Author Topic: The Flower Kings Discography: Desolation Rose (2013)  (Read 17980 times)

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Online Orbert

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #35 on: March 11, 2014, 03:53:34 PM »
Oooh, I didn't realize that about the extra tracks.  Now I have to hunt them down to create my own "expanded" edition.

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #36 on: March 11, 2014, 05:33:18 PM »
So, I know we moved on to the second album, but I'm really impressed by Back in the World of Adventures. The bookending epics are obvious highlights, but Go West Judas was a really strong runner up. That's some excellent prog rock if I've ever heard it.
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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #37 on: March 11, 2014, 07:02:39 PM »
Haven't listened to either of these first two albums in a long time.  Need to rectify that.
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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #38 on: March 12, 2014, 11:27:18 AM »
Oooh, I didn't realize that about the extra tracks.  Now I have to hunt them down to create my own "expanded" edition.

https://www.oocities.org/sunsetstrip/palladium/6284/QuebecCD.html

According to this online transcription of Édition Limitée Québec 1998 (limited to only 700!!! Glad I have one!), those two tracks were recorded during the Retropolissessions, although it's interesting to note that "Kite" was written in 1985!

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Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #39 on: March 12, 2014, 12:40:06 PM »
Finally getting around to listening to World of Adventures now. I'm only on the first track, but there's already a much harder edge to it that I wasn't expecting at all. It's not metal by any means, but it has a really nice vibe kind of like Spock's Beard's first album, which I totally love. Vocal harmonies are sweet too.

Vocal harmonies are always one of TFK's strongest points.  Given that Roine Stolt is a massive Yes fan, this comes as no surprise, hehe.

So, I know we moved on to the second album, but I'm really impressed by Back in the World of Adventures. The bookending epics are obvious highlights, but Go West Judas was a really strong runner up. That's some excellent prog rock if I've ever heard it.

I still wish Go West Judas had a stronger chorus (it's not bad, just a bit underwhelming, to me), but it's otherwise pretty great, especially musically.

Haven't listened to either of these first two albums in a long time.  Need to rectify that.

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I remember looking at the track titles and, considering the album title, wondering if this was a concept album.  I still don't know, but that's mostly because I don't really listen to the lyrics.  I listen to the vocals, their rhythm and even the words themselves, but have never really sought any particular meaning from them.  Maybe it's because of my background listening to Yes, where the lyrics are usually abstract poetry, certainly with meaning, but which Jon Anderson himself has admitted are sometimes just chosen because they sound nice and seem to fit the music.

 

I meant to address this yesterday...

Anyway, I haven't really mentioned their lyrics in either of my write-ups thus far, but I usually like them a lot.  The comparison to Yes is appropriate in regards to them being abstract, although I think Roine's are sometimes easier to pinpoint.  That aside, given that English is not his first language, I think he does a pretty awesome job overall with writing lyrics.

Going from memory, I think I remember Rhythm of the Sea being about someone who feels lost in life, and There Is More to This World is kind of self-explanatory given the name of the song, although I could see someone thinking it is fairly spiritual or not at all. 

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #40 on: March 12, 2014, 01:14:10 PM »
Makes sense.  I suppose I could always dig up the lyrics and study them, search for some kind of cohesive theme as relates to a retro city ("retropolis") but... nah.  I just enjoy the album for what it is.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #41 on: March 13, 2014, 11:46:48 AM »
Same here.  A friend of mine who is a big TFK fan will usually read the lyrics closely and then ask me what I think about this or that song lyrically, and then I'll give them closer inspection, but, generally, TFK is like Yes in that I usually don't go out of my way to read and interpret the lyrics, even if I often find them very interesting.

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #42 on: March 13, 2014, 09:51:55 PM »
What is Rhythm of Life?  Spoken word over a table tennis volley....it's not a song....it's not an instrumental....it's an odd little track....especially the end....why is there a squeal....is that the sound of something breaking?  Moving on....

Retropolis is a monster of an instrumental.  I love the 5/4 ascending bass line section.  The keyboard riff reminds me a little of ELP's style.  The guitar soloing and percussion over this ascending bass is just so much fun.  To me the section from 8:16-9:05 almost has a celtic feel to it.  The six string acoustic outro provides a nice segue right into Rhythm of the Sea, which is such a relaxing peaceful tune.

There Is More To This World is an epic masterpiece.  As you pointed out Kev, the vocals of Froberg are great on this song....very memorable and beautifully done.  Romancing The City is a nice intro into The Melting Pot, in which Roine absolutely nails his solo and Tomas plays a majestic pipe organ.

