The Official Flying Colors Thread

[bosk1]

Thanks, Bob.

[Priest of Syrinx]

Link makes me a little sad.

In spite of everything.

[Nick]

I listened to the initial video teaser, but have been holding off on anything else until the shiny vinyl arrives... can't fucking wait.

[Dr. DTVT]

I already have my dream Monday planned out...I get home after giving my internal seminar (the last hoop before my defense), see this CD and poster sitting gloriously in my mailbox one day early, then pure bliss.

Watch me get it Friday or Saturday now 

[darkshade]

They have the album at my local shop now. I think I'll pick it up tonight!

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Here are my song rankings (starting with least):

Shoulda Coulda Woulda
All Falls Down


Fool In My Heart

The Rest

[Tis BOOLsheet]

I just got my pre-order yesterday in the mail and I love this album! I hope it's not only a one album gig.

[Priest of Syrinx]

So I'm listening to FC again after a 2 day break...

It's even better than it was a few days ago.  How does that happen?

Instrumentally, Steve Morse and Dave LaRue really stand out.

[The Letter M]

Instrumentally, Steve Morse and Dave LaRue really stand out.

I feel the same way. Then again, for me, it might be because I've heard Mike and Neal play together so much for so long that perhaps I expect their playing to be pretty top notch on anything they touch (and FC is no exception). Or perhaps that I don't know Steve and Dave together very well, outside of a few Steve Morse guest appearances and his (not well acquainted) Kansas albums.

I will say, though, Dave LaRue comes off as a freaking BEAST on this album, and Neal knows how to do bass guitar RIGHT, and has been on nearly all of his albums since One, and most especially on The Whirlwind. I wouldn't be surprised if Dave LaRue gets high points in Bassist Of The Year rankings for this album! Steve as well for Guitarist Of The Year!

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Since One?  The bass guitar was always stellar in Spock's Beard as well, not just since he starting doing solo albums.

[The Letter M]

Since One?  The bass guitar was always stellar in Spock's Beard as well, not just since he starting doing solo albums.

Fair enough, but the playing has been good, but sometimes Dave Meros' bass would get muddled in some of the mix of the earlier SB albums. I'd retract my statement of "Since One" and say...since V. The bass when the verse comes back in at the end of "At The End Of The Day" is just amazing.

Let's face it - Neal Morse plays with some of the best bassists in the prog world!

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I still think that is selling Meros short.  There are killer bass lines that are clearly audible all over those early Spock's albums. 

[The Letter M]

I still think that is selling Meros short.  There are killer bass lines that are clearly audible all over those early Spock's albums. 

Ya know you're most likely right, I just haven't listened to them in awhile, and I mean REALLY listened to them, headphones and all.

So I'll re-retract my prior statements and just say Neal knows, and has always known, how to mix bass into albums really well, no matter who the bassist is. Then again, in terms of early SB, how much of those basslines were really written by Meros and how much by Morse? Based on how Neal demoed his songs, he could have easily written much of those basslines and Dave could have just tweaked them a bit. Dave is a killer play, though, and he definitely shined on SB's last album (which still remains a favorite of mine, and still gets played plenty!).

-Marc.

[rumborak]

Listened to it today, great album. Eternal Fire stuck out as very weak, it sounds like a leftover track from either TA or a NM solo album.

rumborak

[The Letter M]

Listened to it today, great album. Eternal Fire stuck out as very weak, it sounds like a leftover track from either TA or a NM solo album.

rumborak

You mean "Infinite Fire"?

I love it, personally, but that might be the Neal-fanatic in me. Sure it's got his mark all over it, but the rest of the album is just so not-quite-Neal that this album really needed that Neal touch, and where better than to end the album with a 12 minute epic? It's got amazing playing from Neal and Steve, and some great vocal melodies throughout. And it's not entirely over-the-top-prog like TA or NM's solo albums - to me, it's a bit more Yes-like in some areas, and it restrains itself quite well throughout its duration. There's no overblown back-and-forth solos for 4 minutes, no excessive keyboard/sound solos, no spacey sections, no drawn out parts. It feels exactly the length it should be. Had this been on one of Neal's solo albums, it could have easily been a 20-25 minute epic; the intro would've been twice as long, and the verses would have been 2 different kinds of sections, while the instrumental parts would have been their own sections complete with verse/chorus feels; and the outro would've been three times as long. It feels like they took a Neal epic and trimmed off all the fat and excess, but left just enough to feel just right.

-Marc.

[Sketchy]

I'd retract my statement of "Since One" and say...since V. The bass when the verse comes back in at the end of "At The End Of The Day" is just amazing.

-Marc.

Oh hells yes, that song is why I took up bass.

Hopefully my copy of this album should arrive tomorrow, it looks like I shall enjoy it.

[Mladen]

Infinite fire is amazing, it has Neal Morse written all over it, especially the first verse that kicks in after the instrumental section. It reminds me of The Water or similar oldschool Spock's beard stuff. And yeah, bass is great on this album, I've never been familiar with Dave LaRue until now.

[Priest of Syrinx]

Instrumentally, Steve Morse and Dave LaRue really stand out.

I feel the same way. Then again, for me, it might be because I've heard Mike and Neal play together so much for so long that perhaps I expect their playing to be pretty top notch on anything they touch (and FC is no exception). Or perhaps that I don't know Steve and Dave together very well, outside of a few Steve Morse guest appearances and his (not well acquainted) Kansas albums.

