The Official Flying Colors Thread

[DoctorAction]

Hmm. First impressions are that this is very dull...

EDIT: I am in a bit of a hard-to-please place with music at the moment, but still...

[Max Kuehnau]

Hmm. First impressions are that this is very dull...

EDIT: I am in a bit of a hard-to-please place with music at the moment, but still...

welcome to my life

[RoeDent]

Got mine! And it's absolutely fantastic! Everything I expect from Flying Colors!

I've wound up with the deluxe box set (it was all they had in. Still only £17, so less expensive than I was expecting), so I find myself in possession of two coasters. In addition to the two CDs (some will say I have four coasters then...) and the photobook.

[Joshgirouard]

Was pretty unimpressed except for crawl ,Geronimo and love letter . Guardian just seemed like a filler track with no real direction . 6/10 for me

[kaos2900]

Hmm. First impressions are that this is very dull...

EDIT: I am in a bit of a hard-to-please place with music at the moment, but still...

I listened to the first 2 tracks on the the way to work and had to turn it off. I did not like them at all. Not sure if it's my current mindset or I just really didn't like them. Regardless I'm going to hold of on listening to the rest for a bit.

[RoeDent]

Wait until you're in a better frame of mind, and be prepared because you'll probably be forced to make an embarrassing volte-face.

[soupytwist]

First listen and the first 4 songs left me cold, then things improved I think  the remaining 5 songs were all much stronger.   That is just a first opinion though.

[kaos2900]

I'll come back to it. I really loved the first 2 albums. They were fun and "easy" to listen too. Those first 2 songs were a challenge I have no interest in partaking in at the moment. And thanks to the Dirt Poor Robins thread I'll be going through their stuff for awhile.

[The Letter M]

If anyone is interested, it looks like Mascot Records put up the remaining 5 songs (without music videos) up on their YouTube page so you can finally listen to the whole album on there if you'd like!

-Marc.

[bluefox4000]

Hmm. First impressions are that this is very dull...

EDIT: I am in a bit of a hard-to-please place with music at the moment, but still...

i find it thoroughly boring about 8 listens in....and i loved the last album.  i dunno. the playing and vocals are great.  it's just.....such a tedious listen.

i do like Cadence
Love Letter
you Are Not Alone.

the rest.......yea not doing it.

[The Letter M]

My only complaint so far is that there is a LOT of 7/4 in the album, and it feels very forced in some places. It's like "This could be two measures of 4/4, but if we drop a beat, it'll be more prog!" and I kind of eye-roll a bit when those moments happen, but I'm sure that'll all pass with time. As I have been casually listening to it at work and at home, I've enjoyed the songs more and more, but I'm also picking out things as well, so we will see how my feelings on the album as a whole develop further as the days and weeks go on. I need to remind myself not to burn myself out on this and spin the new IQ every now and then as well.

-Marc.

[SoundscapeMN]

I wish 1 of 2 things would happen:

-Flying Colors do an entire album of songs like Love Letter
-Portnoy form a band with Roger Manning and Ty Tabor and do songs like Love Letter

[gmillerdrake]

i do like Cadence

Do you mean 'Everything Changes: Pt II'   Good thing 'Everything Changes' is their own song from the first album or they'd be in severe plagerism territory.


While I've only got one listen in.....I'm leaning toward the emotion of 'ehhh'. I mean, talented guys.....great musicians....but there's just nothing here that blows me away. It's just more of the same IMO.

[MinistroRaven]

If anyone is interested, it looks like Mascot Records put up the remaining 5 songs (without music videos) up on their YouTube page so you can finally listen to the whole album on there if you'd like!

-Marc.

They have the whole album here on BandCamp

https://flyingcolors.bandcamp.com/album/third-degree

[bluefox4000]

i do like Cadence

Do you mean 'Everything Changes: Pt II'   Good thing 'Everything Changes' is their own song from the first album or they'd be in severe plagerism territory.