Silent Sorrow has such a cool groove to it, and my favorite part is when the instrumental section kicks in at 3:06.  I love Roine's solos, not to mention the funky keyboards and bass, as well as the well-placed "duck quack".  One great tune merges into another as TFK for a second time show a certain interest in this dude named Judas.  I love everything about The Judas Kiss....it's just so dynamic, thunderous and ominous.  Great unpredictable ending, too.

Retropolis By Night serves as a spacey breather (reminds me a little of Pink Floyd).  Flora Majora is an understated, yet very pleasant piece.  I especially enjoy the cymbal work in this song.  Then the finale...another great song.  I love the positive vibe of The Road Back Home.  Roine's vocals are heart-felt and fantastic.  The saxophone is just lovely in this tune.  The entire song is well written and well played, and it closes another wonderful album from TFK.   :hefdaddy

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #43 on: March 14, 2014, 02:39:10 PM »
I've really tried hard to enjoy this album but I hardly ever listen to it.  Not sure what it is, but most of this album fails to maintain my attention.    I love the title track, The Judas Kiss and one or two of the rest of the tracks, but I've just never really connected with much of this one.


I haven't spun it in probably 5 years.  I think I'll listen to it tomorrow morning at the gym, see if it sounds different after such a long time not playing it. 

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #44 on: March 15, 2014, 02:01:45 AM »
Have to say I've always loved Jaime Salazar's drumming, very powerful and subtle at the same time. Underrated drummer IMO

Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #45 on: March 15, 2014, 05:56:15 AM »
Great stuff, can't believe it has been so long since I've listened to this!
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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Retropolis (1996)
« Reply #46 on: March 15, 2014, 11:18:26 AM »
What is Rhythm of Life?  Spoken word over a table tennis volley....it's not a song....it's not an instrumental....it's an odd little track....especially the end....why is there a squeal....is that the sound of something breaking?  Moving on....

Retropolis is a monster of an instrumental.  I love the 5/4 ascending bass line section.  The keyboard riff reminds me a little of ELP's style.  The guitar soloing and percussion over this ascending bass is just so much fun.  To me the section from 8:16-9:05 almost has a celtic feel to it.  The six string acoustic outro provides a nice segue right into Rhythm of the Sea, which is such a relaxing peaceful tune.

There Is More To This World is an epic masterpiece.  As you pointed out Kev, the vocals of Froberg are great on this song....very memorable and beautifully done.  Romancing The City is a nice intro into The Melting Pot, in which Roine absolutely nails his solo and Tomas plays a majestic pipe organ.

Silent Sorrow has such a cool groove to it, and my favorite part is when the instrumental section kicks in at 3:06.  I love Roine's solos, not to mention the funky keyboards and bass, as well as the well-placed "duck quack".  One great tune merges into another as TFK for a second time show a certain interest in this dude named Judas.  I love everything about The Judas Kiss....it's just so dynamic, thunderous and ominous.  Great unpredictable ending, too.

Retropolis By Night serves as a spacey breather (reminds me a little of Pink Floyd).  Flora Majora is an understated, yet very pleasant piece.  I especially enjoy the cymbal work in this song.  Then the finale...another great song.  I love the positive vibe of The Road Back Home.  Roine's vocals are heart-felt and fantastic.  The saxophone is just lovely in this tune.  The entire song is well written and well played, and it closes another wonderful album from TFK.   :hefdaddy

After all, it's good to be alive!    :tup

 :coolio

I've really tried hard to enjoy this album but I hardly ever listen to it.  Not sure what it is, but most of this album fails to maintain my attention.    I love the title track, The Judas Kiss and one or two of the rest of the tracks, but I've just never really connected with much of this one.


I haven't spun it in probably 5 years.  I think I'll listen to it tomorrow morning at the gym, see if it sounds different after such a long time not playing it.

Given your tastes, I suspect that it is low on your TFK list because it isn't as rocking as many of the others.  Just a theory. ;)

Have to say I've always loved Jaime Salazar's drumming, very powerful and subtle at the same time. Underrated drummer IMO

Honestly, I've never gone out of my way to listen to his drumming, like listening to just the drums, but his playing always struck me as more than good enough (considering the talent he was surrounded by). 

Great stuff, can't believe it has been so long since I've listened to this!

