Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

natewait wrote: I just wanted to say that I appreciate the Flower Kings  They are one of my top five favorite bands for sure and one of the main bands that got me interested in more current prog. Here are my top 5 TFK epics: 1. Monsters and Men 2. The Truth Will Set You Free 3. Stardust We Are 4. I Am The Sun 5. One More Time (and if that is too short, my alternate is Love Supreme)

rushfan4 wrote: I really like Cairo and would think fans of the Flower Kings would like them as well, but the previous post proves me otherwise.   He is correct though in that they are a Neo prog band that is spun more from the ELP cloak then from the Genesis cloak that most Neo bands are spun from.   I really like Magic Pie as well. They are one of my favorite discoveries from PA.   I thought that Symphony X were a really good prog metal band in the vein of Dream Theater.  I got into them and Blind Guardian at the same time after reading an article in Progression Magazine that introduced both bands to me.  I was very disappointed in the most recent Symphony X release however, as the technical/extreme metal bands that they toured with prior to its release, seemed to have rubbed off on them on the latest album.    Liquid Tension Experiment are an enjoyable instrumental band for fans of Dream Theater, who could do without LaBrie's voice.   Satellite are another favorite PA discovery of mine, and led to me picking up a couple of Collage albums.  They are similar, but I personally prefer Satellite, although I have seen many PAers say that they prefer Collage.  The one album that I have is sung about half and half Polish and English and I tend to have issues with non-English lyrics so I don't enjoy Collage as much as I might otherwise enjoy them.    Moongarden's Songs from the Lighthouse is quite good and I agree with the similarity to Satellite.   Clepsydra is the only band on the list that I haven't heard before.  I've looked a couple of times for their albums, but have yet to find any that were reasonably priced.

^ Monsters and Men is the best on the album, and my favorite TFK song under 15 minutes is probably One More Time. That list is very good.

progrules wrote:   Welcome to the thread Natewait ! And you did some great choices here. If you followed the whole thread so far you will have noticed Monsters & Men is not only my favorite TFK song but even one of my very fav ever (of all bands in history) ! So I can only agree with your no.1 The rest is great too. By the way: I saw you did some fine reviews lately. Keep up the good work !

Thanks! Yeah, Monsters and Men is probably one of my top three songs ever, it is truly magical.

Ok, can't stay behind here. Probably did this before but never mind:

Latest news from Roine.......

Summer is here - Schools out -  ( at least in Sweden)
Thought I'd keep you updated what's cooking in FLOWERKINGS land.

Not much - in terms of gigs or new albums -
but A LOT - in terms of new music and touring.

Tomas Bodin just finished work on his new album  "You Are"  -
He have TFK oldtimers Marcus Liliequist- drums  and Michael Stolt - Bass & Vocal
on it and as usual JJ Marsh doing  the guitars.
Keep an eye open for  the release -  the where and when's  will be posted  soon on
Tfk website / + here .

My sideproject "Agents Of Mercy" will have it's LIVE premiere on July 10th   at the "Night Of The Prog" Loreley Festival in  Germany .
The Band consist of -
Me : guitars,vocal & keys
Nad Sylvan -Vocal & Keys
Jonas Reingold -Bass
Lalle Larsson -Piano & Keyboard
Zoltan Csörsz- drums
Inger Ohlen - Vocal & Keyboard.

We're quite excited and a bit scared - it's gonna be great fun  - come see us - and be aware you can catch Steve Hackett, Gazpacho, Arena, Riverside etc, on the very same festival.
In September we'll do a short European tour together with Karmakanic - and almost the same lineup will play  shows in USA in October - but since Zoltan had other commitments we have hired the multitalented and likewise fabulous Nick D'Virgilio on drums for the USA shows.

(check - www.myspace.com/agentsofmercy  )

The "other" little side project "Transatlantic" - latest news is I just finished my work with overdubs 2 days ago and am very excited about that too - it was LOTs of hard work - and it is not always easy to be creative and perhaps a bit daring and still maintain your own distinctive style etc.

