" of the sound of The Flower Kings. If you have heard any of these, and really don't find any greatness, I think you shouldn't look deeper, until maybe someday they'll click you... I think Cacho summed it up best with that line right there.  If you've listened to all of those and don't enjoy them, maybe they aren't the band for you.  In addition, so many bands in the prog scene are referred to as 'dark' and while, i like many of them, I think The Flower Kings provide a certain level of balance.  Not only are their melodies uplifting, but the actual lyrics are positive without being 'beat 'em over the head religious'.

Pink Floyd wrote: I feel as if I'm missing the point.

Yes you are

Personally speaking, as someone who grew up with Yes, Genesis, Camel, Pink Floyd, etc, etc, The Flower Kings are right up there with those bands and I certainly listen more to them nowadays than all those bands put together. Far more if truth be told.

So, yeah, in my opinion, you are missing the point.

I hate to break up the party, but I'd like to take a moment to address this nagging question of mine, what makes the flower kings so great? I've gotten several of their albums and listened to them many times, but I can't figure out what it is that everyone else seems to hear. While I do enjoy their material, it has never really impressed me. I feel as if I'm missing the point.

Roj M30 wrote: If the rest of the two discs was stony silence I'd give Paradox Hotel 5 stars!!!

cacho wrote: ^I agree, Paradox Hotel is 0% jazzy influenced... It's more diverse, with straight rockers, proggy ones, acoustic.  I find it excellent... The jazzy ones are Space Revolver, Rainmaker, Unfold the Future and bits of Sum of no Evil...

Love Paradox Hotel, though I agree with the others on here, I wouldn't really call it Jazzy. 

Hmm, since we're listening Flower King CD's, I'll throw my current two cents in.  Amusingly enough, I know we did this on page three or something, so it will be interesting to compare:

11)  Adam and Eve    (Yeah, I'm totally doing it backwards for the dramatic effect)
10)  The Flower King
09)  The Rainmaker
08)  Back in the World of Adventures
07)  The Sum of No Evil
06)  Unfold the Future
05)  Retropolis
04)  Flower Power (This one has really been growing on me lately)
03)  Stardust We Are
02)  Space Revolver (also growing on me lately)
01)  Paradox Hotel

angelmk wrote: ^^ The Flower Kings army on PA is growing .. i'am glad . and  The Flower King album is great experience too, not to mention Transatlantic , that is scarily awesome music

Agreed, can't wait for the new Transatlantic personally, I'm hoping they end up headlining 3RP 2010 (just in case you're reading this Howard).

lazland wrote: Roland113 wrote: lazland wrote: Following some recent posts, I downloaded Stardust We Are a couple of weeks ago, which I had criminally neglected to buy. It's barely been off the MP3 player since. An incredible work, Church of Your Heart and the title track must rank as two of the most wondrous and beautiful pieces of music ever performed and written, in any genre. Thanks to this site and forum, I am now a fully paid up member of TFK appreciation society, and will definitely be completing my collection with the missing LPs not in my collection. An exceptional band who are giving me so much pleasure - so thanks to all who recommended Lazland, Welcome to the land of all things Flower Kingish.  Glad we could help.  I agree with Stardust, for a while I was using in my alarm clock as my wake up song.  It was perfect, a gentle nudge towards the day...kind of like a 22 minute snooze alarm.  By the time we got to the end of the song, I was both fully awake and in a good mood. So just out of curiosity, you said that you were planning on increasing your collection, what do you think you're going to get next? Cheers Roland. Next will be Adam & Eve, as the successor to Unfold The Future, which I got some time ago. Through sheer laziness, I never really went further, even though I loved Stolt in Transatlantic. However, winning the Karmakanic CD in the PA giveaway, and the threads on Stardust, has finally galvanised me into action. Damn glad too

Great to hear Lazland, Adam and Eve isn't my favorite of theirs, but I know Cacho loves it as well as quite a few others.  Karmakanic is great as well, I really enjoy Jonas Reingold's style.

. . .

um, I was going to put something more but was apparently tragically distracted by "Blues Clues"




Edited by Roland113 - May 17 2009 at 18:20

rdtprog wrote: To me that was like a great comeback after the disappointing Paradox Hotel. A little bit to jazzy for my taste

Paradox Hotel "jazzy"?

Crumbs. What does that make "Unfold The Future" then?



To me, Paradox Hotel is one of their most straight ahead albums full of moments of incredible delight. It is worth the money for "Monsters and Men" alone which I think is one of their very best epics.

 

Nov wrote: rdtprog wrote: My favorite FK Albums : (in order of preference) 1- Retropolis 2- The Flower Kings (R. Stolt) 3- Sum of No Evil 4- Flower Power 5- Unflod the Future 6- Stardust We Are 7- Back In the World... 8- Adam & Eve 9- Space Revolver 10- Rainmaker 11- Paradox Hotel That's pretty different  to mine but if truth be told I love them all Here's how I rate them though: 1) Space Revolver 2) Flower Power 3) Unfold The Future 4) Stardust We Are 5) Paradox Hotel 6) World of Adventures 7) The Flower King 8) Retropolis 9) The Rainmaker 10) Adam and Eve 11) The Sum Of No Evil I really enjoyed the Sum of Evil Album. To me that was like a great comeback after the disappointing Paradox Hotel. A little bit to jazzy for my taste

Edited by rdtprog - May 17 2009 at 13:14