Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

cacho wrote: Guys! Karmakanic's Who's the Boss in the Factory? arrived today, and it's fantastic!!!!!! Highly recomended for all of you here. A mix of the dark mood and chords of The Tangent and TFK's stunning melody and epicness.

 I agree ,Excellent record

I don't know, but there's something I don't like about The Flower Kings. Sometimes they rock, but other times they get into cheesy stuff that almost sounds like a parody of prog-rock.

progrules wrote:   Good post Roland ! There are some meaningful and sharp points you are making here but that has also to do with me agreeing with you of course (about the70's point) . There's just one thing I do not completely agree with. Contrary to you I don't dislike Yes. But I do very well understand what you mean. I think Yes just made a (very) few very good songs during their large discography. To me those are the incredible Gates of Delirium and Close to the Edge. And I can only add  Awaken, Yours is no disgrace, Starship Trooper and And you and I to them as very good songs. The rest I don't really care about in fact. And then to think that many people dare to maintain that TFK is just a Yes-rip off band. I get so angry when I read such stupid nonsense . All facts considered Yes gets nowhere near TFK in my opinion. I'd better watch out now or it will be . Yes is sacred to many     I really like these talks about TFK compared to the ultimate greats on PA. I wanted to do this for a long time ! Thanks guys

Thanks PR,

And it's not that I dislike them, I just have a similar stance towards them as you do with Genesis, utmost respect, just can't really get into them and think they're over rated.  Though I'm creating a playlist with the songs that you recommend, well everything except Awaken.  I don't seem to have that song, which album if you know off the top of your head?

My very first FK impression was that they were a Yes imitator, the first CD that I picked up by them was Retropolis with the very Yeslike "There is More to this World".  That didn't bother me cause I still enjoyed the song, enough to explore more.  I picked up Stardust next and it was history from there.

I would hardly call them a Yes rip-off, frankly, I think they're far better.  On a musician by musician basis, the only Yes member that I'd take is Rick Wakeman.  I prefer Stolt over Howe. 

I like the Stolt / Froeberg combination better than Anderson on vocals.  I know this one would be unpopular but I think Anderson's voice is a little too pristine.  Very beautiful and clear though not quite as gritty as I'd like.

I don't care for their rhythm section, Squire and Bruford don't strike me as a rhythm section as much as competing soloists.  Even if I did like Chris Squire's style, Jonas Reingold blows him away from pure feel.  The last couple of minutes in 'The Devil's Playground' is some of the most compelling bass work that I've heard in quite a while.

Wakeman is fantastic, Bodin is great as well, I just think that Rick Wakeman wins on that one.

In all fairness, the Genesis comparison...give me Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Reingold and Stolt.

Gotta run or I'd probably keep going...

Peace

Roland113 wrote: progrules wrote: Roland113 wrote: I'm like Nov in that it was hard for me to even consider putting a band on the same plane as Genesis, but The Flower Kings have reached that status in my mind.  My top five does include Frost*, IQ and Spock's Beard as well, but the last three are far below Genesis and The Flower Kings.   Interesting addition this. Which are the other four top bands. Well, in my personal biography you can read these are Dream Theater(+LTE), Symphony X, Collage/Satellite and Clepsydra and it will be that way for a long time to come because these are 4 (6) other bands that are in my blood and bones. The only thing they have in common with TFK is the production of teriffic melodic compositions. It's just that TFK does this best of them all ! TFK is on a lonesome extremely high level that's beyond everyone else's reach. And there's of course Pendragon but they only made two excellent albums (out of 10). About Genesis: I have the outmost respect for them but in the end I feel they are a bit overrated and of course far less than TFK. I'm a bit of an outcast on this site because my big love is not with the seventies era . Progrules, I understand what you mean, personally, I love Genesis but think that both Yes and King Crimson are terribly overrated.  King Crimson is just a little too out there on many of their albums, I picked up Lark's Tongue and I just can't get the whole way through it . Yes (along with Marillion) is a slightly different story, I can't get into them and I can't figure out why.  Everything says that I should, there's kind of a "If you like Genesis then you should like Yes" relationship for many, but I just don't like their music.  Similar thing with Marillion, "If you like Genesis and IQ you should like Marillion."  I've tried, they just don't quite do it for me. Regarding being an outcast because you aren't in love with the 70's, I feel your pain.  I refer to them as the "70's forever" crowd.  At one point, someone posted the quote "All of the good music has already been written" which I thought was a sadly arrogant stance and a ludricas statement in general. As a collection, I prefer the newer groups over the older groups.  If I had to do a top ten, I'd add Dream Theater, Peter Gabriel, Riverside then pick two out of Satellite, Porcupine Tree, Siege's Even, Pain of Salvation, Singularity and Sylvan.  (Speaking if which, if you haven't heard Singularity, I highly recommend them)  Anyways, my point, with the exception of Peter Gabriel and Genesis, I generally prefer the modern prog scene over the 70's.

