Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

I'm adding my appreciation! Great band!

Edited by Eternal Unity - April 04 2023 at 08:50

infandous wrote: 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).

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: I'm just wrapping up finishing listening to Retropolis and I noticed that the last track has this skipping sound on it (it starts maybe halfway through it). Does it do that on the remastered cd edition? Or vinyl? My cd version is not the latest.

projeKct wrote: ^ I'm not sure which sound you're referring to. There is no skipping sound on my copy (I think).

Catcher10 wrote: Sum of No Evil has been released for pre-order on black or light blue 2-LP with CD. Partially remixed as all the others have been...... On order..

Right now I'm playing the 2022 edition of Unfold The Future. Unfortunately, the bonus track "too late for tomatoes" from the special edition from 2002 is not on here. Does anyone know if that track appears anywhere else in their catalogue?

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - July 02 2023 at 14:35

mellotronwave wrote: AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: Right now I'm playing the 2022 edition of Unfold The Future. Unfortunately, the bonus track "too late for tomatoes" from the special edition from 2002 is not on here. Does anyone know if that track appears anywhere else in their catalogue? no ... too late for tomatoes they said

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - July 02 2023 at 14:56

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: Right now I'm playing the 2022 edition of Unfold The Future. Unfortunately, the bonus track "too late for tomatoes" from the special edition from 2002 is not on here. Does anyone know if that track appears anywhere else in their catalogue?

I started listening to The Flower Kings in 2019 and only last year did I really start delving into their discography. They are now in my top three bands of all time, alongside Marillion and Genesis. My favorite Flower Kings album is Stardust We Are, and Paradox Hotel is a very close second. I have yet to listen to their two most recent albums, Islands and By Royal Decree, though I should considering that I am huge fan of everything else that I've listened to from them. It was The Flower Kings that also got me into Pain of Salvation and, only recently, The Tangent and Kaipa. I love Pain of Salvation despite being very different from The Flower Kings. I wish The Flower Kings got the recognition they deserve as their music is, I would argue, just as good if not better than most classic prog bands of the seventies. I think so many people are turned off by the length of some of their songs and albums because they have this preconceived notion that if a song or album surpasses a certain duration, therefore it is self-indulgent. While you could argue some of their albums contain filler, those filler tracks are completely overshadowed by the overwhelming amount of greatness provided on most of their albums. I may be biased as I am utterly obsessed with this band, but I think that Roine Stolt is a genius, and I don't throw that word around often. This band knows how to write great melodies and in the end, that's what I want more than anything in the music that I listen to. Also, I definitely have to purchase those vinyl reissues; they look incredible.

Magog2112 wrote: I started listening to The Flower Kings in 2019 and only last year did I really start delving into their discography. They are now in my top three bands of all time, alongside Marillion and Genesis. My favorite Flower Kings album is Stardust We Are, and Paradox Hotel is a very close second. I have yet to listen to their two most recent albums, Islands and By Royal Decree, though I should considering that I am huge fan of everything else that I've listened to from them. It was The Flower Kings that also got me into Pain of Salvation and, only recently, The Tangent and Kaipa. I love Pain of Salvation despite being very different from The Flower Kings. I wish The Flower Kings got the recognition they deserve as their music is, I would argue, just as good if not better than most classic prog bands of the seventies. I think so many people are turned off by the length of some of their songs and albums because they have this preconceived notion that if a song or album surpasses a certain duration, therefore it is self-indulgent. While you could argue some of their albums contain filler, those filler tracks are completely overshadowed by the overwhelming amount of greatness provided on most of their albums. I may be biased as I am utterly obsessed with this band, but I think that Roine Stolt is a genius, and I don't throw that word around often. This band knows how to write great melodies and in the end, that's what I want more than anything in the music that I listen to. Also, I definitely have to purchase those vinyl reissues; they look incredible.