I can't believe it either! :biggrin:

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #47 on: March 15, 2014, 12:53:09 PM »
Stardust We Are (1997)



Tomas Bodin - keyboards
Hans Bruniusson - percussion
Hans Fröberg - vocals
Jaime Salazar - drums
Michael Stolt - bass guitar
Roine Stolt - vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass guitar
Ulf Wallander - soprano saxophone

----------

Disc 1:

1.   "In The Eyes Of The World"
2.   "A Room With A View" (Tomas Bodin)
3.   "Just This Once"
4.   "Church Of Your Heart"
5.   "Poor Mr. Rain's Ordinary Guitar"
6.   "The Man Who Walked With Kings"
7.   "Circus Brimstone" (Bodin, Stolt)
8.   "Crying Clown" (Bodin)
9.   "Compassion"

Disc 2:

1.   "Pipes Of Peace" (Bodin, Stolt)
2.   "The End Of Innocence"
3.   "The Merrygoround"
4.   "Don Of The Universe"
5.   "A Day At The Mall" (Bodin)
6.   "Different People"
7.   "Kingdom Of Lies" (Bodin, Stolt)   
8.   "If 28"
9.   "Ghost Of The Red Cloud"
10.   "Hotel Nirvana"
11.   "Stardust We Are"

(all songs written and composed by Roine Stolt, except where noted)

----------

Now we are on to Stardust We Are, the band's third album and their first double album. I have to admit that this album was a difficult one to tackle at first, and I'll admit I didn't get very far the first times when trying.  In the Eyes of the World was pretty good, but the ambience of A Room with a View threw me a bit, and the beginning of Just This Once was just so strange, that I took the "Okay, back to the Flower Kings stuff I like already" approach. :lol

But, while it still took a few more listens to grasp the scope and enormity of it all, it being an album that contains around 130 minutes of music, once I gave the whole thing my full attention, its overall greatness came just oozing out, song by song, listen by listen.  Each listen revealed new layers, helped me discover a great song that had previously hadn't grabbed me, etc.

In many ways, this is their most cohesive double album to date, as several melodies from the title track that ends the record are found dotted all over the album, while the flow, as is customary with a Flower Kings record, is just tremendous. Interestingly, despite the cohesiveness of the overall record, the two separate discs do have their own identity, and that only adds to how good and epic it is overall. 

Of particular note is Kingdom of Lies, which is the first FK song on record where Hasse Froberg sings the lead vocals on the entire song.  And he does a great job on that song, as he also does with the "Stardust we are" section in the title track. But Roine is still the lead vocalist on just about everything else on the record, and as always, his vocals are right on point. 

And continuing the early theme of having a lot of instrumentals and transitional songs, 10 of the 20 songs are instrumentals (or 11 of 21 if you count the latter half of Compassion, which is more of a hidden track than part of the actual Compassion song), many of them being of the shorter, transitional nature. But the full-length ones, like Circus Brimstone, Don of the Universe and The Man Who Walked with Kings, are all tremendous and some of their best ones ever.

I've sort of neglected Tomas Bodin in my write-ups thus far, not purposely, but I probably get so caught up in talking about other things, that I probably take his greatness for granted and figure it goes without saying, but that is not fair.  He deserves to be talked about as one of the all-time great prog rock keyboard players.  A shining example of his awesome piano playing is the last three minutes of The End of Innocence.  Those sad notes he plays underneath that final chorus leave me shaking my head in amazement every time I hear that song.  To me, he is similar to Genesis' Tony Banks in that he rarely dazzles you with technical wizardry, even though he is capable of it, while blowing your mind with understated playing that fits the song perfectly to where you can't imagine the song without his contributions.  Roine Stolt is obviously the band's MVP, but Bodin is in 2nd place by a strong margin, and it's no coincidence that many of their best songs, including many on this album, are built around a memorable keyboard melody.

Other personal favorites of mine from this record are Ghost of the Red Cloud, Different People and The Merrygoround.  But really, everything on this record is aces, and while it can be a chore to get through an album this long in one sitting, on the rare occasions when I do, it is an absolute thrill.



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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #48 on: March 15, 2014, 01:44:06 PM »
I remember when I first heard about The Flower Kings after getting in to Transatlantic and loving Roine Stolt's playing/singing, I sought out TFK albums with epics, the BIG kind, and I found "Stardust We Are". I heard the epic before the whole album, and in a sort of backwards way, eventually found all the themes and motifs from it that were scattered throughout the album's songs.