Anyway I feel confident saying that ANYONE who loved the 2 first albums will love this one too - plus certain content on that album and LTD will most likely raise a plenty of eyebrows.

OH - and that 3rd side project -  namely (possibly)  3rd World Electric -
We're moving ahead  and things shape up very nicely.
It is a instrumental fusion, afro, jazz, electronic project by myself and Jonas in the drivers seat(s).
Any lover of 70's Billy Cobham, Weather Report, Return To Forever, George Duke will probably like what we do here.

It's groovy - it's electric - it's melodic - it's timeless.
More details soon.......and btw. we have some really cool hi profile players on it too.

How great does all that sound?

infandous wrote: Roland113 wrote: Ok, I listened to Winter (Part 1) and thought it sounded good enough at first, I figured I'd put up one of those, 'yeah it sounded really great man' comments.  Then you started singing.  Wow, great voice.    I'm very impressed by the tone and maturity of your voice, and your page says you're only nineteen.  Your voice is something special, very powerful.  In my opinion, you use just a little too much reverb on your voice on that track, but the power still cuts through the effects. You have a really good voice and I mean that, it could get you far in the business if that's your desire. No, I'm not 19 sadly   I'm quite a bit older than that.  40, to be exact .  But thanks for the comments.  You actually listened to Placid Glow it sounds like, and I agree about the reverb.  I have a tendency to overdo it and don't really notice until I'm listening to it mixed down some. Anyway, thanks again.  I would recommend Fear and Loving on my page for probably the proggiest song (I play in 5/4 in a few spots, and it's non commercial song ), and Autumnal Equinox (different time signatures, tempos, lots of sections and changes).  They were recorded a few years ago, and the vocals don't sound quite as good to me (on Fear and Loving, a friend of mine does some backing vocals and one really awesome dramatic part). Also, Winter is an experimental one with delay loops and loads of spacyness.  Placid Glow is the first part of a much longer epic (that's the one you heard).

ok, oops, can you tell that I don't do myspace a lot?  Nonetheless, your voice is great and yes, it must have been "Placid Glow"  Good stuff, I think I listened to them all and tended to enjoy the acoustic based ones more than the electric.  I'd be interested in hearing more.

With that beins said, I feel that I should return the favor.  Sadly, I haven't recorded anything recently, this is from 93, I'm the long hair playing the keys.  Sadly, the hair has gone, only to be replaced by a gut. 