I will say, though, Dave LaRue comes off as a freaking BEAST on this album, and Neal knows how to do bass guitar RIGHT, and has been on nearly all of his albums since One, and most especially on The Whirlwind. I wouldn't be surprised if Dave LaRue gets high points in Bassist Of The Year rankings for this album! Steve as well for Guitarist Of The Year!

-Marc.

I know what you mean, there's so much music from the Neal/Mike pairing that I wonder if they purposely backed off a bit in this album, let the others shine more.

I've been listening to Steve Morse (though not avidly) since the Dixie Dregs, and Dave LaRue was, for a while, my brother's bass teacher... OMG, that's so long ago!   

Infinite Fire's wonderful, a tad predictable, really fun 70's vibe to it.

[dbrooks22]

I finally got my CD in the mail yesterday, and really loving it.

[bosk1]

*Obscure FC reference alert!*

Saturday morning, I was working out at my local gym.  Like a lot of gyms these days, they have TV's all over the place.  I was in a room where they had 5 different ones on different channels.  Rather than plugging in and paying close attention to them, I just had my iPod on and was listening to Trivium during my workout.  One of the TV's is always set to the gym's own channel, where they alternate between workout-related informational type stuff and popular music videos.  I never even pay attention to that channel at all, other than casually glancing at the screen from time to time.  As I was working out on Saturday, I caught a glimpse of the screen and was struck with that feeling that I was seeing something familiar that actually mattered to me.  After half a second, I realized I was staring at the Flying Colors album cover.  A couple of seconds later, and it was gone.  But I thought it very interesting that what I assumed was going to be a very obscure album was being advertised in a very pop-centered medium.  Hopefully, this portends big things for this album.  I would love it if it ended up being quite popular.

[Nekov]

That's great! I think this album has a lot of potential for making it into the mainstream. Let's hope there's good advertising

[duncan3dc]

Hopefully, this portends big things for this album.  I would love it if it ended up being quite popular.

I would love that too, but I don't see it happening. I've played the album to 4 people into mainstream music, and they just found it cheesy and boring.
Obviously not a great sample of the mainstream population, but certainly not a good indication.

[KevShmev]

I am still gonna check this out, but I think I haven't been real excited to since the song samples I've heard were pretty ho-hum.  I checked them out on amazon again last night and they all sounded pretty ho-hum again.  I know samples aren't the same as hearing the whole songs, but you'd hope the taste tests would at least be pretty good.  We shall see.

[lordxizor]

Listened to the first half of the album on the way to work this morning. Sounded good, didn't blow me away or anything. Looking forward to hearing the rest.

[Priest of Syrinx]

I am still gonna check this out, but I think I haven't been real excited to since the song samples I've heard were pretty ho-hum.  I checked them out on amazon again last night and they all sounded pretty ho-hum again.  I know samples aren't the same as hearing the whole songs, but you'd hope the taste tests would at least be pretty good.  We shall see.

It's not jaw-dropping stuff for the most part, although IMO Steve Morse and Dave LaRue are beastly.  Think Asia.

[Phoenix87x]

Just finished my first listen.

The first half of the album I liked and the second half I loved. 

and much to my surprise, I really enjoyed MP's vocals on fool in my heart. Pretty cool stuff.


Many more listens are in order.

[OsMosis2259]

anybody order from Mascot? I ordered like a week ago and still haven't heard anything. Hopefully it arrives soon

[Orbert]

That's the thing about Flying Colors, the album.  It's very well written, very well played, sounds fantastic, but in the end it's still just "regular" music.  It edges out just a bit towards prog a few times, but overall plays it very safe.  I'm not surprised that people who listen to pop music wouldn't find anything special about it.

[bosk1]

But does it need to be "special" to be well liked or for people to listen to it and say, "Hey, these songs sound really good?"

[Mosh]

Sorry if this has been asked, but is there a difference between the special edition and the regular?

[Scrub206]

anybody order from Mascot? I ordered like a week ago and still haven't heard anything. Hopefully it arrives soon

i did! and i just got mine in today 

[Priest of Syrinx]

anybody order from Mascot? I ordered like a week ago and still haven't heard anything. Hopefully it arrives soon

I think tomorrow is the official release date, so maybe you'll get it then? 

[Priest of Syrinx]

That's the thing about Flying Colors, the album.  It's very well written, very well played, sounds fantastic, but in the end it's still just "regular" music.  It edges out just a bit towards prog a few times, but overall plays it very safe.  I'm not surprised that people who listen to pop music wouldn't find anything special about it.

I think that's the pint of FC; it's "regular" music, but if you listen to it attentively you can also appreciate it's deeper virtues, if you like.

Also, I agree with bosk1.

[Orbert]

But does it need to be "special" to be well liked or for people to listen to it and say, "Hey, these songs sound really good?"

Yes, because without something "special" to grab their attention, most people will not listen to it long enough to notice how well done it is.  They will not devote the time required for repeated listenings because they don't know who made the music and how much talent is involved.  They just want something that grabs them, and Flying Colors IMO does not have what it takes to appeal to the general population.  It's pop music, but not for people who listen to pop music.

[Phoenix87x]

Have they said anything about touring yet?