This was my first TFK double album that I listened through all the way through, and as such, it holds a tight spot in my Top 3 TFK albums (along with UTF and PH). Everything I love about early TFK (meaning, to me, their first four albums) is greatly represented here. There's a wonderful mix of lyrical and instrumental songs, short transitional pieces, a good balance of solos and shared vocals. There's barely anything about this album that I dislike, if ANYTHING at all!

This is a desert-island disc if I had to pick any, and all the tracks that Kev mentioned as highlights are some of my favorites as well, including "Don Of The Universe", which perfectly plays with a theme from the title track. This is a wonderful 130 minute journey that I can definitely sit through a lot easier than most other double albums, even of TFK's other double albums!

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Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #49 on: March 15, 2014, 02:18:36 PM »
It really is a flawless record, and considering its length, that is an astonishing achievement.  Okay, Crying Clown and A Day at the Mall are easily the least interesting of the transitional tracks, but they take up a combined total of one minute and 43 seconds, so downgrading it because of tracks that super short would be madness.  A Day at the Mall is basically Different People's intro anyway.

If 28 is one of my favorite solo piano songs ever.  It's absolutely gorgeous.

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #50 on: March 15, 2014, 02:58:21 PM »
I remember now.  I remember why I have always considered The Flower Kings a great band and listen to them when I can, but have never really "gotten into" them.  Not in depth, not like I've dug into Yes, Genesis, and other classic prog bands.

It's because there's just so much of it, and I just don't have the time like I did in the old days.  This album is so dense that it would take a full week of devoted listening to grok it in fullness, maybe more, so it was with silent sorrow I realized that The Flower Kings would become background music.  Great stuff to listen to while commuting, or playing games on the PC, or working out, but it's not the same as sitting with the liner notes and reading them as the music sinks into my brain.  Short of constantly grabbing the iPod and checking the titles of each song as they come up, I realized that I would never learn them.  I know the names of relatively few Flower Kings songs.

But I knew this album was coming up next, so I started Stardust We Are earlier today.  I like that it starts with the full-blown mini-epic "In the Eyes of the World".  Jump right in.  "A Room with a view" is a nice interlude; I have no problem with it.  I assumed, and was correct, that Bodin wrote it.  Yeah, "Just This Once" starts off pretty crazy.  It's even off-putting, but I like that about it.  Prog bands do not conform!  They do what they want.

"Church of Your Heart" is the first regular song, I guess.  Nothing wrong with that.  It's a good song, not an epic, not an instrumental, not a crazy workout, just a regular song.  I like "Poor Mr. Rain's Ordinary Guitar".  It's chill, and it feels like the intro to "The Man Who Walked with Kings" which surprised me by being another instrumental.  An acoustic guitar piece as the intro to a song is a thing; serving as the intro to a broader instrumental is so prog!

That's as far as I got.  Half an hour on the elliptical machine.  It's frustrating not being able to dig further, and I'll try to keep up with this discography, but it's gonna be sporadic.  Right now, I've still got two songs to learn before tomorrow's band practice, so that's it for today.

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #51 on: March 15, 2014, 07:56:56 PM »
I just realized, and I'm not sure why it never occurred to me before, but from "Poor Mr. Rain's Ordinary Guitar" to "Crying Clown", we're treated to almost 21 straight minutes of JUST INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC.  Is that the longest stretch of instrumental music on any TFK album? Then again, "Circus Brimstone" is so awesome, I almost forget it has no lyrics because the melodies are so catchy and sing-able.

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Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #52 on: March 16, 2014, 05:07:57 AM »
My first exposure to the band was the live DVD/CD Meet The Flower Kings!, which I borrowed from a friend, so all I really knew were some of their epics, including Stardust We Are, which was my favorite piece from that project.  This was the first FK album I acquired.  It really is dense, but masterful, and I need to listen again in full.
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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #53 on: March 16, 2014, 05:32:54 AM »
My first FK album.  At first I wasn't impressed so I shelved it.  It was years later that I gave it another spin and started to like it.  I then started to buy a few of their albums.
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #54 on: March 16, 2014, 08:06:32 AM »
I remember now.  I remember why I have always considered The Flower Kings a great band and listen to them when I can, but have never really "gotten into" them.  Not in depth, not like I've dug into Yes, Genesis, and other classic prog bands.

It's because there's just so much of it, and I just don't have the time like I did in the old days. 

I sort of know what you mean.  Not trying to scare any possible new fans off, like, OMG, it is too big of an obstacle to overcome to get into them, but they do have so much material that it can be a monumental task to get into all of it.  Fortunately, I became a fan in 2000, so they only had five albums out at that point, so I only had that many albums to get into, and then every new album since has been given its due attention and then some.