While I've only got one listen in.....I'm leaning toward the emotion of 'ehhh'. I mean, talented guys.....great musicians....but there's just nothing here that blows me away. It's just more of the same IMO.

it really is a shame as i said i was so looking forward to this.

but as every track past i was like.

um........uuuuum............UMMMMMMMM!!!!!!! lol

i was gobsmacked that basically track after track was just nothing happening.

probably my most disappointing album of the year.

[ReaperKK]

I listened to the album this morning and it was ok. To be fair I was never a big fan of flying colors to begin with so it's more with me than the band. Love letter was probably the highlight. One thing that seems to pop out at me, and I could be completely wrong, is that with the third album it already seems paint by numbers.

I think at the heart of it Flying colors is a group of musicians who have their own style, sound, and tricks coming together to form a band where they execute their own style, sound, and bag of tricks. I feel this happens a lot with supergroups where instead of the band finding it's own united voice it's just a collection of people speaking their own language that translates to a lifeless sounds.

Anyway, my ramblings and my take. One final note is that I am coming around to Casey, I really didn't like him the first album and with this new release I enjoy his singing a lot more.

[bluefox4000]

i have to say i'm kinda glad i'm not the only one disappointed.  i'm in a neal morse fan group on facebook (which i love, BTW)

And they're all praising this out the ass and i'm like.....really guys? REALLY.

nah i'm happy they enjoy it but it's nice to know i'm not alone here is all.

[gmillerdrake]

i have to say i'm kinda glad i'm not the only one disappointed.  i'm in a neal morse fan group on facebook (which i love, BTW)

And they're all praising this out the ass and i'm like.....really guys? REALLY.

nah i'm happy they enjoy it but it's nice to know i'm not alone here is all.

I generally love/like near everything Neal touches. This release is the first time I've been 'let down' i think. I'm on a second listen right now and while I'm finding/hearing some moments I didn't pick up on the first time through I don't think there's going to be enough to sway my opinion from just 'ehhhh..' It's a better 'ehhhh' than before but still can't find anything to redeem it.

And I'm glad some of you are digging Love Letter....but for my ears that's one of the most boring songs on there   

[KevShmev]

How utterly depressing.  I listened to this today at the end of the work day and was stunned at how bland most of it is.

I am sure some of it will grow on me, and I still like Love Letter quite a bit, and the last song sounded like it had potential, but it's been a while since I've been this disappointed with the first listen of a new studio album that I was really looking forward to. 

[bluefox4000]

How utterly depressing.  I listened to this today at the end of the work day and was stunned at how bland most of it is.

I am sure some of it will grow on me, and I still like Love Letter quite a bit, and the last song sounded like it had potential, but it's been a while since I've been this disappointed with the first listen of a new studio album that I was really looking forward to.

that's how i was....utterly stunned how they took an hour and what...7 minutes to say virtually nothing.  i've playwd it again trying to find the key to unlock this album.....i want to.......but it's a wall of just nothing.

This is the first time in a long LONG time a morse related project has let me down utterly.

i do have 3 songs i like i mentioned above but even those are merely ok.

really really let down.

[KevShmev]

With any luck, I'll pop back in this thread sooner rather than later to smack myself for being wrong about this, but after two listens, this feels like the record of a band that has lost the plot.  It's not like it's bad; it's just...boring. 

[The Letter M]

It's kind of disheartening seeing so many OK-to-meh-to-disappointed reactions here, but I can understand why some may feel this way. Neal has been VERY prolific in the last 10 years, and it's become harder and harder for his various bands to distinguish themselves from each other, especially with three of them have Mike Portnoy on drums (and sometimes vocals). Things can become tiresome and boring, and I can completely see many feeling that way, but for me, as a huge fan of Neal's and Mike's, and of Flying Colors in general, I have embraced Third Degree with the same amount of excitement and enjoyment that the first two albums have given me.

