Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

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.

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'.

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

Yeah, they generally are.  They are mostly pretty quiet though (unless you get to know them well, I am told).

The other thing I forgot to mention was when I asked Jonas if it was hard doing the bass line for The Truth Will Set You Free (on the original album recording).  He said, no, not hard at all.  Just long.  As a musician I felt rather humbled by that comment, as the song strikes me as something hard to play.  But I guess for Jonas, it's just another day at the office so to speak

I've introduced myself in THE FLOWER KINGS via "The Flower King" achievement few years ago and it was a real revelation for me. I've got interested to this Swedes, discovered how "far" they've gone. Also got my hands to the other projects of Roine and simply he's one of the greatest minds on the scene nowadays. It's thanklessly to compare TFK with some other acts, but I've always been looking at the other bands/projects Roine featured as TFK's siblings. Kaipa is remarkable, I simply cannot find the words to describe that greatness. The Tangent and Transatlantic. What more to say? I bet you people know already everything about this two masterpieces. And, I have to share my delight with you about Transatlantic reunion. Someone would say it's gonna be a progressive album of the year. :) And finally, these days actual Roine's project, Agents of Mercy. I really enjoyed it, it's a blast, indeed. I was trying to find Roine's solo album from the beginnning of his career, called "Fantasia", but didn't have so much success with that. Anyone listened?

At the end, as this is topic about The Flower Kings, I will not prolong this anymore and as a final conclusion, I can freely say that TFK is the band which definitely marked out my life.

AstralliS wrote: I've introduced myself in THE FLOWER KINGS via "The Flower King" achievement few years ago and it was a real revelation for me. I've got interested to this Swedes, discovered how "far" they've gone. Also got my hands to the other projects of Roine and simply he's one of the greatest minds on the scene nowadays. It's thanklessly to compare TFK with some other acts, but I've always been looking at the other bands/projects Roine featured as TFK's siblings. Kaipa is remarkable, I simply cannot find the words to describe that greatness. The Tangent and Transatlantic. What more to say? I bet you people know already everything about this two masterpieces. And, I have to share my delight with you about Transatlantic reunion. Someone would say it's gonna be a progressive album of the year. :) And finally, these days actual Roine's project, Agents of Mercy. I really enjoyed it, it's a blast, indeed. I was trying to find Roine's solo album from the beginnning of his career, called "Fantasia", but didn't have so much success with that. Anyone listened? At the end, as this is topic about The Flower Kings, I will not prolong this anymore and as a final conclusion, I can freely say that TFK is the band which definitely marked out my life.

Excellent first post here AstralliS

Good to see that TFK have fans in Serbia as well

yeah, TFK has fan even in Macedonia, that is practicaly Mars,just diferent name 

Edited by angelmk - May 20 2009 at 08:53

angelmk wrote: yeah, TFK has fan even in Macedonia, that is practicaly Mars,just diferent name

Then, I am from your neighborhood's planet.  Greetz.

^  I waffle a bit on Unfold the Future, there are times when I absolute love it and other times that it's merely another great Flower Kings CD.  It could stem from my relatively low tolerance for jazz.  I generally prefer the English symphonic stylings rather than the more American blues and jazz influence.  I appreciate that it's a great album but it doesn't do it for me all of the time.

Unrelated, what happened to the Captain, I haven't seen him post in a while.

cacho wrote: Hey guys! Been curious about one thing.... I've always found Unfold The Future, at least Disc 1, to be TFK's best effort, in the sense of maturity and compositions... By no means my favorite, but everytime I listen to it(listening to it right now), I find it very unique, and truly more elaborated than the rest. Not grabbing from the first listens, yet very rewarding after many listens. Of course, most of this is due to the very notable jazzy leanings and, probably, TFK's most complex arrangements. What do you think?