I just realized, and I'm not sure why it never occurred to me before, but from "Poor Mr. Rain's Ordinary Guitar" to "Crying Clown", we're treated to almost 21 straight minutes of JUST INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC.  Is that the longest stretch of instrumental music on any TFK album? Then again, "Circus Brimstone" is so awesome, I almost forget it has no lyrics because the melodies are so catchy and sing-able.

 

Damn it, I actually meant to mention that in my write-up, and I completely forgot. :facepalm: :lol

  This was the first FK album I acquired.  It really is dense, but masterful, and I need to listen again in full.

Do so and report back. :biggrin: :hat

My first FK album.  At first I wasn't impressed so I shelved it.  It was years later that I gave it another spin and started to like it.  I then started to buy a few of their albums.

In some ways, this album is the ultimate grower in the prog rock genre.   :tup :tup

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #55 on: March 17, 2014, 08:13:32 AM »
Question for the initiated: Which do you prefer - the original/studio ending for "Stardust We Are", or the live version?

I've listened to the studio version enough to know that the ending to Part 3 is different than when they play it live. The live ending has a bit more energy, and when done at the end of shows or as an encore, is right for that time and place, but there's a certain majestic feel to the ending on the studio version which I also really enjoy, especially how it builds and comes back down at the end with Roine's little guitar bit before fading out on the last note.

-Marc.
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Offline ariich

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #56 on: March 17, 2014, 08:51:20 AM »
This was my favourite TFK album from pretty much the time I first got into them right up until I discovered Paradox Hotel. It's such a great and varied album, and the title track still blows me, probably the best of their giant epics.

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #57 on: March 17, 2014, 08:53:43 AM »
A challenging listen to say the least.  I enjoy quite a bit of the material, but I also find myself reaching for the skip button pretty frequently with this one.  It's not just the transitional pieces either.  There are several songs on this album that just fail to capture and hold my interest, despite subjecting it to the PRAT more than once.


Still, I enjoy it for what it is, and the title track is killer.  :hat

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #58 on: March 17, 2014, 09:09:11 AM »
Question for the initiated: Which do you prefer - the original/studio ending for "Stardust We Are", or the live version?

 

Studio version.


This was my favourite TFK album from pretty much the time I first got into them right up until I discovered Paradox Hotel. It's such a great and varied album, and the title track still blows me, probably the best of their giant epics.

When discussing the songs in the 20-31 minute range, there is no way I can it is better than I Am the Sun, but it'd definitely be in 2nd place. :tup :tup

A challenging listen to say the least. 

Agreed, although I think one of their other double albums is far more challenging and difficult to get through, but we'll address that in due time. :lol :biggrin:

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #59 on: March 17, 2014, 09:42:50 AM »
I love it when Orbert says "grok"...   I need to read Stranger in a Strange Land again...
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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #60 on: March 17, 2014, 10:14:56 AM »
That book is so awesome.  I started using the word "grok" just because, and to see who might catch the reference.  Every once in a while, someone does, and I am pleased.

Congratulations, you have passed the test! :tup


On the other hand, I dropped two or three other references in that post just for the hell of it, so there you go.

Offline kirksnosehair

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #61 on: March 17, 2014, 11:24:26 AM »
heh...I stopped using Grok because all the young'ns kept asking me what it was an acronym for  :facepalm:   :lol

Online Orbert

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #62 on: March 17, 2014, 11:42:35 AM »
Sigh... kids these days.   :facepalm:

Offline jingle.boy

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #63 on: March 17, 2014, 12:42:27 PM »
I'm a tad behind, but have to post because I was one of the guys that "forced" Kev into this.  On my second listen of Retropolis.  Nothing wrong with it, but like Barry, I can't say it's captivating my attention.

I think I tried Stardust We Are last month at Kev's suggestion, and man... that was a lot to digest.  Will try again on the weekend.

Loved Bob's post about 'knowing' music.  I feel that way about a LOT of the new bands I discover these days. I used to KNOW almost all the music I had, now I'm simply FAMILIAR with most of my new discoveries.
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #64 on: March 17, 2014, 12:52:29 PM »
Haha, yes, you absolutely have to post. :lol :biggrin:

But I know what you mean, via know vs. familiar.  It's easy nowadays to just buy the mp3s and listen to the music on your computer or iPod or whatever while you are doing other stuff, as opposed to the old days where every CD or album you bought got your full, undivided attention as you read the liner notes and lyrics and whatnot while you listened to the music.  I still try to do that when I can, but I simply don't do that nearly as much as I used to, and I am sure the fact that many can say the same thing is a contributing factor as to what you are talking about.