I think Casey sounds as great as he ever has, so if you never really dug his voice, this album might not be for you. I honestly hear LESS Neal on this one than the first two. A lot of my focus goes towards Casey's vocals and Steve's guitar, both of which really help set this album (and band) a part from The Neal Morse Band and Transatlantic. Also, Dave LaRue's bass playing is REALLY stellar throughout. I need to pump this album through some REALLY loud, bass-heavy speakers to FEEL how good his playing on the album is, because he deserves it IMO.

While it doesn't get unanimous praise from me (see above complaint about too much 7/4), it's better than I expected after my lukewarm reaction to the first few singles. It's also a lot to take in, and I'm sure it'll grow on me more and more over time, the same way Second Nature grew on me. I've been throwing in some of the first two albums into my listening of Third Degree, to sort of feel their progression through their albums. Given that the band worked on Third Degree for well over a year, I expected the songs to have more polish to them, and I hear that in some places, but in others it feels like they could have edited themselves, or better yet, had an outside producer like on the first album, but I don't outright dislike any one song, maybe bits of a few.

Maybe some folks will feel differently about Third Degree in a few years, but I hope no one here outright exclaims to Mike on social media that "FC is boring and there shouldn't be anymore FC music" (like I saw on Facebook). It might be everyone's cup of tea, but some of us still enjoy it!

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Marc, while I agree that the Neal/Portnoy projects can kind of blur together at times (and I enjoy them all a ton, to varying degrees),  I don't think that is the issue here.  Same goes for Casey singing more, as I am a big fan of his voice, or LaRue's playing, which does seem great.  I don't care how good the playing is, if the songs aren't there, then it doesn't matter a whole lot, IMO.

Even a song like Love Letter, which I like a lot, feels way too long.  It seems like this album's Love Is What I'm Waiting For, but they they made it too long.  Sure, it's only a little over 5 minutes, but I think it would have packed a greater punch at a length similar to its younger cousin (which was right at 3 1/2 minutes).  Minor quibbling, sure, but as much as I like the song, it feels like it overstays its welcome.

With the 2nd and 3rd albums now being heavier on the prog than the 1st, I think it's clear that the mentality that made the debut special (where it was all about catchy songs with a touch of prog sprinkled in here and there) is one they do not have much interest in trying to recapture.  There is not a single song on the new album under five minutes.   Quite a contrast to the debut, where seven of the 11 songs were under five minutes.

[The Letter M]

Marc, while I agree that the Neal/Portnoy projects can kind of blur together at times (and I enjoy them all a ton, to varying degrees),  I don't think that is the issue here.  Same goes for Casey singing more, as I am a big fan of his voice, or LaRue's playing, which does seem great.  I don't care how good the playing is, if the songs aren't there, then it doesn't matter a whole lot, IMO.

Even a song like Love Letter, which I like a lot, feels way too long.  It seems like this album's Love Is What I'm Waiting For, but they they made it too long.  Sure, it's only a little over 5 minutes, but I think it would have packed a greater punch at a length similar to its younger cousin (which was right at 3 1/2 minutes).  Minor quibbling, sure, but as much as I like the song, it feels like it overstays its welcome.

With the 2nd and 3rd albums now being heavier on the prog than the 1st, I think it's clear that the mentality that made the debut special (where it was all about catchy songs with a touch of prog sprinkled in here and there) is one they do not have much interest in trying to recapture.  There is not a single song on the new album under five minutes.   Quite a contrast to the debut, where seven of the 11 songs were under five minutes.

I don't disagree, and when the tracklist was revealed along with the song lengths, I was a bit concerned than the songs would be long for length's sake, and not for any real meaningful reason. Weirdly enough, the two longest songs on the album are probably my favorites and they don't FEEL as long as some of the 7-minute songs.

I guess I'm in the minority here in that the songs don't bore me, or perhaps, I just haven't listened to it enough yet for them to begin to bore me, but my first initial listens were really good to me, so who knows how things will go in the days and weeks ahead of getting into the album.