Enjoy,

progrules wrote: My answers: Where to start with LTE ? Well, they made only three albums and the last is forgettable (they say, I don't have it). Both earlier albums are masterpieces for me. Do you really think DT is much better than LTE ?? I truly believe it's the other way around. LTE's jamming is simply unsurpassable imo. But if you want my recommendation I would say: LTE 2 is one of the best prog (metal) albums ever to me.  It's not that I think that Liquid Tension Experiment is any better or worse, it's just that I've only had vrey minimal exposure to them and written them off, possibly too quickly.   Clepsydra: as I said to Scott: the are VERY neo, huge keys and brilliant guitar. It hardly gets any better, but then I'm talking about my taste. I never heard anyone say Clepsydra is poor though ('caus they aren't ).   Magic Pie: I'm stunned both Mike and you don't like this band. Of course I respect your opinion but many TFK fans like Magic Pie as well, they say it's the Norwegian version of TFK. Their execution is a bit sloppy, that's about the only criticism I can think of. The compositions are magnificent on both albums. I favor Motions of Desire slightly above Circus of Life.  Again, similar to Liquid Tension, I've only heard a song or two.  Not really enough to get to know them, just enough to not want to explore them at the time.  I think both bands were like two years ago.  It may be time to try them again.   Cairo has already been bashed by Mike (thanks Mike ) but I really think it's an amazing band. Where Mike is right though is that Cairo is a sort of clone of ELP. But as I always say: Cairo is better ! (and faster in play).   About Collage: don't you believe Moonshine is a masterpiece ??? I do !!   As far as Symphony X is concerned: if you have The Odyssey you have one of their best. Just V: The New Mythology Suite is slightly better to me.   And thanks for your recomm as well: I will certainly check out Moongarden one day. And I have to admit there are some bands on your list I don't know. Maybe you can do some recomms here Singularity - Great stuff, well woth the six songs on e-Music or an album on iTunes, check out my review:  Of All the Mysteries - Singularity - Nate tried them out after the review and said that he enjoys them as well. Banco de Gaia - Techno / World Music, not prog, if interested, I'd start with "Last Train to Lhasa" Kevin Gilbert - He's pretty good, worked first with Sheryl Crow then Nick DiVirgilio before he accidently killed himself.  I believe that 'Genesis Rewired' may have been partially his idea.  I'd start with "The Shaming of the True" a semi-autobiographical concept album about the rise and fall of a musician. Pure Reason Revolution - Start with "The Dark Third", imagine Pink Floyd with a group of classical chamber singers doing the leads.  Just about everything is done in two or three part harmonies, stunningly beautiful.  The second CD is a little (ok, a lot) too poppy for me. Coheed and Cambria - They're somewhat progressive and popular with the American kids these days.  They're kind of heavy / punk / prog / modern alternative.  All of their albums are part of a science fiction universe.  Neat stuff, start anywhere, the third and fourth are better but the story begins with the first CD. Train- Southern (US) rock, not prog.  Think Beatles meet American rock and roll.  If interested, I'd start with "Drops of Jupiter" Esquivel and almost the whole right column (40-50). - Esquivel was recommended to be by someone on here.  I was looking for bands that used the Theremin and they recommended Esquivel with the caveat that he didn't have a Theremin, but he would be enjoyed by someone who appreciates the Theremin.  They were right.  I believe the term used for his music is "Loungecore".  My guess is that they are not all progbands, are they ? I heard a lot about Kevin Gilbert. He's supposed to be something special, right ? And what I'm especially interested in: you will know my taste by now; are there any bands in that list that should be great for me ?

Now with that being said, there is one thing that I;d like to point out.  Some bands, namely Yes and Crimson, appear in my most played bands.  It's not that I like them, it's more that I keep trying to like them and thus rack up the play count.  King Crimson is a little too weird for me most of the time though I'll admit, I'm starting to see some of the light.  Yes, I don't know why, but I've never been able to appreciate Yes the way that I think I should.  I love Genesis and The Flower Kings.  I should like Yes as well.  Don't ask me.

Finally, many of the bands in the far right column of my list aren't Prog, of those that are, Ghost Circus and Bushwack are the two that I'd recommend most.  Both are very melodic, Bushwack is instrumental.  Also, fans of Siege's Even would probably like Vanden Plas as well.

Wow, I feel like I just gave birth :)

Enjoy,


Edited by Roland113 - July 11 2009 at 20:42

Roland113 wrote: Pablo - I do enjoy Astral Dog, not to mention the under appreciated "IKEA by Night"

Now that question 1 is answered, how about question 2: Have you heard anything from Zappa?

Roland113 wrote: Now with that being said, there is one thing that I;d like to point out.  Some bands, namely Yes and Crimson, appear in my most played bands.  It's not that I like them, it's more that I keep trying to like them and thus rack up the play count.  King Crimson is a little too weird for me most of the time though I'll admit, I'm starting to see some of the light.  Yes, I don't know why, but I've never been able to appreciate Yes the way that I think I should.  I love Genesis and The Flower Kings.  I should like Yes as well.  Don't ask me. Finally, many of the bands in the far right column of my list aren't Prog, of those that are, Ghost Circus and Bushwack are the two that I'd recommend most.  Both are very melodic, Bushwack is instrumental.  Also, fans of Siege's Even would probably like Vanden Plas as well. Wow, I feel like I just gave birth :) Enjoy,