Interestingly, as I have been listening to TFK a ton lately, I am rediscovering some songs that I had, well, maybe not forgotten about, but had forgotten how great they were.  Also, my opinion on certain albums has definitely been elevated, and even though I did an updated album ranking about a month ago in the proper TFK thread, I suspect that when this thread here is all said and done, it will look a bit different again. 

Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #65 on: March 17, 2014, 12:55:52 PM »
As for grok, I remember the expression, "I can grok that," and it bugged me all morning where I knew that phrase from, and it finally occurred to me that Cliff once said it on Cheers, but for the life of me I cannot remember which episode.  Damn you, Orbert! :lol :lol

Offline kirksnosehair

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #66 on: March 17, 2014, 01:46:52 PM »

Interestingly, as I have been listening to TFK a ton lately, I am rediscovering some songs that I had, well, maybe not forgotten about, but had forgotten how great they were.  Also, my opinion on certain albums has definitely been elevated, and even though I did an updated album ranking about a month ago in the proper TFK thread, I suspect that when this thread here is all said and done, it will look a bit different again.


My top albums shift around from time to time too.  I was reading this reply when I realized that every time I start listening to The Flower Kings I end up going through at least 3 or 4 of their albums, sometimes more, before moving on to something else.  I do that with Dream Theater, Transatlantic and Opeth too. 

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #67 on: March 17, 2014, 01:49:26 PM »
Haha, yes, you absolutely have to post. :lol :biggrin:

But I know what you mean, via know vs. familiar.  It's easy nowadays to just buy the mp3s and listen to the music on your computer or iPod or whatever while you are doing other stuff, as opposed to the old days where every CD or album you bought got your full, undivided attention as you read the liner notes and lyrics and whatnot while you listened to the music.  I still try to do that when I can, but I simply don't do that nearly as much as I used to, and I am sure the fact that many can say the same thing is a contributing factor as to what you are talking about.

Word.  For me, the two biggest contributing factors are age, and the age we live in.

Age:  When we were teenagers and in our 20s, we didn't have the kinds of responsibilities we do now.  I could just sit with the liner notes for 5 or 6 listens until I memorized each lyric, could air guitar all solos and drum fills.  :woot:  I just don't have the disposable time to do that very often.

The age:  Access to all kinds of global music is so easy and plentiful.  20 years ago, I would never know about acts like Ayreon and Nightwish the way I do now.  If it didn't get FM radio airtime, I didn't know about it.  Nowadays, I don't even listen to local FM radio.  I occasionally listen to internet radio (morrow.com for my prog needs), but most of my music recommendations come from here.  And there's no shortage of people willing to separate money from my wallet in the name of good music.  :biggrin:  Couple that with the technology we have (just plop the iPod on with 14,000 songs at my fingertips; or an endless supply available on Spotify/Grooveshark) and it's very easy to simply listen without getting to KNOW the songs/albums/band.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Online Orbert

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #68 on: March 18, 2014, 11:33:40 AM »
I heard it again, and forgot to mention it before.

I'm listening to the whole album again, and in "Just This Once" there's a background keyboard line that reminds me of the keyboard line in "Watcher of the Skies" by Genesis.  You know the line.  There was a track on "Retropolis" that was even closer.  I don't remember the exact track.  Then, it was an homage; it was almost exact and could not have been coincidence.  Now... it's more derivative, but starting to feel just a bit like a ripoff.  If Bodin ever cops to it and calls it an homage, I'll buy it, but that's twice now.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Flower Kings Discography: Stardust We Are (1997)
« Reply #69 on: March 18, 2014, 12:14:41 PM »
I have no idea what melody you are talking about.  A little help with a time stamp?

But if it is in the background, I wouldn't call it a ripoff, since it's not like the song is built around it or anything (like when Yes built Heart of the Sunrise out of the King Crimson riff).  And I've heard several other homages to classic prog in their catalogue, so I don't see it is as a big deal at all.  Bodin admitting won't matter either, especially since TFK is such a low key and underground band that I don't recall ever seeing an interview with him, and the odds of that even coming up in an interview would be about a million to one. :lol :lol  And if it did, what are the odds he would even remember, considering the song is 17 years old now, and they have done close to, if not, 200 songs over their career.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2014, 12:30:18 PM by KevShmev »