I think Peter Collins did a really good job at steering the band into the pop-over-prog direction, but given that many of these guys are known for writing long or intricate pieces with virtuoso playing, I think not having that 6th voice in the studio/skype call really let them carry on with the songs a bit too long. They really went from pop-with-prog-elements to prog-with-pop-elements, and for some, that's OK, because their enjoyment comes from what is released, rather than what is/was expected from the band based on their first album (which was made under different circumstances). I think after Second Nature, I knew they wouldn't bring back Peter or any outside producer to help them, so I wasn't expecting a "return to form/FC" but more of a continuation/progression of Second Nature, whatever they would be.

-Marc.

[bluefox4000]

That is a great point.....i've always thought of FC as a band that put melody and hooks first with little prog flourishes.

here it it seems to me they want a little to hard with the prog and completely forgot the hooks.  i mean where are they? lol.

to me.  Second nAture struck the perfect PERFECT balance,  i just adored that album.

here they leaned to much on prog.  and i DO NOT that's this band.  i jusst don't think so.  that's in other projects but to me not FC.

ah well can't win em all.

Back to Similitude, lol.

[ytserush]

Wow. So I've listened to this thing about 10 times since last night. Not ready to call this better than the first two but it does seem to have the consistency of the first album (Not a weak track on it.) It's definitely a grower and gets better with each listen, which I think is great.


 I'm also happy them seemed to move the needle a bit and grow as a band. Seems live a very organic approach which I really like. Everyone really seems tunes into this and it does feel kind of special. It's over 66 minutes long but really doesn't feel like it. (Another sign of a good album to me)

I really hope they play as much of this as they can live (Forgot what the set is.)

The ONLY problem I seem to have with this is that it sounds a bit flat sonically. The musicianship is there in spades. Kinda of wish they had Peter Collins to help out with that, but I also imagine he wouldn't come cheap.

This might just be my favorite tour of the three. Less than a week out now.

[Adami]

It's.........okay.

Some good songs. I like More a lot...more...without that awful video.

A lot of the songs, though not all of them, kind of feel like b-sides that weren't chosen for the last two albums. A pretty big amount of sounding like other songs.


Also Last Train Home...jesus. What a boring song to be THAT long.


Over all, it's fine. Not great, not awful. I don't have a strong desire to listen to the whole thing again though.

[MirrorMask]

With the 2nd and 3rd albums now being heavier on the prog than the 1st, I think it's clear that the mentality that made the debut special (where it was all about catchy songs with a touch of prog sprinkled in here and there) is one they do not have much interest in trying to recapture.  There is not a single song on the new album under five minutes.   Quite a contrast to the debut, where seven of the 11 songs were under five minutes.

Yeah, that was my main draw for me as well, the debut was so fresh and it was a great idea to have your "usual" short and easy songs of the pop world, but with the benefit of the musicianship and creativity of guys able to write crazy stuff.

For whatever reason - lack of time, can't listen to everything, didn't really like the few listenings I had... - I never really got into the second album either; do you guys think I could just forget about it and listen to the new one, or should I try to get acquainted more with Second Nature before listening to Third Degree?

[SoundscapeMN]

I found Second Nature incredibly forgettable, but the new album works a lot better to me.

But I think I'm right in that if this band was ever going to highly (being like more less 100% of the songs) really resemble Kevin Gilbert/Toy Matinee or Jellyfish, it'll never happen with Neal Morse.

[bluefox4000]

With the 2nd and 3rd albums now being heavier on the prog than the 1st, I think it's clear that the mentality that made the debut special (where it was all about catchy songs with a touch of prog sprinkled in here and there) is one they do not have much interest in trying to recapture.  There is not a single song on the new album under five minutes.   Quite a contrast to the debut, where seven of the 11 songs were under five minutes.

Yeah, that was my main draw for me as well, the debut was so fresh and it was a great idea to have your "usual" short and easy songs of the pop world, but with the benefit of the musicianship and creativity of guys able to write crazy stuff.