progrules wrote: Roland113 wrote: I'm like Nov in that it was hard for me to even consider putting a band on the same plane as Genesis, but The Flower Kings have reached that status in my mind.  My top five does include Frost*, IQ and Spock's Beard as well, but the last three are far below Genesis and The Flower Kings.   Interesting addition this. Which are the other four top bands. Well, in my personal biography you can read these are Dream Theater(+LTE), Symphony X, Collage/Satellite and Clepsydra and it will be that way for a long time to come because these are 4 (6) other bands that are in my blood and bones. The only thing they have in common with TFK is the production of teriffic melodic compositions. It's just that TFK does this best of them all ! TFK is on a lonesome extremely high level that's beyond everyone else's reach. And there's of course Pendragon but they only made two excellent albums (out of 10). About Genesis: I have the outmost respect for them but in the end I feel they are a bit overrated and of course far less than TFK. I'm a bit of an outcast on this site because my big love is not with the seventies era .

Progrules,

I understand what you mean, personally, I love Genesis but think that both Yes and King Crimson are terribly overrated. 

King Crimson is just a little too out there on many of their albums, I picked up Lark's Tongue and I just can't get the whole way through it .

Yes (along with Marillion) is a slightly different story, I can't get into them and I can't figure out why.  Everything says that I should, there's kind of a "If you like Genesis then you should like Yes" relationship for many, but I just don't like their music.  Similar thing with Marillion, "If you like Genesis and IQ you should like Marillion."  I've tried, they just don't quite do it for me.

Regarding being an outcast because you aren't in love with the 70's, I feel your pain.  I refer to them as the "70's forever" crowd.  At one point, someone posted the quote "All of the good music has already been written" which I thought was a sadly arrogant stance and a ludricas statement in general.

As a collection, I prefer the newer groups over the older groups.  If I had to do a top ten, I'd add Dream Theater, Peter Gabriel, Riverside then pick two out of Satellite, Porcupine Tree, Siege's Even, Pain of Salvation, Singularity and Sylvan.  (Speaking if which, if you haven't heard Singularity, I highly recommend them)  Anyways, my point, with the exception of Peter Gabriel and Genesis, I generally prefer the modern prog scene over the 70's.

But, back to the original point, The Flower Kings are absolutely amazing.  Has anyone heard if they're planning on touring the US at all this year?  They usually try to make the trek once a year if I understand correctly.  We saw them last year at the 3RP. 

Here's a sign of a great band (and a harbringer of a long post), last year I didn't have Unfold the Future and Back in the World yet.  Of course when we saw them live, the two bookends of the set were "The Truth Will Set You Free" and "World of Adventures".  Despite being a big Flower King fan, I barely knew much of their set list.  I was a little disappointed that I didn't see my favorite songs, but still walked out thinking that it was one of the best concerts that I've seen.

They were that good.

Hi guys.

Edited by Roj M30 - March 13 2009 at 06:32

Roland113 wrote: I'm like Nov in that it was hard for me to even consider putting a band on the same plane as Genesis, but The Flower Kings have reached that status in my mind.  My top five does include Frost*, IQ and Spock's Beard as well, but the last three are far below Genesis and The Flower Kings.

I'm like Nov in that it was hard for me to even consider putting a band on the same plane as Genesis, but The Flower Kings have reached that status in my mind.  My top five does include Frost*, IQ and Spock's Beard as well, but the last three are far below Genesis and The Flower Kings.

Roj M30 wrote: This morning on my way to work I felt I needed to hear something uplifting so I decided to play Monsters And Men.  I only got Paradox Hotel recently, and have heard it 3 or 4 times to date. I knew I loved M & M, but couldn't remember all the themes etc.  Well, I have to say that I find it difficult to find the words to describe just how magnificent this piece of music (Monsters & Men) is. I had goosebumps virtually the entire 21:20, such is the beauty and emotion of this masterpiece.

Edited by progrules - March 13 2009 at 02:15

bassman4 wrote: I just received Meet The Flower Kings dvd.  I love it. I think this is a must have for any TFK fan  . No kiddin , this is a GREAT dvd. I would love to see these dudes live but, ... I don't know if the oppertunity will present itself.