For whatever reason - lack of time, can't listen to everything, didn't really like the few listenings I had... - I never really got into the second album either; do you guys think I could just forget about it and listen to the new one, or should I try to get acquainted more with Second Nature before listening to Third Degree?

well I ADORED Second Nature.  but opinion on that seems to be split here too.

so i'll be up to you.

But i find it way better than Third Degree.  which honestly only gets more disappointing.

[KevShmev]

here it it seems to me they want a little to hard with the prog and completely forgot the hooks.  i mean where are they? lol.

Excellent point.  With the exception of Love Letter, I have zero recollection of any of the vocal melodies, and this was supposed to be a project centered around catchy songs, yet there are practically no hooks on this record.  The first album had them all over the place, and the second had quite a few as well. 

One thing I have noticed is the guitar work doesn't stand out. I am sure the Steve Morse fans will want to chase me with pitchforks , but many of the riffs on this record seem really dull/forgettable. I hadn't really thought of it, but then my brother texted me earlier that he feels that Steve Morse is the reason this record is so underwhelming so far, and then I kind of got what he was talking about when I spun a few songs again. 

[faizoff]

After a few listens I'm really warming up to the album, the first two albums I had an almost instant liking to them. This one though on first listen I didn't know what to make of it. I knew some parts were great but overall not sure. With the tunes being more familiar the album as a whole is really coming in strong. I do have to say it's my favorite album production-wise, love the dynamics of the tracks and all tones. The bass, in particular, is my favorite thing to listen to during every song.

[Adami]

here it it seems to me they want a little to hard with the prog and completely forgot the hooks.  i mean where are they? lol.

Excellent point.  With the exception of Love Letter, I have zero recollection of any of the vocal melodies, and this was supposed to be a project centered around catchy songs, yet there are practically no hooks on this record.  The first album had them all over the place, and the second had quite a few as well. 

One thing I have noticed is the guitar work doesn't stand out. I am sure the Steve Morse fans will want to chase me with pitchforks , but many of the riffs on this record seem really dull/forgettable. I hadn't really thought of it, but then my brother texted me earlier that he feels that Steve Morse is the reason this record is so underwhelming so far, and then I kind of got what he was talking about when I spun a few songs again.

I felt bad for having the same thoughts. Everyone except for maybe Casey seems like they're just kind of phoning it in. Luckily they're all SO damn good that their version of phoning it in is pretty strong. Still, feels like Steve, especially, is like 20% there. Many of his riffs are dull, many of his leads are derivative of his other stuff.

[bluefox4000]

here it it seems to me they want a little to hard with the prog and completely forgot the hooks.  i mean where are they? lol.

Excellent point.  With the exception of Love Letter, I have zero recollection of any of the vocal melodies, and this was supposed to be a project centered around catchy songs, yet there are practically no hooks on this record.  The first album had them all over the place, and the second had quite a few as well. 

One thing I have noticed is the guitar work doesn't stand out. I am sure the Steve Morse fans will want to chase me with pitchforks , but many of the riffs on this record seem really dull/forgettable. I hadn't really thought of it, but then my brother texted me earlier that he feels that Steve Morse is the reason this record is so underwhelming so far, and then I kind of got what he was talking about when I spun a few songs again.

I felt bad for having the same thoughts. Everyone except for maybe Casey seems like they're just kind of phoning it in. Luckily they're all SO damn good that their version of phoning it in is pretty strong. Still, feels like Steve, especially, is like 20% there. Many of his riffs are dull, many of his leads are derivative of his other stuff.

yea i will agree that Casey is the MVP if i had to pick.

[gzarruk]

I still think More is unlistenable and I haven't listened to it since it was released, I think (I skip it every time I play the album), but I would say the rest of it is really cool.

The opener is a very solid rocker, I had Cadence stuck in my head yesterday the whole day, and Guardian, while a little long, is pretty good too.

I agree that Last Train Home is longer than it should and some sections just feel like they had a jam session inside of it before going back to the proper song.

Crawl was really cool, even though I expected it to be a bit more "epic-ish".

MVP of the album? To me, Dave LaRue.